Now, I wished I could have gotten the first time under my belt or asked her to see me exclusively. If I had, then I wouldn’t have to worry about her being in love with Chad. I was pretty sure she liked me, but I had a nagging suspicion that she liked Chad just a little bit more. That’s just what life was like being Chad’s best friend. You’re never quite good enough.
Whitney wasn’t answering any of my calls. I knew she didn’t want to talk to me, but we didn’t have the luxury of ignoring our problems in hopes that they would just go away. I needed to clear the air and make things right. That, or I needed closure that things were beyond repair.
So, like a psychopath would, I drove to her house and waited out on the street in my car until she got home. I didn’t know what her schedule was like or if she was even coming home. I just knew that I needed to speak to her immediately.
Around seven, she finally pulled up in the driveway. I jumped out of my car and ran toward her, hoping to get to her before she had the chance to slam the door in my face. I knew if I just made my case, she’d let me in to talk.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she shrieked. “You scared the shit out of me. Why would you do that?”
She had a point. It probably didn’t look right seeing a man sprinting toward you, especially in the dark.
“I’m sorry,” I said, holding onto her shaking hands. “I just really needed to talk to you.”
“You could have called.”
“You probably wouldn’t answer,” I muttered. “Can I come in? There are a few things I want to say to you. Besides, these things are best said in person.”
“Oh, great,” she mumbled. “I suppose things can’t get any worse for me. Come on.”
I followed her into the house and slipped my shoes off by the door. She flipped on the lights, illuminating her weary face.
“Today has been one of the worst days of my life,” she said, rummaging around the fridge. She pulled out a bottle of wine and poured a full glass. “Want one?”
I shook my head. I assumed my visit would be short. Whitney looked like she needed some space.
I followed her to the couch where she plopped down, sloshing wine out the sides of the glass. I had never seen her like this. She was usually put together so well, so composed all the time. It was hard seeing her unravel, knowing that I had played a small role in that.
“Can I ask you something first?” she said after a long drink.
“Anything.”
“Why would you do something like that to me? I really liked you and you have potentially ruined my career. Why would you come up with this scheme with Chad?”
“Is that what you think happened?” I asked, choking on my words.
“How else should I think? You two are best friends who both want to have sex with me. I’m assuming you made a compromise. A very weird, fucked up compromise.”
“Why would you think that I had anything to do with that? You saw my face when he barged in. I was just as surprised as you were.”
“Then why, when I texted you to ask if you knew what was going on, did you immediately know what I was talking about?”
I sighed. “I knew because once Chad realized what he had done, he called me.”
“And neither of you thought it was important enough to tell me?”
I looked at the ground, feeling sheepish. “Honestly, we thought there was a chance that no one would find out. We didn’t want to upset you if it wasn’t going to be an issue. I knew about the video a day before you did, but I didn’t know about the threesome. That surprised me just as much as it surprised you.”
She mulled over my words, swirling her glass of wine. She looked pissed, but at least she was listening to me.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” I said softly. “I know this affects you way more than it does me. I would just hate to see what we had disappear because of a stupid mistake.”
She bit her lip and opened her mouth to speak, but instead took another large sip. I waited for her response as she took her time to speak.
“Do you think we can just carry on exactly how we were before that night?” she asked. “Do you think the two of us could continue on without any more interruptions? I’m not sure if I see that happening.”
I was becoming more suspicious of her feelings by the minute. There was one question that was weighing on my mind. I knew if I asked her, she would probably g
et upset but also give me the answer I didn’t want to hear. I took a deep breath and spat it out.
“Are you in love with Chad?”
“What?” she squealed after too long of a pause. “No. He’s my stepbrother and he’s slowly ruining my life. No.” She added, “Not slowly. Quite rapidly, in fact.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why are you even asking?”
I let out a sigh. She clearly wasn’t getting it.
“We’re in opposite situations right now. You have two guys who really like you on your case. I have one girl who might like me, but who also likes my friend. You get to choose what you want. I can’t. It’s all up to you.”
“So what do you want me to do? To be honest, dating is probably the least of my problems right now.”
“You’re right. It’s silly when you put things into perspective like that. Still, this is the most important thing in my life right now. I don’t know if I can sleep at night without knowing.”
“You want me to choose who I would rather be with?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She took another drink. Things weren’t looking good for me.
“Whitney,” I said in a last-ditch effort to persuade her. “I think I’m falling in love with you. If you don’t choose me, it will break my heart, but it’s better than wondering if you would rather be with Chad. I can’t live life that way.”
“I just don’t know, Ted,” she said, blinking rapidly. “I really like you. I think I’m falling in love with you too, but things are just too complicated right now. I would be lying to you if I didn’t say that I had some feelings for Chad, too.”
My heart fell. I think I knew that all along, but it hurt more to hear it from her.
“I don’t want to choose between you two,” she continued. “Because what if I don’t make the right choice? How can I choose between two very different, but equally lovely people? I think you’re really great, Ted.”