More than Friends

s, it doesn’t matter to me.”

“This is the problem,” she says. “You are so worried about losing me that you don’t care what kind of relationship we have, but I do.”

“I’ll do whatever you want, Kitten. Please stop acting like this.”

She presses down on my shoulder to kiss me on the cheek and says, “I’m sorry.”

Then, she takes off running down the street, leaving my heart and me in pieces. My entire body trembles from the anxiety that rushes through my veins, the adrenaline fueling me. While I would never regret loving Kat, I only wish I had done this sooner, so that we had enough time to explore the other side of our relationship.

Now, it’s too late. One night of passion might have cost me my best friend, my Kitten.

Chapter 14

Senior Year

Kat

I pushed Dean away, all because he wants to be more than friends. But I am not convinced that he sees me as anything other than his best friend. He only wants more because he needs me back in his life. I need him, too. But I haven’t figured out in what capacity, and it hurts too much to think about losing him after graduation.

What I thought was a last-ditch effort to keep him in my life was a stupid plan. This is your chance, I had told myself. For years, I’d wondered if Dean could ever commit to me and if it was even worth ruining our friendship over. The answer is no. Too bad I put us both through all this pain just to find out.

After I step out from the bathroom, Becca, my roommate, hands me a bottle of water. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I unscrew the top and take a sip of water. “Don’t worry about me. I have a weak stomach. I’m used to it.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been sick a lot lately. Maybe you have a gluten allergy.”

“Celiac disease? No, I doubt it.” I plop down on my bed and look up at Becca, still feeling sick to my stomach. “It will pass.”

“If it were a few days, I would say fine, but it’s been at least a week of you hurling almost every meal.”

“Can you hand me my textbook?” I point to the Business Ethics book I need to read if I still want to graduate with honors.

Becca sets it on the bed next to me and sits down. “You need to see a doctor. Let me make an appointment for you, and in the meantime, stop eating so much food with gluten in it. Ever since our season ended, you’ve been eating a ton of carbs.”

“I haven’t even had anything to eat today.”

She scoots closer to me and studies my face. “Please, go. You need to have the tests done to see if you have something serious going on. Vomiting most of your meals is not healthy or normal. My sister has Celiacs. It can be painful and sucks ass if you don’t get treated.”

“All I have to do is stop eating gluten,” I tell her, opening up the textbook on my lap. “There, problem solved.”

“Stop being so stubborn and go to the doctor. It’s better you know now, so you can prevent yourself from getting sick for the rest of your life.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I say with a smile and a wink.

“Hey, do what you want. I’m speaking from experience with my sister. It will only get worse if you don’t get tested.”

I lift my phone from the bed and dial the number for the health center on campus. Five minutes later, I have an appointment for the end of the week. That satisfies Becca enough for us to get back to work.

She grabs her books, pens, and notecards, and scatters them along the floor between our twin beds. We’ve shared a room since our freshman year. The school grouped the girls on the women’s hockey team together, and I since I’d requested Becca and she me, we have been together ever since. She’s an amazing hockey player and has had my back since we were kids.

I glance down at the practice test shoved inside my book. “Okay, so what did you get for the first question?”

She bites on the tip of her pen and looks over at me as if she’s puzzled. “I didn’t answer it.”

I lean to the side to grab my pillow and throw it at her head. “You are the worst study partner ever.”

“Hey,” Becca yells, throwing her hands in the air. “I didn’t know the answer.”