Honey, Make This Easy

Part 2

​​"So, after Josh disrespected your honor," Riley began after some minutes of silence once you'd finished your story, "You got your revenge by making out with his twin?"

You scoffed, downing the last few swigs of merlot from the bottle in your hands. "Oh, please! He called me a sexless mannequin and then never apologized for it! That's a fucked-up thing to say about someone who's supposed to be your friend—your best friend—and then to never say anything about it? He was an asshole, end of story."

"And you think he really meant what he said?"

You glared at Riley, not a fan of this 'devil's advocate' line of questioning. "It doesn't matter if he meant it. He said it, and it hurt. Whether he said it because it was true or because he was trying to impress the guys, it had a real effect."

"Did you ever reach out to him?"

You didn't bother answering that question, and instead said, "Besides, kissing Jake wasn't revenge."

"Oh, no? What was it then?"

You opened your mouth to respond but realized you didn't have the words. Why did you kiss Jake, all those years ago? "I was—I was just so hurt and angry, and Jake was the only one who knew what I was feeling. I just... I wasn't thinking."

"Did you know it would upset Josh?"

Again, it was difficult to find the right words. "I think so," you responded blankly. You'd hoped Riley would have something insightful to say so that you wouldn't have to go on, but he kept annoyingly silent. You cleared your throat and continued, "Jake and Josh were always close, best friends, but they're so different. Jake just has something about him that always captures people's attention so naturally, especially girls. And Josh, he felt a bit like he played second fiddle, sometimes."

You placed the now empty bottle of wine on the coffee table and grabbed a second, unscrewing the cap and taking a deep drink. "I think... I think Josh always found it... comforting that he and I were closer and that more of my attention was spent on him than Jake...." You trailed off, realizing it was true. Back then, it did make you feel special knowing that Josh appreciated your company so much, and you didn't mind when he flaunted that company in front of Jake.

You remembered one weekend, Jake had an out-of-town soccer tournament and you ended up spending the whole weekend cuddled up with Josh on their couch, watching movies and goofing around, totally platonically, of course. When Jake had walked through the door that Sunday, you and Josh were laid out on the floor in a pile of blankets and pillows. Josh had immediately tightened his arm around you, pulling you into him as he tilted his head towards Jake and asked whether his team had won. Jake had looked confused at first, seeing you two so entangled, but his expression shifted toward a challenging glint when he noticed Josh's hand tightly gripped around your waist. And when you looked at Josh, there was a decidedly smug smirk plastered across his face. Of course, it hadn't meant anything beyond some strange twin rivalry, and you certainly knew neither of them felt anything beyond friendship for you, but that hadn't kept the sick satisfaction from creeping into your gut. You knew Josh found small victories when he could one-up Jake, especially when girls were involved.

But that also meant, when you kissed Jake, you knew exactly how it would make Josh feel.

With a heavy sigh, you placed the wine bottle on the floor and sank into the couch. For years, you thought only about how Josh had hurt you and, perhaps on purpose, didn't consider how badly you could've hurt Josh.

"Riley, am I a total bitch?"

Riley grabbed your arm and tugged you to him so you could bury your face in his chest. "No! Not a total bitch, maybe just a little bit of a bitch. An acceptable amount."