Beat As One

Chapter 1 Jamie's POV

The door to the apartment swung open, and I looked up from my spot on the couch. Alex trudges in, shaking his head of thick deep brown hair. The same exaggerated attitude is only reserved for his disastrous dating life. I raise one eyebrow, but say nothing as I take a sip of my beer.

"Well... add her to the list," Alex says as he tosses his jacket onto the chair and collapses onto the couch next to me with a groan. He throws his head back and looks at the ceiling.

I give him a deadpan look and roll my eyes, "What was wrong with this one? Didn't appreciate your charm? Or was it the dad jokes again?" Alex growls at me, snatches my beer, and gulps it down.

"Hey!", I snap, "it's no wonder your date was a bust if you acted like this." Alex gives me that million dollar smile that makes me melt.

Alex and I have been best friends since college. I've spent years hiding a crush on him so big it sometimes feels like a second heartbeat, always pounding away in the background, unnoticed by everyone. Especially him.

Why? Because he's the guy everyone wants to be. Successful, the guy with the brains, the charm, the looks—the whole package. The golden boy. And me? I've always been the nerdy tomboy. People assumed I was gay, probably because through college and my adult life I've never been caught staring at guys like everyone else. They were wrong, though. I'm definitely into men, but no man has ever measured up to my best friend.

So, I dated girls. It was easier, and I love women. People accepted it without question, and it kept my secret safe. No one would believe I was head-over-heels for Alex anyway. Hell, even I have trouble believing it sometimes.

I've been so good at pretending for so long, he has no idea. To him, I'm just one of the guys, the forever wingman. The tomboy who's always there with a sarcastic comment or a beer in hand. He doesn't see me, not really. He never has.

And that's the hardest part.

Alex sighs, bringing me back to the moment. "Worse. She liked the dad jokes. Thought they were 'cute'." He made air quotes and rolled his eyes in his usual dramatic fashion. "But she's a vegan! Didn't tell me until we were already at the steakhouse." I snorted trying to hold back my laughter, but it was useless.

I get up to grab myself another beer in an attempt to contain my laughter and get some distance, "So you're telling me you took a vegan to a place that literally has 'Beef Masters' on the sign?" Grabbing two beers, I head back to the couch and sit farther away still trying to maintain some distance.

I hand him his beer which he takes a pull, then throws his hands up so dramatically I thought he was going to spill it. He turns away from me on the couch, throws up his feet, and his head lands in my lap. He looks up at me, "how was I supposed to know? It's not like she had a sign that said 'I don't eat animals.' I'm not a mind reader."

I laugh and push him off my lap. Luckily he keeps hold of his beer and sits on the floor shoulder to my knee. I lean back into the couch, and can't contain my laughter. This is a story that I've heard a million times before. The wrong woman, the awkward date, the charming Alex that just couldn't catch a break in the dating world. "Maybe you should start going for women who aren't impressed by your charm. Like someone who doesn't think 'cute' is a compliment."

He looks up at me with a grin, "And who would that be? Someone like you? Because last I checked, you're still the only woman I know who doesn't think I'm adorable." He looks up at me with those puppy dog eyes, rubbing his cheek on my leg. My eyes roll, but I can't help the smile that tug at my lips. This was the usual teasing between us I always buried. Turning to look at the TV, I school my face and tamper down my feelings. I'd gotten good at pushing them down, you know years of practice.

"Yeah that's because I know the real you, Mr. Perfect Date." I poke his forehead. "Besides, I've got better taste than your long line of disasters."

He throws his head back laughing, "He, I don't date disasters. They just turn into them once they get to know me." Alex downed the rest of his beer. He looks out at nothing with his brows furrowed, "anyway, I'm done. No more dates. No more women for me. I'm officially retired from the dating world."

The light returns to his face and he jumps up from the floor, a complete 180. So quick to move on. I smirk at him, "Oh yeah? And how long is that gonna last? Until tomorrow when you see someone smile at you?" He grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and threw it at me, laughing as he sat back down with his elbows on his knees, and then his shoulders slouched.

"No, seriously. I just... I don't know what's wrong with me. Every time, I think I've found someone, and then BAM turns out I'm wrong. It's like I'm cursed to date every woman who's completely wrong for me."

I lean up and nudge his shoulder with mine, smiling. "Maybe you're just looking in the wrong places."

His face brightened and he jumped up with an evil grin. "You're right! Let's go out." He starts pulling on my arms, spilling my almost full beer that had probably started getting hot by now. I roll my eyes, but stand, "fine!"

We grabbed our jackets and head to the door. Alex yanked it open ready to storm out of our apartment like he was late for something. Then stopped suddenly in his tracks right outside the door making me run into the brick wall that was Alex. "Ooompf, what the hell Alex?! You trying to break my face? This is a masterpiece I have you know." I hear a giggle.

Wait... that's definitely not Alex giggling. I peek around him and find a petite, light-haired beauty standing in front of him, smiling brightly. "Hi," she says, "I'm Lily. I just moved in down the hall." She looks at me with mischief in her eyes. "I think your husband here was trying to avoid a breezeway collision, since I wasn't looking where I was going." She looked down at her feet. That's when I noticed the box she must have been carrying, that was bigger than she was if I was being a tad dramatic.

As I step beside Alex, I reach my hand out to properly introduce myself. "I'm Jamie. This big oaf is my best friend, Alex." I elbowed him to make him close his mouth that was just hanging wide open practically catching all the flies in North Carolina. He comes back to this planet slamming his mouth shut so quickly I hear his teeth chatter. Finally his brain returns and he introduces himself.

Looks like his retirement is over already.