Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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I HAVE EXACTLY TEN MINUTES before Pepper arrives. I've never been so anxious in my life. Three hard mints have already dissolved under my tongue. I stop myself from finding a fourth. One moment, I'm in the living room pausing her favorite drama on the TV. The next, I'm in the kitchen pouring her favorite mix of snacks into a giant blue bowl. I pull down her favorite bottle of tequila, a carton of lemonade, and distribute everything across the coffee table.
I know it's not really a date; she just wants to hang out, but I can't help but feel like this is my moment to prove just how great we can be together. After she came over yesterday and gave me an ultimatum, I knew I had to take advantage of every second we have together from that moment on.
With eight minutes to spare, I race upstairs and check myself in the bathroom mirror. The hints of a light stubble create a shadow across my face. Locks of chestnut tease my forehead. It's a little longer than how I usually get it cut, but I'm sure she won't mind. As if invoked by the thought, the feeling of Pepper running her fingers through my hair or tracing them along my jawline blesses my being. Her disapproving pursed lips tease my memory. 'You need to shave.' Four cute little words fall from her perfect lips. The light that shone in her eyes whenever I was freshly shaven and wearing a t-shirt that wasn't wrinkled makes me ache for the old days. Times she'd giggle with glee whenever I let her pick my outfits or give me dating advice pull at something heavy in the pit of my stomach.
Fuck. I miss that Pepper.
Reaching into the cabinet next to the mirror, I pull down my cologne, one of her favorite scents, and mist it over my dark, blue hoodie. This is my chance. Oxygen zips through my lips as I drag in a breath and prepare myself for the challenge. I have to make Pepper forget that she loves Mason. I have to make her love me instead. She needs to want me as much as I want her so we can have each other in the way it was meant.
And if things don't work out, I can finally be with Amber.
"Luc?" The sound of Pepper's voice reaches from downstairs.
She's early. I jump out of the bathroom and peek down the stairs to see her waiting at the bottom. My heart jumps into my throat before I can say something. She's so fucking cute, it physically pains me to look at her. She's kicking her boots off, showing her cream-colored, wool-knit socks reaching up her black tights. A matching cream-colored sweater swallows up her petite frame. Her curly hair is laced in one long braid over her shoulder. As I descend the stairs, the faintest hint of makeup is visible on her face, leaving me to wonder if she thinks this is a date too. Upon a closer stance, her vanilla fragrance wraps around me, and suddenly I want to be wrapped around her. Hold her, kiss her, and tell her how pretty she is.
It's barely crossed my mind that I'm staring at her in silence until she murmurs my name in the softest voice and pulls at the sleeves to her sweater. I stammer a 'hi' and she stammers one back.
