Best Friends with the Boss

9

When Dai made his way to my house later that night around eleven, I almost slammed the door in his face. The only thing stopping me from doing it was because I had wanted him away for the day, and I got exactly what I wanted.

Ugh.

He had a huge grin on his face and that made me scowl more, and when I looked down at his empty hands my scowl turned into a full blown glare. He looked three types of confused as to why I wasn’t rushing into his arms and saying how much I missed him. So I said one simple word that took that great big smile off his face.

“Food?” I felt bad when the shit-eating grin he had on his face dropped and he slapped himself.

“I’m so sorry!” He reached for my hand and I quickly took it back. I was so angry at him, what if I had actually been sick, too sick to drive, and couldn’t get any food. I would’ve starved today. I was being overly dramatic. It was unneeded, I blamed it on hormones. And the fact that I was angry at myself for wanting him.

“You are so lucky I started feeling better and was able to go get food. I would be a whole lot more pissed at you than I am right now if I hadn’t.”

“You’re constantly pissed at me lately. I don’t even know what I did.” He rolled his eyes before barging his way into my house and sitting on my couch. I could never hate him, but I really, really disliked him at the moment.

“You don’t know what you did? How about the one thing you said you would do? Get food, and you didn’t do that. You know there isn’t any food here because I haven’t had the time to go grocery shopping because you work me day in and day out!”

His annoyed face turned into a sorry expression and he grinned sheepishly my way. “I know, and I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have forgotten that. I just got really distracted. I’m sorry.”

I plopped down by him and gave him a hug around the waist. “You are so lucky I felt better. I could’ve starved. I’m still mad at you.” He chuckled before wrapping a warm arm around me and pulling me tighter against him. “Now what had you so distracted? A new client, is the business failing? Did Amanda come dressed slutty again?”

I felt him stiffen before he forced out a laugh. “If I told you, you’d probably hate me.”

That’s when I knew exactly what it was, Tijuana, she had officially taken my best friend. He was right, and for that one moment I had so much anger, sadness and hurt in me, I almost took it out on him, but I didn’t, I let it go. I couldn’t be his number one priority forever, and the person he wanted to date had to take that place. If I had to give it up to her, I would, but only for his happiness.

“Well, I guess you just shouldn’t tell me that.” I smiled up at him, but I know he saw the hurt in my eyes, I couldn’t fully hide it from my voice, but I wasn’t going to fight with him. I was going to let him be happy.

“Dee, don’t do this.” He pulled me up so we could look into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry, she-she just makes my day easier to get through. Not that you don’t, but I get all googly eyed around her.”

“I’m not doing anything Damien, I said it was fine and I meant it.” I really didn’t. I gave him a tight smile and kissed his cheek. “It’s fine. I’m not always going to be your first priority.”

He lightly pulled at his hair and I rolled my eyes, he was getting frustrated. Men, I swear, they say women are complicated, but guys are a whole other species.

“Stop that Deena, yell at me, scream at me! Tell me how much you hate me and how much it hurts that I put her over you. Please just do something, you should’ve been my top priority at that moment because you needed me. I wasn’t thinking with the right head.”

“It’s fine!” I snapped, I had started to glare at him because now he was pissing me off, if I wanted to just get over something—or pretend in my case because I was far from over it—I damn well would.

“No it’s not!” He was really pulling on his hair now. “It’s not fine and you know it, stop trying to make me feel better. Don’t be so supportive of it!”

“What do you want me to do? Act like I’m a scorned lover or something? Do you even hear yourself? What, do you want me to break down in tears and try to hit you with a frying pan? Do you want me to be all ‘don’t touch me ever again you cheating dog’? Most people would be happy to see their best friend isn’t mad at them!”

“Yes, kick me out! Call me names!”

I actually laughed, liked hard up, tears rolling down my eyes, having trouble breathing, clutching your stomach laughter. When I saw the hard look in Damien’s eyes I sobered up and touched his shoulder, “Really Dai, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay!” His eyes started getting misty so I wrapped him in my arms, “It’s not okay! You’ve never looked at me like that before, so it’s not okay.”

He had wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck. I rubbed the top of his shoulders and in the most calming voice I had asked him, “How did I look at you?” Even though I was sure I knew the answer already.

“Like I hurt you.” He lifted his face and made eye contact with me, he had tears streaming out of his eyes, he didn’t cry over anything, besides his mother, “I never want to hurt you. I just want you to give me that little puppy glare,” He smiled when I did exactly that, “Just that one glare and then start yelling my friggin head off about how I’m such a dick. Then I want to yell back, and you start crying and yelling, and I feel all pitiful so I pull you into a hug until you stop crying, because I hate it when you cry, and I go buy you food.”

I smiled at him and kissed his cheek, “If me crying upsets you so much, why would you want to see me cry?” I asked as I laid my head on his chest.

“Because, I know afterwards, it’s fixed, and you’re not angry with me anymore.” He sniffed and lifted his hand up to wipe at his eyes, “I know that when you wake up in the morning whatever nerve I hit will be fresh and new. But I hurt you, I can’t fix that. I can apologize for it, but I can’t take away the pain you felt. The pain you’re trying so hard to hide behind a smile, but I put it there.”

“Damien-“

“No, you’re my best friend, you are the only person I know who will be there for me, and I hurt you, I’m supposed to beat up the people that hurt you.”

I chuckled, “Okay, it hurt, it did, but I am happy for you. You deserve to be happy. I’m not going to take that away from you. I guess you’ll just have to beat yourself up.”

“Trust me I am.” He groaned and pulled me onto his lap squishing me in his arms, “I am happy, when you’re happy, I’m the happiest I can be. On my worst day you bring light to my life, and on the best you do too.”

I laughed again, another real laugh, “When did you get so poetic?” I teased but bent my neck to look up at him. “Damien, really, if you’re happy with her, then there is nothing I can do but be happy for you, because if you guys break up and you’re sulking all miserable I’ll feel like shit. I want you to be happy, with a magical all consuming love, even if it means I get pushed back to the back burner, even if it’s with Tijuana.”

“But what if it’s not?”

“Than even better.” I teased smiling at him, “You see you can make hurt better, do I still have the same look in my eyes.”

And he looked at me really, really looked at me. And he smiled puffy, red eyes and all, “Yea the hurt’s still there, but there’s other stuff, too, and I like the other stuff.”

I rolled my eyes playfully and hit him on the chest, “I’m still waiting on you to feed me.”

He smiled and kissed my head. “That’s my girl.”