I Pursued Him for My Best Friend Chapter 04

I Pursued Him for My Best Friend Chapter 04

Tara and Jenna had zero time for passive-aggressive nonsense.

They said what they meant—half the time they probably couldn’t even pick up on subtle digs anyway.

Kendra stumbled. “Nothing. Just thought Piper shouldn’t be praising other guys when she’s supposed to be into Landon.”

They both stared at her like she’d crawled straight out of the Stone Age.

“They’re not even together,” Tara said. “And even if they were, so what? You can still appreciate a good view. That’s not a crime.”

“Since when are you so old-school, Kendra?” Jenna added.

Kendra’s face flushed bright red, stammering “I’m just traditional. Not like Piper, who’s so casual about throwing herself at anyone.”

I frowned. Casual? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Tara and Jenna both tensed too, ready to fire back.

Before any of us could snap back, the starter’s whistle blew.

Eight bodies dove into the pool at once, sending up sheets of spray.

The campus pool erupted, the crowd yelling for their favorites. I rested my chin on my hand, watching intently.

This time, I wasn’t twisting with nerves over Landon. I was just enjoying the view—the sharp, defined muscles, the sleek lines of their bodies, the pale, strong legs cutting through the blue water.

“Piper, where are you looking?” Lanes Two and Eight were on opposite ends of the pool—Tara could tell instantly I wasn’t watching Landon.

I coughed. “Nothing.”

She leaned in like she was spilling top-secret gossip, hissing, “Are you switching teams?”

My cheeks heated up. I wanted to explain—Landon and Kendra had already done the damage, but Tara didn’t know yet.

I was about to tell her when she and Jenna shared a knowing grin.

“Can’t blame you,” they said in unison.

I shut up. Fair enough.

By the time we finished talking, the race was over. It’d been a tight 100m freestyle final—you couldn’t tell the top three apart with the naked eye.

Everyone held their breath, eyes locked on the scoreboard.

I glanced at Kendra. Her lips were pressed white, hands clasped like she was praying.

She looked more nervous than Landon himself.

“First place—Lane Eight, Brady Hartwell. Second—Lane Two, Landon Crews…”

The results boomed across the campus pool.

Landon looked up at the stands—right at our section.

Jenna shoved a Gatorade into my hands. “Go! Comfort him while he’s down!”

She and Tara grabbed me and hauled me upright.

I pulled back. “No, wait!”

Tara groaned. “Stop being shy! This is your chance!”

I I grabbed both of them tight, yanking them back. “Kendra’s online boyfriend is Landon.”

They froze like I’d dropped a bomb on them. They looked at me, then at Kendra, then back at me, clearly struggling to wrap their heads around what I’d just said.

Before they could process, Landon walked over with his silver medal dangling. He tossed a towel over his shoulder and stopped right in front of me.

“Piper, why didn’t you text back? I sent you three messages.”

All eyes were on him, but he didn’t care.

I couldn’t find words.

He cleared his throat, awkward. “You said you wanted my medal—”

“Babe!”

Kendra’s shriek cut him off.

Before anyone reacted, she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He stiffened. He darted a pleading look my way, silently begging me to bail him out. He’d seen her before—knew she was my roommate.

“Uh, hey…”

The onlookers leaned in, eyes wide and phones already raised, spilting the tea.

Kendra lifted her head, all sweet smiles.

“It’s me, babe. GrapeJuice.”