I Pursued Him for My Best Friend Chapter 12

I Pursued Him for My Best Friend Chapter 12

The room went quiet.

I rolled over in bed. Too full from lunch—food coma.

When she got no response, Kendra stomped to my bunk and grabbed the rail. “You’re right—you’re smarter, prettier, better than me. But Landon still chose me. So what does that say about you?”

I didn’t care who a loser like him chose. I stared at the ceiling.

Seeing me ignore her completely, she huffed, “You’ll regret this!” And she stormed out, slamming the door.

She never came back. A week later, her stuff was gone. Different majors, different schedules.

We only saw her on social media—coupled-up selfies with Landon at parties, at the beach, always tagged #CoupleGoals.

Finals week rolled around. Brady and I had grown a lot closer lately. He never let me pay him back for that dinner, and turned me down every time I offered to treat him in return.

He said he was into history, and asked if he could sit in on my lectures sometime.

He sat next to me, took notes, asked questions. He never let me pay him back for the dinner.

He kept showing up for nearly two weeks straight, even as finals picked up.

Then he got swamped with his own exams, and I found myself missing him. I didn’t admit it out loud, but I checked my phone more often than I should.

Last test finished early. I remembered Derek mentioning a friendly swim meet today—just for fun, no pressure. I walked to the campus pool.

Chlorine smell hit me like a wall. Not many spectators—most students were still studying. I found a corner near the bleachers.

I hated being in water, and swimming even less. I used to come here only for Landon.

Now I lifted my phone at the star of the show.

Let’s be real. I was here for the eye candy.

I snapped pictures of Brady warming up.

Whistle. Dive. Splash.

Cheers erupted—small but enthusiastic.

My hand froze. In that moment, I heard my own heart: Go, Brady.

It was exactly the same feeling I’d had when I was chasing Landon. I stared intently at his figure cutting through the water, my chest tight with nerves.

I watched him cut through the water, leading by half a body length.

Then darkness. Landon stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

“Piper? You here to see me?”

My mood soured instantly. How could someone be this full of himself?

I turned away. “Move. I’m here for someone.”

He leaned down, smirking. “Derek?”

I flinched and shot back immediately. “None of your business.”

“You know he has a girlfriend of three years, right? Kendra was right—

you’re a serial side-piece. All that flirty, coy act when you call me

sweet names—you just love being the other woman. It’s your hobby.

“I almost regretted not choosing you, but now? Thank god I didn’t.”