He Said a Female Bestie Is Fine—So I Got a Male One Chapter 02

He Said a Female Bestie Is Fine—So I Got a Male One Chapter 02

I think my lack of anger would’ve calmed him down.

It had the opposite effect.

Ethan got even angrier, like he was absolutely convinced I was just playing some kind of elaborate head game with him. Desperate to make some kind of gesture, he pulled out his phone and started frantically searching for tickets to that movie.

I watched him scroll and tap, getting more agitated by the second.

Finally, I couldn’t help myself and said quietly, “That movie’s not in theaters anymore.”

Ethan’s finger froze on the screen.

In that split second, I watched a whole cocktail of emotions flicker across his face.

A heavy, silent tension filled the air between us. The food he’d brought sat on the table, getting cold.

I bent down, tucked the last few items into my suitcase, and zipped it shut.

I felt absolutely nothing.

After that day, Ethan suddenly got very attentive.

While I was away on my trip he kept texting me, asking when my flight back was. I told him the details.

The day I landed, I walked out of the terminal at Crestwood Regional Airport and spotted his car right away, a black Porsche Cayenne parked by the curb.

He got out as soon as he saw me, came over, and took my suitcase like it was the most natural thing in the world.

But when I followed him to the car, I saw Chloe sitting in the front passenger seat.

She had her legs crossed and her arm hanging out the open window. She gave me this big, sugary smile and said, “Hey, Grace! Hope you don’t mind me catching a ride. I’ll give you shotgun in just a sec.”

She said it all playful and casual, but she didn’t actually make any move to get out of the seat.

Ethan finished putting my luggage in the trunk and came back to find me standing there, not moving. He sounded a little uncomfortable.

“She was nearby. Needed a ride. You know she gets carsick, so… yeah. Front seat for a bit.”

We’d argued before about Chloe always sitting next to him whenever we all went somewhere together.

But before I could even open my mouth, Chloe stuck her head out the window, eyes crinkling with amusement, and jumped in.

“Lucky Ethan was around, huh? I’d be stuck in the middle of nowhere right now. You have no idea what I’s like getting out of my place, sis. Seriously. It’s all in the group chat if you don’t believe me.”

She meant their little private group with all the childhood friends.

A group I was not a part of.

“Besides,” Chloe went on, pretending to jab Ethan in the chest with her fist, “If Ethan blew me off? Oh, I’d be on the phone with his mom so fast.”

Her arm got halfway to him before she yanked it back like she’d been burned and shot me this exaggerated, nervous look.

“Oops! Force of habit, Grace. Didn’t mean anything by it.”

Ever since that huge blowout with Ethan, Chloe had changed her approach.

She went from being completely handsy and physical without a second thought to being performatively cautious and physical.

The whole thing was designed to make it look like I was the crazy, nitpicking harpy who forced her to act weird around Ethan.

But if she was really trying to keep her distance, why was she still staying out all night with them and going on what were essentially solo hangouts with him a few weeks later?

I could see the provocation glinting in her eyes, plain as day.

That kind of petty maneuvering would have sent me into a rage in the past.

Not anymore.

I couldn’t be bothered to engage. When Ethan opened his mouth to tell Chloe to get in the back, I just waved him off and reached for the rear door handle myself.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ve got a friend who needs a ride too. He can sit with me in the back.”

“A friend? What friend?”

Ethan didn’t have to wait long for an answer.

I heard my name being called from across the pickup lane. When I turned, I saw the look on his face change instantly.

A guy with broad shoulders and a lean waist, dressed sharp and looking good, was walking toward us quickly, dragging a rolling suitcase behind him.

He stopped next to me and immediately started complaining.

“Wow, Grace. You really just left me back there. I look up from my bag and… poof. Gone.”

He reached out and grabbed my hand.

“I don’t know anyone here. You’re stuck with me now.”