He Turned Me Down, So I Dated His Best Friend Instead Chapter 14

He Turned Me Down, So I Dated His Best Friend Instead Chapter 14

Mason and I grew closer every day.

He even took my roommates out to dinner a few times.

Mia was thrilled for me. She posted a picture of Mason and me walking away together on Instagram.

[I’m so jealous. I hope these two last forever.]

A few minutes after she posted it,

she sent me a screenshot.

It showed that Julian had liked the photo.

She wrote, [This is so weird. I saw his like, but when I opened the post, it was gone.]

[I didn’t do anything to offend him, did I?]

I reassured her. [No. Don’t overthink it. Have you noticed that he never likes anyone’s posts? He probably tapped it by accident and unliked it.]

It took Mia a while to answer.

[Actually, that makes sense.]

Sometime in August,

our honors cohort organized a dinner.

I had no other plans, and when I heard Julian wouldn’t be there, I agreed to go.

Halfway through the meal,

our cohort representative suddenly announced, “Julian was nearby and said he’d stop in.”

Everyone knew how connected and influential his family was.

With graduation approaching, plenty of people wanted to get on his good side. Someone immediately asked, “I thought he said he wasn’t coming?”

Our cohort representative smiled.

“I sent him a video of everyone at dinner. Maybe he saw the whole group and decided to join us.”

I considered making an excuse and leaving early.

Then the door opened.

Julian walked in.

There were two empty seats left.

One was beside our cohort representative. The other was beside me.

His gaze moved between them before he walked straight over and sat beside me.

I went rigid and forced down two bites of food.

Then I got up and went to the restroom.

When I came out, Julian was waiting in the hallway.

He stood there with a cigarette between his fingers.

He turned his cool gaze on me. “Do you hate seeing me that much?”

I was silent for a moment. “Yes.”

He gave a quiet laugh and stepped closer, his voice low. “But I regret it.”

I froze.

He went on.

“During senior year of high school, my parents were going through a bitter divorce. I was immature, so I dated around to get a reaction out of them. When you told me how you felt, my first thought was that if we dated and then broke up, losing you would hurt too much.”

“I thought it would be better if we never started. We could stay friends instead.”

The explanation was absurd.

I had no idea what to say.

After a long silence, I told him, “That was a long time ago.”

But Julian’s eyes suddenly reddened. “Not for me.”

“Break up with him, okay?”

“Give me another chance.”

Exhaustion washed over me.

I looked at him. “Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get over you?”

His brows drew together.

I continued.

“Do you remember helping me when I was a freshman in high school?”

Julian fell silent.

He seemed to search through his memory.

But in the end, he said slowly, “I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”

Once, that answer would’ve crushed me.

Now, I felt only relief.

“That’s okay,” I said.

“But let’s leave things where they are, okay? At least we can end this with some kindness.”

He closed his eyes and said nothing.

I left him there and started back toward the private dining room.

Halfway down the hall, he called, “Claire Bennett.”

I stopped.

He began, “I lo…”

Then he stopped himself and gave a bitter laugh. “Never mind.”

“Goodbye.”

Mason and I stayed together for another three years.

During that time, I never saw Julian again.

He and Mason were no longer as close as they had been.

I only heard that Julian never dated anyone else.

He remained alone.

Mia mentioned him once in passing.

“Do you remember Sienna Sullivan, that gorgeous girl from our cohort?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I remember her.”

“I just found out she’s been in love with Julian this whole time. She’s spent the past two years

chasing him, but he won’t even look at her. He used to be such a flirt. Now he’s completely shut

down.”

Maybe saying his name had summoned him.

That night, rain poured down over Chicago.

I stepped into a convenience store to buy an umbrella.

And found Julian inside.

After years apart, he seemed steadier. Dressed in a tailored suit, he carried himself with a new

seriousness.

Our eyes met, and I greeted him first. “It’s been a long time.”

He nodded and watched me quietly for several seconds.

“It’s pouring. Want me to drive you home?”

I suddenly remembered another rainy night years earlier, when Mia had asked him for a ride. He’d been holding his girlfriend’s hand when he answered, cold and distant, “Sorry. Not tonight.”

I returned to the present and shook my head.

“No, thanks.”