Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 01

Pretend To Be His Bestie For Her! Fine, I Dumped My Boyfriend And Childhood Buddies! Chapter 01

My three childhood friends were worried the campus it-girl would get jealous, so they asked me to act like I was just one of the guys, even around my own boyfriend.

“The five of us grew up together. You and Ethan are the only ones who ever became more than friends.”

“What if Chloe thinks we’re into you too?”

“Come on, Mia. Just play along for us.”

My boyfriend answered for me without a second thought.

“What can I say?The five of us have always been this close.”

So I did my best to play the part.

On our spring camping trip, they spent their time taking flattering photos of Chloe while I went off alone to gather firewood.

The trail was rough. I lost my footing, tumbled down a slope, and took three months to recover.

When the six of us took a group photo, they specifically told the makeup artist to make me look uglier.

In the finished photo, I was shoved into a corner, with ugly mustard-yellow eyeshadow on my lids like a dirty stain that wouldn’t come off.

Then, during a trip to an island resort, Mason, Logan, and Noah decided to tell Chloe how they felt on the same day.

They swore that no matter who she chose, it wouldn’t come between them.

I thought the act I’d been forced to play was finally about to end.

But when the three of them told Chloe how they felt, she didn’t answer any of them.

Instead, she looked at my boyfriend, Ethan Blake.

Maybe that was my cue to bow out.

***

Chloe looked at Ethan, her expression earnest.

“Ethan, I like you.”

“Will you give me a chance?”

Ethan glanced at me, then quickly looked away.

“Chloe, I don’t want to turn you down.”

“But I should be the one asking you, not the other way around.”

He hadn’t accepted her.

But he hadn’t rejected her either.

Chloe blinked, then smiled.

“Okay. Then I’ll wait for you.”

I couldn’t hide my shock.

We had known each other for twenty years and dated for five.

After high school, I didn’t get into schools nearly as competitive as the ones he did.

Ethan had turned down a much better school just so we could attend the same college and see each other every day.

One winter, when my cheeks got so dry they started peeling, he carefully peeled an aloe leaf and spread the gel over my skin himself.

I had thought his answer would be simple.

“Sorry. I have a girlfriend.”

But I’d forgotten how much his loyalty to the guys mattered to him.

Of course he wouldn’t embarrass Chloe in front of them.

I opened my mouth to confront him, but Mason grabbed my arm.

“Don’t be mad, Mia. Ethan’s just trying not to upset Chloe.”

“The less he brings you into this, the easier it’ll be for Chloe to see we’re all just friends.”

Logan lowered his voice and chimed in.

“He didn’t say yes to her. What are you freaking out about?”

Noah gave me a pleading look.

“Mia, come on. You’ve got to think about us too.”

“We’ve been trying to win her over for ages. You can’t make us give up halfway.”

I opened my mouth, but in the end, I said nothing.

In the past, I might have argued.

But I was tired of playing this whole “one of the guys” game.

Ethan walked over.

“What are you all gossiping about?”

“The concert’s about to start.”

Mason pulled out his phone.

“Almost forgot. I’ll buy the tickets.”

“Chloe’s been dying to see this show.”

He pulled up the tickets, then gave me an awkward look.

“Uh… there are six of us, but only five tickets left.”

Chloe pouted and pretended to be upset.

“I don’t care. This is the show I wanted to see more than anything.”

“You all have to come with me.”

Logan immediately reassured her.

“Relax, Princess.”

“There’s nothing we can’t figure out.”

Noah made a suggestion.

“Mia’s basically a dude anyway. She wouldn’t even appreciate this kind of music. She can stay at the hotel.”

I looked straight at him.

“Actually, I really wanted to go.”

The concert was the main reason I’d agreed to come on this trip in the first place.

Mason laughed.

“Why are you trying so hard to tag along?”

“You’re more of a dude than any of us. You’d just be wasting a ticket.”

In the end, Ethan made the decision.

“The five of us will go. Mia isn’t into this stuff. She can do her own thing.”

Before he left, he leaned close and tapped the tip of my nose.

“Don’t be mad. There’ll be other concerts.”

“The guys said they’ll treat us to dinner once this whole thing with Chloe works out.”

“Text me when you get back to the hotel.”

I turned my head away from him.

“Forget it.”

“Go ahead. Don’t let me get in the way of your little performance.”

Chloe called his name from a distance.

He didn’t notice the emotion in my voice. He just turned and jogged toward her.

I went back to the hotel alone.

When I opened my social media feed, the same photo appeared five times in a row.

All five of them had posted it.

The caption was the same on every post: Now this is real music.

One of our mutual friends commented underneath.

[The five of you hanging out again?]

[Where’s Mia?]

Logan replied.

[Her? She wouldn’t know culture if it hit her in the face.]

On Chloe’s post, she had even tagged Ethan.