I moved him to a lying-down position and he managed to get his own pants off. He wore boxer briefs, but I covered him quickly, already feeling strange stripping him down while he was so intoxicated. I didn’t bother with his socks.
“I’m going to—” I said at the same time as he said, “Lay with me.”
I stared at him. His eyes were open and they were clear. “Just for a minute.”
“Okay,” I said and sat down next to him. I cleared my throat and laid down with enough distance to not make this weird.
Within seconds, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. His body was warm against mine and I closed my eyes, taking it all in. I knew he was only being this way because he’d been drinking, but it felt incredible to have him hold me.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he said, his hot breath tickled my ear.
“We’re both lucky. Not a lot of people can say they’ve had a friend as long as we have.”
He sighed. “I wished things could have been different between us.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “How do you mean?”
He moved a chunk of hair off of my face. He traced that line again and his finger left a trail of warmth across my face. “I love our friendship, but I want to be a risk-taker like Kenneth and go after my best friend.”
My mouth went dry. Was my engaged best friend telling me that he’d thought of us in a relationship? Just as I had so many times before? “Parker, I don’t think you mean that.”
“Oh, I do, I wonder about it a lot. Especially recently.”
“Why recently?”
“Because of the wedding. Seeing you at the overlook made me want to see you there in a white wedding dress, coming down the aisle toward me.”
I let out a slow breath. This was getting serious very quickly. I wasn’t sure what to say. Should I open up about my feelings too? If there was any moment to do it, this was it.
“Parker, I feel the same way.”
“You do?”
“I think I do.”
He sighed heavily.
I was losing him. If I was going to get this off my chest, then I had to do it soon.
“I think I love you as more than a friend.” I laughed against his arm. “That’s crazy, right? I mean, gosh, I really don’t know what I mean.”
He snuggled closer to me and whispered in my ear, “I love you….”
I pulled my arms up and held him closer to me. I closed my eyes and tried to take a mental picture of all of this. Could we really be like Harriet and Kenneth? The perfect couple that I admired and loved?
“Rachel,” he said, and then his breathing slowed.
Wait, what? Did he say I love you, Rachel? My lower lip trembled. Embarrassment crashed over me. How could I have been so stupid? I actually believed what he said to be true. He was shit-faced and muttering about things that weren’t true. He probably was mixing up me and Rachel in his little speech.
“Parker?” I said.
He started to snore softly, and heat flashed behind my eyes. He was asleep. Right after he called me Rachel.
I waited a few more minutes until I knew he was completely passed out. It was torture just sitting there, stewing over how he just crushed my heart with one stupid word. I didn’t want to risk waking him up and him telling me all of these lies again. It hurt too much. I had allowed myself to get built up by his speech. And for one moment, I’d had a glimmer of hope for us. I wasn’t this girl. When did I become this girl? The one who pined for her best friend after he was engaged. It was ludicrous.
Once his breathing steadied, I moved his arm off of me and slid out from under him. I made sure he was positioned on his side before I left the room. As much as I was pissed at him for getting my hopes up, I wanted him to be safe and taken care of. I’d thrown the party and taken him home; he was my responsibility.
I poured a glass of water from the kitchen tap and found a bottle of aspirin in the bathroom. I put the glass and bottle on the side table and made sure he was comfortable before turning off the lights and leaving the bedroom.