In Love With My Best Friend (2 page)

“I
hate moving!” I said as I put a box down onto the hardwood
floor of my new condo. I took a quick inspection of the place
and at the various boxes scattered throughout the large space.
“It’s going to take more than a day to get this place together.”
“Well, if you need the help, I’ll be here,” my friend Charles Robinson
said as he put another box near the sofa.
“Thanks, man. I need a break; you want anything?”
“Sure.”
I went over to the counter and grabbed two bottled waters. I threw one
at Charles, which he caught before it hit the ground.

I went over to the couch and sat down, taking a swig of the cold beverage. As the water started to trickle down my throat, I started to think
about Camille and the look she gave me before going back into the ballroom last night. Of all the years we’d been friends, I’d never seen her
look that sexy, let alone flirt with me. I didn’t know whether I should
mention anything to Charles about what I was feeling, because to be
honest, I didn’t even know what I’m feeling. Charles noticed I had a
serious look on my face. He took a box that was sitting in an armchair
and put it on the floor. He sat down and gave me a stern look.
“What’s on your mind? You look kind of serious.”

I took another sip of water and sighed.
“I don’t know if I should bring it up.”
“Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
“I guess between getting married, the new job, and the move, I’m starting to imagine things.”
“Like what?”

“Camille. I was getting some strange vibes from her last night. One
minute I was thinking about the engagement and having a decent time
at the party, but when I saw Camille, something in me just changed.”

“Trevor, you can’t deny that Camille is fine. She always has been. I’m
surprised you never hit that.”
“Really, Charles? She’s like a sister to me.”
“Please! You’re trying to tell me of all the time you’ve known Camille,
you never had one romantic or sexual thought about her?”
“I’m not blind, Charles. I always found Camille attractive; I just never
wanted to cross that line with her.”

“Why are you bringing it up then if Camille is just a friend? Besides,
aren’t you getting married to Chelsea; the woman you’ve been with
since college?”

“I know; it was just something I noticed, that’s all.”
“OK, enough about you and your best friend. Did Chelsea go back to
Dallas?”

“Yeah, she had to tie up some loose ends with her job before returning.
I know she didn’t want to leave, but with my new job, there was no way
we could live apart for so long.”

“I understand. What is she going to do for a job?”

“She thought she could get a transfer, but unfortunately someone already has her title at the Houston office, so she has to look for another
job.”

“That sucks. Tell her good luck.”
“She’ll be fine. She has some leads so far.”
The doorbell rang, causing me to wonder who was at the door.
“Who could that be?” I asked as I walked to the door.

I opened it to reveal Camille on the other side of the door. She flashed
a sweet smile at me, which made my heart go pitter-patter. Don’t know
why because that had never happened before.

“Hey, I was in the area and wanted to stop by and see how everything
was going. Hey, Charles,” she said as she noticed Charles sitting down.
“Hey, Cam. I have to say, you looked gorgeous last night.” He complimented her while giving me a smug look.
I shook my head at Charles as I tried to get any thoughts of how sexy
my best friend looked last night out of my head.
“Thanks, Charles.”
“Where are my manners? Come in,” I said as I stepped out the entryway so Camille could walk in. She glanced at the boxes and smiled.
“I see you haven’t unpacked yet.”
“No, got a few more things to get before unpacking. If you’re not busy,
maybe you could help me arrange some of the stuff in here.”
“I guess I could, but it’s going to have to cost you dinner.”
“Deal,” I said as I gave Camille a wide grin.
Camille suddenly became shy as she gave a tiny smile and looked toward the beige wall.
I observed Charles giving us a look that read “sure-you’re- just-friends”
as he moved from the chair and toward the door.
“I’m going to go run an errand. Call me if you need me.”
“Will do. Thanks, Charles.”
“No problem. Bye, Cam.”
“Bye, Charles,” Camille said as Charles closed the door behind him.
As I went to the door to lock it, I turned around and stared at Camille.
“I guess we should get started.”

After two hours of unpacking various items and putting them in their
appropriate spots, Camille and I decided to take a break. We were
spread out on the floor eating Chinese food and watching a DVD.
Since my cable wouldn’t be installed until the next day, we decided to
watch
Sleepless in Seattle,
which was one of Camille’s favorite movies.

“After all the times I have watched this movie, it never gets old.”
“I’m sure. You even have me knowing majority of the lines.”
“Oh, come on. You know you like this movie.”
I glared at Camille with a small smile on my lips. “Maybe I do.”
Camille laughed as she put her chopsticks into one of the cardboard
cartons. She took out a spoon of noodles and placed it in her mouth.
“How is the wedding coming along? I do have to admit, I was a little
surprised when you said the wedding date was in three weeks.”
“Why are you surprised? I think Chelsea and I have waited long enough
to get married. We’ve been together for eight years.”
“I know, but you just got engaged.”

“We didn’t want a long engagement. Cam, I’m thirty years old and I’m
ready to settle down. I’ve done all I wanted to do in regard to the single
life, so I’m ready to see what marriage is about.”

“Haven’t you already? You and Chelsea have been living together in
Dallas.”

“Technically we haven’t been. We agreed to live separately until we got
married. It was Chelsea’s idea.”
“Well, that’s good in a sense. When will Chelsea get back from Dallas?
I know she mentioned last night that she was leaving today.”

“She’ll be back two weeks before the wedding. She did have some news
to share with you, so you should be receiving a call soon.”
“Great,” Camille said softly as she took a sip of her water.

“I was thinking about doing something special for the wedding by surprising Chelsea during the couple’s dance. I want to actually know how
to dance, so I signed up for ballroom dancing.”

“Trevor, you can dance. Why do you need lessons?”
“I wanted to do something extra special, that’s all. I was hoping you
would be my dance partner for the class.”
Camille looked at me and smiled. “Fine, but it’s going to cost you.”
“Of course, name it.”
“Can’t think of anything right now, but when I need something, you’ll
know.”
I gave Camille a smile as I removed some noodles from her carton.
“Really?”
I put the noodles in my mouth and laughed at the pout Camille was
giving me.
Wow, she looks sexy
, I thought as I stared at her.
What am I thinking?

I

loved hanging out with Trevor. It seemed like old times as we used
to sit in my living room watching TV shows and making fun of the
actors. Now that he had moved back I felt great knowing that he would
be around when I needed him. But now that he would be a married
man, how much longer could I rely on him to be there for me?

While he was eating, I had to take a quick peek at my friend, who even
in relaxed mode looked hot. Dressed in a blue T-shirt and gray sweatpants, with his hair semi-messy from moving, he still pulled off the
sexiness without even trying.

“I didn’t realize it was so late. If you want, I could come by tomorrow
and help you finish.”
“Why don’t you just spend the night? You could sleep in the bed while
I take the couch.”
I started to become a little hot by the thought. I didn’t know if I should
even ponder the thought, let alone do it.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I probably should just head out.”

“Cam, what’s the problem? It’s not like we never spent the night before. If you’re worried about Chelsea, she would be cool with it. She
pretty much considers you her sister.”

I don’t think she would if she knew what I was thinking right now
, I thought as
I looked at Trevor again.
“Fine, but if I’m staying, we have to continue unpacking.”
“We can do that tomorrow.”

“We were just taking a break with dinner, so now the break’s over,” I
said as I got up from the floor and went to the trash bin to throw away
my carton.

“Fine, we can get back to work if you tell me what happened between
you and Eric.”
I turned around from the bin to look at Trevor. “Why do you need to
know?”
“I don’t know; this is the third guy you broke up with in almost two
years. What gives?”
“Nothing, Eric just wasn’t the right guy.”
He’s not you.

Trevor got up from the floor and started to stretch, half of his shirt
rising up to reveal his rock-solid abs. I had to bite my lip to keep from
uttering a word. He walked over to me and put his arms around me.

“I can’t argue with that. Cam, you’re a wonderful woman, and I just
want you to find the right man who will treat you like you need to be
treated. I only want what’s best for you.”
The look he gave me at that moment made my knees go weak. I don’t
know how I could be in the same room with him, let alone his condo
for the whole night. Sure, we spent the night together, but nothing ever
happened, and just having him close by made me restless.

“I know you do, and I will find him someday. There’s still hope for me.
Look at you and Chelsea.”
“Yeah, we’re perfect together,” he said as he walked toward the coffee
table to pick up the rest of the empty cartons.

I could hint a sense of regret as he went over to the trash bin. Our
arms brushed against each other, causing us to share a brief gaze. I
quickly walked over to the nearest box sitting near the couch and begin
to pull out its contents.

Trevor came up to me as he put the item I had in my hand back into
the box and turned me around. “Let’s do something fun.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“You’ll see. Come on,” he said as he held out his hand.
I laid my hand in his as he grabbed his keys, and we headed toward the
door.

I

had to
find something to do to get us out of my condo. The sexy way
Camille looked at me earlier made me even more confused. Throughout the years, I had always kept any type of feelings I had for her at bay.
I never really wanted to think about them, let alone pursue them.

Being friends with Camille had always been great for me, so I never
wanted to ruin it if we did enter into a relationship. That was also why
I decided to give Chelsea a chance. Although I loved Chelsea, there
would probably always be a tiny part of me wondering what things
would have been like if Camille and I were together.

But I can’t think about that. I’m marrying Chelsea.

As I pulled into the parking lot to the Downtown Aquarium, I paid
for parking and went to the nearest spot available. Camille gave me a
huge smile.

“This should be fun,” she said.
“Definitely. Remember the last time we were here?”
“How could I forget? We had such a great time, especially on the Ferris
wheel.”

“Well, tonight let’s not worry about anything but us two having fun,” I
said as I got out of the car.
I walked over to the passenger side and opened the door. Camille got
out of the car, and we both traveled to the entrance.

The Aquarium is one of the central attractions in downtown Houston
that is not just known for its aquatic exhibits. The attraction is also a
mini amusement park, complete with games and a Ferris wheel. After
getting our tickets, we decided to head over to the carnival booths,
which Camille loved. Personally, I thought they were a rip-off, but it
was fun to be competitive sometimes.

“Basketball Shootout? Winner has to pay for a funnel cake,” Camille
said.
“You’re on.”

As we gave the attendant our tickets, we waited for him to hand us a
couple of basketballs. I gave Camille a wink as she held her basketball
in position.

“You’re going down, Williams,” she warned.

As the game began, I started to throw the basketballs into the basket while watching the timer quickly ticking away. Camille had already
scored ten points, which give me a slight disadvantage since I’d only
scored two.

The timer ended and Camille won by three, making me the loser of
our bet.
“Of course I’m the winner,” Camille said, while laughing.
“You had a slight advantage.”
“How so?”
“The baskets were more on your height level.”
“Oh please, Williams. Now where is my funnel cake?”
“Coming right up, after we take a spin on the Ferris wheel.”
Camille smiled as I took her hand in mine and went toward the attraction to wait in line.

After being seated and waiting on the other passengers to sit, I leaned
over to Camille and gave her a light push. “You plan on bringing a date
to the wedding?”

“I’m not sure. I probably won’t though.”
A tiny part of me was thrilled to hear her answer, making me wonder,
why should I care if Camille brought a date?

“I’m thinking about swaying away from dating for a while. I’ve had too
much bad luck with men lately. Just the other day, I was thinking about
going onto one of those dating sites I keep hearing about at work; either that or speed dating. We’re actually planning an event next month,
so I might give it a try.”

“Do you really want to do that? Don’t you want to find someone the
natural way?”
“I do, but sometimes it gets a little frustrating.”
“That’s because you’re expecting it. Give it some time.”

“I think I waited enough time for my dream man,” Camille said silently.
I looked at Camille, wondering what she was implying, when the Ferris
wheel made a sudden move. I knew Camille got nervous when the
wheel began to move, so I placed her hand in mine and gave it a small
squeeze. She turned toward me and gave me a tiny smile. She put her
head on my shoulder, giving me a chance to take in the sweet floral
scent she was wearing.

I really didn’t know what was going on with me, but at that moment,
I suddenly started to see the girl I was just friends with as something
more.

This is definitely not good.

After the Ferris wheel, I bought Camille a funnel cake, which we shared
while staring at the night sky and enjoying the wonderful breeze blowing softly. We stayed at the Aquarium for another hour before heading
back to my place. As soon as we walked in the door, Camille went
straight to the couch and fell down on the soft cushion.

“Had fun?” I asked as I sat beside her.
“Of course, it brought back old memories.”
“It did for me too. Chelsea doesn’t normally do stuff like that; I guess
that’s why it means so much to me when we do them.”
“Well, I’m always here if you need the occasional Basketball Shootout
or Ferris wheel adventure.”
I smiled. “Definitely.”

“Well, I guess I’ll call it a night,” Camille said as she moved from the
couch.
I took Camille’s hand, preventing her from moving. “Stay up with me.
I haven’t seen you in so long, I want us to hang out like we used to.”

Camille gave me an unsteady glance as she sat back down on the couch.

I picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV. I
needed to break the ice between us since it suddenly became chilly in
the room.

“Can I at least change first? I would like to be comfortable,” Camille
implied.
“Sure, you can wear any of my T-shirts that are in the bedroom. It’s the
last door on your left.”
“Thanks,” Camille said as she ventured off toward the back of the
condo.

I went to my entertainment center to retrieve another DVD to put
into the player. A few minutes later, Camille walked back into the living
room wearing one of my plaid shirts. Although I tried hard not to, I
couldn’t help but stare at her legs and how toned they looked. She left
three buttons undone, giving a little peek at her smooth caramel skin
as well as her breasts. I suddenly needed some water to help cool off
whatever urges I was having. I went into the kitchen to get a glass of
water.

“Sorry, I know you said a T-shirt, but I decided to opt for one of your
plaid shirts. Hope you don’t mind.”
If you only knew what I was thinking right now,
I thought as I started to
check out my friend again.
“Is everything OK?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. It actually looks better on you than me.”
Camille smiled as she went back over to the couch.
This is going to be a long night.