Chapter 31: : Chapter 31

“Tell me I’m not the only one who feels like we haven’t spoken to each other in ages, even though I see you almost every day?” Theo says, falling into step with me as we walk out of the office. “Even just grabbing ice cream together ended up taking nearly two full weeks. It’s crazy how things kept coming up.”

I bite back a smile as I think back to all of Archer’s attempts to keep me from going out with Theo. The things that kept coming up might have seemed coincidental to Theo, but they were anything but. “I know what you mean, but it was to be expected,” I tell him. There’s no way Archer was going to make things easy for Theo. “Work keeps us both so busy, and you’ve got Kristen. I saw the photos she’s been posting of everything you two are doing on the weekends. Looks like you’ve nearly made your way through the list I made.”

He tenses, his expression becoming apologetic. “You truly make the best to-do lists.”

My stomach flutters as I think back to the one I made on which my only to-do was Archer. “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I murmur, finally at peace with the fact that I didn’t get to experience any of the things on my list with him.

We pause in front of the ice cream parlor we’d planned to go to, and I frown. “Under new management. Closed for renovations,” I read out, surprised and mildly annoyed. “Ugh. I was really looking forward to trying their Ferrero Rocher flavor.”

“It’s okay,” he tells me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “There’s another one a few blocks away.”

I nod and follow him, my gaze drifting to the arm he’s kept around me. “Don’t do that,” I tell him, gently removing it.

Theo frowns. “Why not? I’ve always done that, Ser.”

I pause and turn to face him. “I know, but you weren’t dating Kristen before.” I sigh and tuck one of my curls behind my ear. “Of course she knows that we’re just friends and nothing would ever happen between us, but quite frankly, I wouldn’t enjoy seeing my boyfriend being so physically close to another woman, no matter how long they’ve been friends.”

I smile at him, and this time, it comes a little easier. Ultimately, I just want the people I love to be happy, and that includes Kristen. Besides, if Theo and I were meant to be, it would’ve happened far sooner. “I just think it’s important to be respectful. I don’t ever want to do anything that would hurt her, and I’m sure you feel the same way.” Kristen and I aren’t as close as we were, but I think with time, maybe we can be again.

His expression hardens. “I don’t, actually.” He steps closer to me and reaches for one of my curls. “When Kristen told me she wanted us to try dating, there’s one thing I made incredibly clear to her. I didn’t want anything between me and you to change, and if she didn’t like the way you and I treat each other, I wasn’t willing to try being with her at all.”

“W-What?”

He cups my face, his eyes burning with something I’ve never seen before. “You’ve always been the most important woman in my life, Serenity. That didn’t change just because I started dating Kristen, so stop avoiding me. Stop ignoring my texts, and stop keeping your distance. Do you have any idea how much I miss you? It’s fucking torture to watch you sit so close to me at the office every damn day when I can feel the distance between us increase each time we talk.”

I lean in to his touch, my heart racing. When he says things like that, the feelings I thought I’d suppressed come roaring back to life. “I didn’t know you felt that way, Theo.”

“No,” he says, frustration ringing through his voice. “There’s a lot you don’t know.” He sighs and pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly, not a care for the fact that we’re standing in the middle of the sidewalk. I breathe him in and hug him back, my head pressed to his chest.

“Just stop acting like we’re no longer friends, okay?” he murmurs into my hair, his grip tight and reassuring. I’d gotten so used to Theo’s long hugs, but now they don’t feel quite right. His arms aren’t quite big enough, and his body isn’t quite hard enough.

It hits me then.

He feels off because he isn’t Archer.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, pulling away to look at him. “I was just trying to do the right thing, for all three of us.”

He places his index finger underneath my chin, and once again, I’m reminded of Archer. It’s something he likes to do when I refuse to meet his eyes. “Don’t decide what is right or wrong all by yourself. What’s right to you feels entirely wrong to me.”

I nod, and he smiles, his arm wrapping around me as he pulls me along, only for his smile to drop when we reach the next ice cream parlor and find that closed too. “What the fuck?” Theo says as we both stare at the same sign that was put up at the last place.

“I’ll just google one nearby,” I murmur, reaching for my phone. I unlock it and instantly turn away from Theo when I find a text message from Archer waiting for me.

Archer

how’s your ice cream?

My stomach flutters, and I smile to myself as I text him back.

Serenity

two of the places we tried going to were closed, so we’re just walking around now.

My heart skips a beat when he texts me back instantly.

Archer

wow, that’s so weird. I’ve got ice cream at home if you want it.

I bite on my lip when he sends me a photo of him on the sofa, gray sweats hanging low enough to expose his Adonis belt and his entire torso bare, a bowl of ice cream balancing on his thigh and the sexiest smirk on his face. Damn. Just the sight of him has me clenching my thighs.

“Found something?” Theo asks, moving closer. I lock my phone immediately, and he frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing,” I tell him, trying my best not to act flustered even as I pull my phone to my chest.

He sees right though me, and something unfamiliar flickers through his eyes. “Who—” He shakes his head and buries a hand in his hair. “No, never mind,” he says, reaching for his phone, his movements a little frantic. “Let me look up a place we can go to.”

I study him, wondering why he didn’t just ask me who I was texting. Was he respecting my privacy, or did he just not want to know?