Eva

 

Throwing a few curls in my hair, I stand back and look at myself. Hair and makeup done to perfection. My brown eyes pop and my hair doesn’t have a single piece out of place. Blowing out a breath, I don’t know why I’m nervous, but at least I look good. Running my hands down my blue sundress, I nod. Time to go.

Parking, I get out of my car and walk into the restaurant. “Hi, I’m meeting someone,” I say to the hostess.

“Your name?” she asks.

“Eva.” I give her a smile.

“Oh yes, please follow me,” she says, picking up a menu.

My stomach is in knots and it shouldn’t be. I have no reason to feel like this. It’s ridiculous.

“Hi Eva. Thank you for meeting me.”

“Hi Payton. Thanks for the invite.”

We sit down and for a few minutes we don’t say anything. We just look over the menu. I have no idea why she’s asked me to lunch, but obviously it has to do with Brett.

“I’m sure you were surprised to get a phone call from me,” she says, sipping her water.

“Well yeah, I was,” I say, laughing. “So what’s up?”

“Asher feels really bad about everything with Brett. Believe me I hear it everyday.”

I’m not going to ask, it’s none of my business what the fight was about. So I smile and nod. “Yeah, Brett is stubborn.”

She laughs, agreeing. The waiter takes our order and I fold my hands on the table, waiting for her to continue. She looks happy, like honestly happy. I can’t remember the last time I looked like that. I have happy moments, but sitting here at lunch with Payton, she hasn’t stopped smiling since we sat down. She’s in love. It’s obvious.

She holds out her hand and a beautiful diamond sparkles. “Asher asked me to marry him,” she squeals.

Grabbing her hand with a huge smile, I check it out. It’s stunning and the sparkle is brilliant. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you guys,” I say. I am happy for them. Maybe they are the exception and can get a happily ever after.

“I don’t want to put you in the middle, I really don’t. But I have to. I need you to talk to Brett and get him to answer Asher’s calls. He’s been trying to get ahold of him for months now and he’s met with deafening silence. He needs his friend,” she says, as the food is dropped off.

We start eating as I think about what to say. “I can tell him to answer Asher’s calls, but it doesn’t mean he will.”

She smiles, tilting her head. “Eva, I think you have a little more input than you think.”

I laugh as I take a bite of my salad. “I’m not even sure what that means. The only thing I can do is tell him that you and I had lunch and he needs to talk to Asher. I assume he wants to be the one to tell Brett you guys are getting married.”

“He wants to be the one to ask him to be his best man. Brett’s a good guy and I like him alot, but I love Asher. I need you to help me here, Eva. And when I say you have more input than you think, I mean maybe, just maybe there is something more than friendship going on,” she says, raising her eyebrows.

I fidget in my chair. “I assure you we are only friends. I’ll try talking to him.”

Reaching across the table, she puts her hand on mine. “Eva, please help me fix this.”

I worry I don’t have the input she thinks I do. The need to explain we’re only friends with benefits surfaces, but I bite it back down. I want to help Asher and Brett, they’ve been best friends since as long as I’ve known them both in school. It’s sad Brett is being stubborn about the whole thing. Maybe I can get through to him. Hell, it’s worth a shot.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I reply.

After lunch, I give Payton a hug promising I will do what I can.

I don’t even bother calling Brett, I just show up at his door. Knocking on the door, I rock back and forth on my heels waiting for him to answer. Which of course he does shirtless. I need to stay focused on why I’m here. No sex. This is the best friend part of our relationship.

“Hey, you alright?” he asks, as he ushers me inside.

“Of course I am,” I say, dropping my purse on the small, wood table by the door. “I’m here to talk.”
Crossing his arms, those damn muscles trying to distract me from my mission, he smiles. “Sure, what’s up?”

I give him a small smile and reach out grabbing his hand. “Brett, I had lunch today with Payton…”

“Whoa, what?” he asks, a little louder than I’d hoped for.

“Listen, don’t you go all asshole on me. I’m here as your best friend. I’m trying to help and when you get all nasty asshole, all it does is make me want to punch you in your throat. So, please just shut up and let me say this,” I say.

He nods and I smile. Okay Payton, maybe I do have a little more input than I think.

“I had lunch with Payton. She called and invited me, because she said she wanted to talk. It was a very nice lunch in which we mainly talked about you and Asher. He needs his friend and don’t stand there and act like you don’t need him. Being my friend isn’t the same. You have history with him. He knows things about you that no one else ever will. I don’t know what the fight was about, but it’s time to let it go. Answer the phone when he calls.” I blow out a breath and really want to pat myself on the back.

“As my best friend, I gave you the chance to say what you wanted. Now as mine, you’ll listen to what I have to say, alright?” I nod and he continues. “Yeah okay I’ll admit it, I miss my friend. He’s stuck with me through more shit than I can even remember. He’s the only one who's ever had my back. This fight is because I walked in on them having sex.” I widen my eyes and he laughs. “They were in the kitchen, it’s not like I went wandering around the house looking for them.” We both laugh, but he keeps going. “He yelled, told me to get out and not come in unless I was invited in. It sounds harmless, I know. But he made me feel like I’m no longer welcome in his life, unless it’s his conditions. I’ve never had to be invited into his life, I was just a part of it. So, I know he’s sorry and I know I need to forgive him and move on, it’s just taking me a while.”

My heart hurts. It literally hurts in my chest after listening to him. Grabbing his hand, I lead him to the couch. We sit down, but I don’t let go of his hand. “Brett, he’s not saying you aren’t welcome in his life. He’s saying you need to learn to welcome Payton into your life. He loves her. Like happily ever after, knight in shining armor, kiss the sleeping princess, loves her. You need to understand he’s not replacing you, you were never that person for him. You’re his friend, his brother. But she’s his entire world and he wants you to be a part of that world, just maybe not walking in while they have sex part.”

He searches my eyes, for a while. I’m not sure what I see reflecting in his bright blues, but I just patiently wait. “So, just no walking in while they have sex huh,” he says, grinning. I laugh and he squeezes my hand. “I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it, but okay. I’ll answer the phone when he calls me.”

Well damn. Look at me. I’m like the Brett whisperer. It makes my heart beat a little harder knowing he listened to me and opened up to me. This does mean more than just sex to him.

He trusts me.