Page 25 of A Furry Thing Called Love (Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue #7)

Jordan

Valery and I are watching as the dogs run around off-leash at a dog park not far from their apartment. Arlo decided to stay behind, his fatigue still weighing him down, though he hasn’t had any other dizziness since the other day, thankfully.

“Be real with me, Jor,” Val says without prompting.

“What’s going on with you and Arlo? Don’t give me the bullshit ‘we’re just friends’ line.

Look, if I thought it wasn’t reciprocated, I wouldn’t say anything.

I respect you and your choices. I just want you to know you can talk to me about your feelings—even if you’re not entirely sure what they are.

“Anyone who spends more than five minutes in a room with the two of you can see you have feelings for one another. I don’t want you to feel as if you have to hide anything from me.

I don’t know…I just feel like I’m your best friend and whatever you’re going through, I don’t want you to do it alone. ”

I stare at them. “Are you done?”

Val seems to think on it for a moment. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“I love you. I love that you care so much about me that you thought about this and wanted to make sure I knew you were safe. But I already knew that, Valery.” I smile at them.

“I knew it when we were together, I believed it when we broke up, and that’s why you’re my best friend still.

I can’t imagine my life without you in it. As for Arlo… I love him, Val.”

Sighing, I watch the dogs playing for a long moment before continuing.

“When we met, we both knew the score. Arlo was only in town for the summer. I spent that entire summer falling in love with him, even though I knew I wasn’t supposed to.

When he left, I had to admit to myself that I let the best thing to ever happen to me go.

“Seeing him back in town a few months ago… I didn’t know how to handle it. I both wanted to get close to him and stay far far away, because I couldn’t risk having my heart broken again.” Sucking in a breath, I scrub a hand across my eyes, wiping away the tears pooling there.

“We’ve been dancing around each other for months now, and I don’t know what to do.

Our friendship…it’s solid. He’s as much a safe place for me as I am for him.

I all but confessed my feelings for him not long after he moved back, but he hasn’t given me any indication he feels the same.

It’s… Fucking hell, Val, we kissed a few weeks ago, for fuck’s sake, and I’m still not sure if asking for more is the right thing. ”

Valery smacks me, hard, on the arm. “You’re an idiot,” they say. “Arlo looks at you like you hung the moon—when you’re not annoying the shit out of him with your mother henning, but even that I think he likes, far more than I ever did.

“I don’t think you have anything to lose by taking a chance. You already lost him once. I think, if you two mean as much to each other as you believe—taking the romantic aspects out of it—then even if he’s not there yet, or ever, you’ll be okay as friends.”

I grimace. “I hate when you use logic.”

Valery beams. “Isn’t it the best?”

After a few long moments of silence, they say in a gentle tone, “You’re not usually so indecisive, or torn, Jor. Especially not when it comes to relationships. You really like Arlo, don’t you?”

I release a shaky breath. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, not even you—no offense.”

They snort. “None taken. We weren’t right for each other.

Was I broken up about what happened between us?

Of course. I was a mess when I first left, but as we settled into our friendship, I realized your place in my life never changed, we just stopped pretending what we had between us was more.

So when I see you and Arlo together? I see us, but I also see the more we never had.

Trust in yourself, it’s never steered you wrong before. ”

Pulling them into a hug, I kiss the side of their head. “Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you too. Shall we go home so you can talk to your man?”

Rolling my eyes, I let them go. “No. You got me to have my come to Jesus moment, or whatever it was you were aiming for, the rest is none of your damn business.”

“Fine, fine. Excuse me for wanting to see the fruits of my labor.”

“You’re annoying.”

“You love me anyway,” they sing-song.

I ignore them because we both know they’re right. That’s the problem with lovers turned best friends, they know you far too well.