She didn’t take Callum for that kind of guy. And deep down she knew he probably wasn’t. But that still didn’t lessen the sting of what he had said, what he had demanded. Christian was her best friend and if Callum couldn’t give her a reason as to why that shouldn’t be the case then the entire situation was moot. Callum wasn’t worth it.
He wasn’t worth it.
He wasn’t worth it.
He wasn’t worth it.
She repeated that phrase over and over again as she brushed her teeth and waited to hear the familiar honk of the car horn when Christian pulled up.
She expected to feel excitement when that sound rang out, that was her normal emotion whenever Christian was around. But she was somehow not at all shocked that all she felt was a slight disappointment it wasn’t Callum stepping out of the car instead.
“I hope you’re hungry!” Christian said with his winning smile in full force.
“I’m starving,” she lied, but he didn’t seem to catch it as he politely opened the door and helped her in.
She gazed over in his direction when he finally turned on the car. Christian was a gentleman. He was handsome and kind and had a literal heart of gold. He was her best friend. And in that moment, as he was non-stop ranting about how much he hated his roommate for roping him into yoga as an elective, causing a burst of laughter to erupt from her lips at his explanation of his recent poses, she promised herself never to let anyone tear them apart.
******
Lunch was nice and uneventful, which pretty much described most of their interactions. Christian was safe. She had realized that while she watched him devour the plate of pasta in front of him.
He was safe.
He was her routine.
He was also rather boring, and she hated herself for thinking so. She had once thought they’d make a perfect match. She had once
thought she would one day marry him.
But now, after knowing how Callum could make her feel, everything else just felt cold and empty.
That didn't mean that he was a bad person. It didn’t mean she needed to stay away from him. Christian was safe and sweet. He was her best friend, and there was no way anyone, even the magnetic Callum fucking Barker, could ever come between them.
He cleared his throat as he shoved over a stack of papers.
“What’s this?” Sam questioned.
“Your application for Peet’s. I filled it out already; just need your signature. I was going to go ahead and do that, too, but…” he shrugged his shoulders.
“We already talked about this. I’m not working at Peet’s.” Sam furrowed her brows.
“Stop fighting me on this. I already talked to the night shift manager. He has a spot for you lined up. You start next week. This paperwork is just for formality purposes.”
“Christian, I’m not working at Peet’s.” She bored her eyes into him, hoping he got the message.
“Sam. Stop being ridiculous. I did this for you. Don’t make me look like an–”
“Hey, Sam!”
Sam looked up to see Cassy headed toward her.
They had shared a lab freshman year and, even though Cassy had changed her major to childhood education, they had sporadically kept in touch. She liked her and they had even contemplated sharing an apartment for sophomore year. Sam jumped up to give her a quick hug, thankful for the interruption, and hoping that it would cause Christian to forget about that stupid job she didn’t want.
It was only after she had asked Cassy the same question twice about how she was doing that she realized Cassy wasn’t paying a damn bit of attention to her. She caught Cassy’s eyes and followed their trail to Christian.
The two were in a downright death match of a stare. Christian had the oddest expression glued to his face. Sam couldn't tell if he was going to punch something or vomit. And then Cassy turned back to Sam squeezed her shoulders and promptly turned to walk away. She was out of the restaurant before Sam could even contemplate what the hell just happened.
“Are you just going to stand there and stare at the door, or are you going to sit back down and sign this?”