“Still.” Derek rolls his eyes and mumbles something like ‘how am I the one that’s single’ before he turns to me. “You need to do more. Right now, those flowers scream, ‘I love you, so I hope we can still be friends.’”
“No,” I deny, shaking my head. Then I think back to her giving me the sandwich. Was that a romantic gesture or her wanting to be friends again? I pinch the bridge of my nose. I swear I will literally yell if I get fucking friend zoned again.
“Yeah.”
“He’s right,” Mike pops in. Chris and Garret nod their heads.
“What about you?” I ask Warren, who’s been silent this whole time. “You’re the only one in a healthy relationship—”
“Uh, hello?” Chris protests, but I keep going.
“What do you think?”
Warren shrugs. “Fuck, man, I don’t know. I barely made things right with Jane in time.”
“Right, but Viv and Jane are tight. You have to have heard something from her?”
He clears his throat and sighs. “The only thing I heard was Viv was thinking she couldn’t be friends with Jane and the other girls because you two broke up.”
I frown. “What the fuck? Why would she think that?”
“I don’t know. Enzo said something about her always worrying about overstepping with his friends and that might have something to do with it.”
“You talked to Enzo about Viv?”
Why did that piss me off?
“He asked. Said Viv hasn’t really been talking to him much, and he doesn’t want her to pull away.” Warren gives me a sympathetic look. “He cares for both of you, wants to see you work out.”
“Which is why”—Derek slices a hand through the air, gaining our attention, likely his only goal—“we need to help you win her back.”
I sit back against the couch and sigh. “I want her to know I’m serious, but if I announce to her what I want, I think she’ll run scared. That’s why I’ve been easing her into it with flowers.”
“Well, she’s not going to think, ‘Oh wow, flowers, I should marry him,’” Derek says sarcastically, his voice arced in a falsetto. “So I hope that’s not your plan.”
I remain silent, staring daggers at my friend, and Garrett cracks up.
“No fucking way. You were going to ask her to marry you?”
“Are you serious?” Derek screeches.
“That’s amazing,” Mike says deadpan, and I give him a look. He’s new to the group but can be just as big of a dick as the rest of us.
“I wasn’t going to jump right to it. I was going to start talking to her again, then maybe do a date or two, then… seal the deal.”
“Honestly…” Warren starts and then sighs. “It’s not the worst idea. It shows commitment.”
“Exactly,” I say, thanking him. “I want her to know I’m serious.”
“But… maybe not the best idea to jump into it like that.”
I deflate. “Fuck.” I rub a hand over my face. “Then I don’t know what to do.”
“Let’s figure this out,” Warren says, slapping me on the shoulder. “You’re not gonna lose your girl after you just got her, but you need a plan.”
“Yeah, a plan,” Derek agrees, rubbing his hands together. “Where should we start?”
Chapter Forty-Nine