Curvy Girls Can’t Date Best Friends by Kelsie Stelting

Fifty-Two

CARSON

As I walked into Zara’s living room, I half expected to hear crashing and banging upstairs. Instead, there was silence. And some laughing. But not the malicious kind. With a shrug, I walked closer to the couch, and the guys noticed me approaching.

Ray stuck out his hand from where he sat on one side of the couch, and I slapped him a high five. Kai nodded at me, and Ronan did the same. Finally, Beckett stood from the couch and faced me. Before he could say anything, I said, “I’ve been meaning to call, but turns out there’s not a great way to say sorry for being a jerk.”

Beckett chuckled quietly. “No, but that was pretty good.” He pulled me into a one-arm hug and patted my back. “Welcome home.”

I grinned at him. “Thanks.” There was so much more to say, but we’d been friends long enough, I felt like he got it.

“Are you coming back to my place?”

“Nah,” I answered, dropping onto the couch beside Ronan. The other guys seemed to have their mind back on the TV. “Callie’s family is letting me sleep in their guest room again.”

“Whoa, seriously?” Beckett raised his eyebrows. “I thought her parents were stricter.”

I shrugged. “They said we were about to be on our own in college, so they wanted us to practice ‘setting boundaries.’”

From beside me, Ronan smirked. “That should be fun.”

The tips of my ears felt hot as I realized what he’d alluded to. Not that I had anything against that; we just were taking things slow. In some ways, it felt like we’d been together all our lives, but in others... Callie and I were still getting used to being more than friends. Not that I’d ever get used to the fact that she was mine. That still seemed too good to be true.

I leaned back in the couch and half-watched the ballgame on the TV, just thinking about the last few months. So much had changed, and I couldn’t even be mad about it. I’d go through it all over again if that’s what it took to get to Callie. To get to myself.

About an hour later, I grabbed one of my bags from the car and dug through it until I found my suit from prom. It wasn’t the thousand-dollar tuxes I was sure everyone else would be wearing, but it was fine for a dark theater.

The game had gone into extra innings by the time I heard giggles at the stairs. Zara came down first, then Ginger, Jordan, Rory, Merritt, and finally...

I stood up and watched in awe as my girl came toward me. “Wow,” I breathed. She wore a light silver dress that clung to her waist and draped around her hips. Even more stunning was her face framed with curls so soft I wanted to wind my fingers through them. Her lips were bright pink, making me want to kiss them that much more. “You look stunning.”

She bashfully batted her long eyelashes, but she had no need to be insecure. Callie in this dress was...everything.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said, smiling up at me.

I kissed the smile right off her lips.

“Okay, lovebirds,” Merritt said. “We have to get out of here.”

Callie looked at me, concerned. “I completely forgot to ask. How are we getting there?”

Merritt waved her purse over her shoulder like we should follow her. “You’re riding with me.”