Free I Saw You by Elena M. Reyes

and she was gone.
    Swiftly through the crowd she vanished, leaving me perplexed as all fuck.
    “That, right there…” Cris spoke, his finger pointed in the general direction of where she’d gone “…is trouble.”
    “I’m starting to see that.”
    “You’re playing a dangerous game with that one, bro.” His exasperated tone caught me off guard. “Get rid of her. Arianna will never look at you otherwise…no woman will put up with your agreement with Ashley.”
    “Don’t you think I know that?” Fisting my hair in my hand, I pulled on the ends. “Again, a rock and a hard place, fucked either way. At the moment, I’m doomed. Do you not remember the press conference after we won? They’d eat her alive.”
    “Not your choice to make.” Tex stopped a waitress as she passed beside us with a tray of what looked to be champagne. Taking a gulp, he scrunched up his face. “Not my favorite, but it’d have to do until I make it to the bar.”
    “What the fuck do you mean, ‘not my choice’?” Following his lead, I reached out and took a glass for myself. “Whose is it, then? Slim doesn’t deserve it.” They reluctantly agreed with a nod. “Plus…” taking a sip, I savored the crisp taste of the champagne on my tongue before swallowing “…how fair would it be to Ashley? She’ll be labeled as the one who couldn’t keep her man from straying—the victim—and I, the cheating bastard.”
    “Stop right there,” Cris spat, anger radiating off his stiff posture. Threw me off, to be honest. “She knew just what she was signing up to do when she weaseled her way into the position she now holds. For fuck’s sake…it was her idea to begin with.”
    “Watch it.” A warning. No matter what, Ash was like family to me, and no one would bad mouth her.
    “No, Chester.” Rick stepped forward, taking a stand between Cris and me. I might not like the way he was referring to her, but I’d never hit the guy. “I’m sorry, bro, but Cris is right. That you might not want to realize the girl’s in love with you is one thing, but you can’t expect to block out the sun with a finger. She found a weakness and capitalized.” Putting his hand on my shoulder, he squeezed twice and moved to stand next to the other two. “Girl took advantage of the situation. Has cock-blocked you at every turn. Think about it for one second. When was the last time you wet your dick?”
    Too long. But the girl was my best friend. She wouldn’t do that on purpose, or would she?
    “It’s not like that,” I tried to defend, much to their annoyance.
    “Yes, it is,” Tex cut in before tossing a few olives in his mouth from a tray nearby. “Until you cut that cord, you’ll always be stuck alone. I’m not trying to be a dick, Cheetos. We all love Ashley like family,” he said the word with mild disgust, “but the girl is stuck to you like glue. You’re hurting each other.”
    “Am I just supposed to drop her on her ass? That’s messed up.”
    “We’d never ask you to and you know that.” Cris let out a loud huff before turning to look over at the dance floor. “Just talk to Arianna and see what she says—how understanding she can be, but mark my words, this situation will come back and bite you in the ass. No woman’s ever going to be okay with being number two.”
    “What if Slim doesn’t agree?” And that right there was something that worried me. Looking up toward the ceiling, I counted to ten before facing the band once more. “How do I split with Ash and protect her at the same time? I have to be fair to both. But I have a feeling that no matter what I do, someone will get hurt.”
    “It’s her choice to make, not yours.” Tex grunted before turning around and following after a tall and leggy blonde who’d walked by. A waitress from what I could tell.
    Dressed in all black with a short ruffled skirt, a matching lacy bra, and elbow length gloves, she had all the men inside the room salivating at the chosen