Free Distraction by Angela McPherson Page A

' re in love with her."
    I opened my mouth to speak, but my tongue suddenly felt too
thick. How I felt toward Elle wasn ' t fair to Kellie, but I couldn't flip a switch and turn it
off. God knows I ' ve tried–it just never helped. Besides, what the hell was she
talking about? Elle didn ' t look at me the way she suggested.
    "I ' m here with you. You ' ve gotta trust me." I kept my
arms around her and lowered her head against my chest. "There is nothing
between me and Elle, okay?" I had to stop for a second. I felt my voice
crack. I didn ' t want to lose her. "Kellie, you ' re what ' s real. I ' m here with you.
I love you, so don ' t let this get in the way of us being happy."
    Kellie lifted her head from my chest. Her tears had dried,
but she still looked unsure. I had to make her understand. "I am here with
you. I love you and I won ' t end this because what we have is real."
    "I–" She stopped. "I ' m okay with you
being friends, but why can ' t you understand that I don ' t want you to
hang out with her without me?"
    " Elle' s busy and she has a lot on her plate right now. If she
calls, I won ' t hold back. She ' s my friend and only my friend. Okay?" I cupped her face
in my hands willing her to understand how I felt.
    "Okay," she breathed out.
    “Okay." I pulled her back to me and hoped like hell it
would be.

 
     
    Elle
     
    After work the next day, I dialed Tristan ' s number, but a
female voice answered the line instead. On the verge of apologizing, the person
giggled. Kellie. In an all too cheery voice, she agreed to put Tristan on the
phone. When I heard kissing noises in the background, I nearly gagged. Another
milestone to overcome.
    When he answered, I asked if Kellie still wanted to go with
me and Alyssa tomorrow night. He held his hand over the receiver, urging her to
go. When he got back on the line, he agreed to drop Kellie off tomorrow evening
around seven. Yay, apparently I had a thing for being miserable.
     
    * * *
     
    The party tonight wasn ' t themed, just our annual beginning
of the year bash with open invitations, but I wanted to look my best tonight.
Alyssa let me borrow her cute yellow summer dress and sandals. I actually
applied mascara after curling my long black lashes.
    "You should totally wear mascara more often,"
Alyssa encouraged when I walked out of the bathroom and into our room.
    "I don't look bad, then?" I didn ' t usually wear
makeup and didn ' t think women should hide behind a mask to make them feel
better about themselves. Though I had to admit the mascara gave me a boost of
confidence.
    "Nope, it makes your eyes look smokin ' hot. I bet Eric
will notice the difference too, along with the dress. You ' re so gonna kill
tonight." Alyssa wiggled her eyebrows at me.
    Eric and I had gone out a few times, but I never pursued
anything with him. He was cute, tall with sandy blond hair, and gorgeous, deep
smoky-blue eyes.
    Tisha popped her head in our room. "Hey, Elle, your
hot-ass friend is here with some girl. She kinda looks like you. Weird, huh?
Oh. By the way, I am glad he ' s on the team with my brother. I can totally eye him up when
he ' s on the field.
I still cannot believe you held out on me this long. I may have to reconsider
us being friends." She folded her arms and shook her head playfully.
    "Thanks. I think."
    " No prob ." Tisha waved on her way out.
    "Hey, do you think Kellie and I look alike?"
    "I guess I could see a resemblance. You both have the
same hair color, and are about the same height," she stopped for a second,
"but you ' re way hotter than the twerp."
    I bit my bottom lip, thinking over what she ' d said. Alyssa
frowned.
    "You have nothing to worry about, Elle. I bet this
stupid engagement won ' t last anyway. Besides, what the hell is he thinking? And
Tristan of all people?" Alyssa shook her head, creating a gauntlet of corn
white curls around her shoulders. "He ' s always been a
ladies’ man. I wouldn ' t be surprised if his old promiscuous tendencies