Friend Zone

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Electronic Release: July 2014

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

Teagan and her best friend Sage spend every dateless Saturday night together. Both have managed a solid six-month dry spell, and both are getting frustrated, with their love lives and each other.

As the night wears on, they discover that maybe their lack of dates has more to do with each other than they ever realized, and maybe the “friend zone” they’ve put each other in is not as clearly defined they thought.

Chapter One

“So, what piece of crap movie have you chosen for us tonight?” Sage came barreling through my front door with a case of beer in one hand and his keys dangling from the other.

“Gee, thanks,” I snapped as I met him to take the booze to the fridge. “As you well know, I have excellent taste in cinema. Just because you refuse to acknowledge anything that doesn’t have Bruce Willis in it doesn’t mean my movies are crap.”

“Yes, it does,” he said as he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead and snagged a bottle from the box before I could put it away. “Fine, what critically acclaimed snooze-fest did you choose for our viewing pleasure?”

“
Wrath of Khan
,” I said smugly as I tucked the case onto a shelf in my nearly empty fridge.

“I take back every cruel thing I’ve ever said about you,” he replied, his voice full of awe.

“Yeah, yeah. Go set up my DVD player.”

“That’s why you really invite me over here,” he huffed as he walked away. “You’re too damn short to reach the cords of your own electronics.”

I watched him walk out of the kitchen, and my eyes traveled down to his ass. He was wearing a pair of loose-fitting jeans that hung perfectly off his narrow hips. My lip was between my teeth as he stepped out of my line of sight, and I bit down hard enough to shake me from my admiration.

Sage and I had been best friends for almost ten years. I had no right to be looking at his ass or thinking about his hips, thighs, hands, eyes or any other part of him. And I certainly didn’t have the right to have been thinking of such things, and more, for the last year.

We’d started this stupid movie night as a way to entertain each other if we both happened to end up dateless on a Saturday night. It used to be a once a month occurrence, but for the last six months, we’d managed to spend every weekend together watching movies, drinking beer and just enjoying each other’s company.

Sage really had no excuse for his dry spell. He was smart, funny, handsome and employed. Guys like him were a hell of a catch if one could snag him. He explained his datelessness away to the fact he only dates
really
smart girls, and he hasn’t found one lately to meet his standards. Since his last two…girlfriends, I guess, were not exactly Mensa members, his sarcasm was not lost on me.

I wasn’t about to complain though. While I had no desire to ruin our friendship by suggesting it change to accommodate any sexual frustrations I was currently experiencing, I wasn’t about to turn down any chance to hang out with him. If he was content to sit in my apartment every Saturday and argue over my taste in movies, he was welcome here.

“Yo, Teagan!”

“I’m like six feet away,” I said as I walked into the living room. “You don’t have to scream. What the hell do you want?”

“The batteries in your remote are dead, and I can’t get past the menu screen on the player.”

“Well, damn, I don’t have any more.”

“Go steal the ones out of your vibrator,” he said.

“Very funny,” I huffed, but I felt the heat creeping up my neck as embarrassment flooded me.

“Ha!” He pointed at me and grinned. “I knew it. Get your ass in there and steal me some batteries, woman—unless your magic wand takes D-Cells or something.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I grumbled as I grabbed the remote out of his hand and shook the batteries loose from the sockets. “I’ll throw them on the charger, and they should have enough juice to work in a little bit.”

I walked away, seething at myself for showing him any emotion at his mention of sex toys. I’d said way worse things to him during the course of our friendship, so I had no idea why such a simple joke would get that kind of rise out of me.

I plugged the batteries into the wall charger and turned around, bumping into Sage’s chest in the process. I hadn’t even heard him move up behind me.

“Jesus,” I said as I put a hand to his chest. The firmness of his body made my fingers curl against his skin instinctively, my nails barely digging into him.

“Nah,” he said, taking my hand in his. “But thanks for the compliment.”

I looked up at him, and for just a second, I thought I saw his gaze darken, but then his grin was back and I figured I must have imagined it. Pulling my arm away from him, I turned back to the kitchen, desperately trying to think of something to say.

“I’m hungry,” I announced finally. “Do you want Chinese or pizza?”

“Pizza,” he said. “If you order Chinese, you’re just going to send me out for tacos in four hours, and I was hoping to get drunk and crash on your couch tonight.”

“Mi Casa is…you know, your sofa.” I shrugged. “But you have to order the pizza.”

He heaved a heavy sigh and pulled out his phone. While he dialed, I shuffled through some drawers in hopes of finding some errant batteries. With a triumphant “ah-ha” I pulled two copper tops from the back of a cupboard then went back into the living room to place them in the remote.

By time Sage followed me out, I already had the movie cued and was curled up on the sofa. He dropped down next to me, much closer than necessary and flung his arm behind my head.

“So,” he said, turning to nuzzle my ear. “You come here often?”

I shoved him away and glared up at him. “What is your problem tonight?”

“What?” he asked, though his attempt at an innocent tone failed completely. “I’m just playing around. What’s got your knickers in a twist?”

I crossed my arms across my chest and turned to stare at the television. I hoped the heat I felt creep over my cheeks wasn’t visible to him. His playfulness had rocketed straight to my core and caused an overwhelming sensation of flat-out need for him. It was taking every ounce of self-control I possessed not to straddle his legs and beg him to put me out of my misery.

This reaction was confusing the hell out of me. Sage and I had been friends for years, and I’d never thought of him sexually until recently. I knew my lack of release was ratcheting up my frustration, but I had no right to take it out on him.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “You’re acting really weird.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, turning to look at him again. “I’ll snap out of it.”

He looked as if he was about to say something else, but a knock on the door prompted him to jump to his feet and run to get the pizza.

I lay my head back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Tonight was going to be a total clusterfuck.

Chapter Two

We ate on the sofa while we watched Captain Kirk try to keep Khan from fulfilling his dastardly scheme.
Wrath of Khan
was a go-to movie for Sage and me. We could talk, drink and even play cards during it. Because we had both seen it so many times, we never actually lost track of the plot.

I cleared the dishes and put away the rest of the pizza while Sage stayed in the living room and helpfully conveyed, at the top of his lungs, what I was missing on the screen.

“Kirk just did that thing you hate, and it still didn’t work!”

“Thank you!” I yelled back to him. “I don’t need you to do that.”

“Do you want some help in there?”

“No! I’ve got it.”

“Are you sure?”

I jumped at the feel of his hand on my shoulder. “How the fuck did you get out here so fast?”

“You’re apartment isn’t that big, darling,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s like fourteen steps from the sofa to the kitchen. Do you want some help?”

I looked up into his eyes and again noticed that dark look. This time, I was sure I hadn’t imagined it. I shook my head, not trusting my voice for a moment.

“Okay.” He shrugged. “Come on, you’re going to miss the best part.”

He took my hand and led me back into the living room. He sat down, pulling me with him, and I ended up leaning back on his chest, his legs spread on either side of mine. My body tensed against him. I had no idea what was going on.

Sure, we often lolled against each other while we watched movies, but this felt…different. This felt intimate. I couldn’t handle “intimate” at the moment. I didn’t remember what to do with it.

Sage on the other hand seemed perfectly relaxed. His fingers trailed up and down my arm, and his chest moved at a steady pace.

On the other hand, I felt as though my heart were going to beat right out of my chest. My pussy contracted as thoughts of turning around in his arms and pressing my mouth to his overtook my mind. Never, in all the years I’d known him, had I ever wanted him the way I wanted him in that moment.

“Will you relax?” Sage said. “You’re so tense.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice quivering slightly.

“Watching
Wrath of Khan
with my best friend.” I heard the humor in his tone. “Why, what else do you think I’m doing?”

He was teasing me, and I didn’t appreciate it. I also didn’t like the way I was letting him get to me. I was better than this, and I was certainly better at flirting than he was. I took a steadying breath and resolved to give him way better than he was trying to give me.

I shifted my body over his, moving up just enough to put pressure against his crotch. His fingers froze on my skin, and I definitely felt a stirring under me. Fighting not to smirk and give the game away, I just settled in closer, wiggling enough to make him shift uncomfortably.

“Sorry,” I said. “Am I hurting you?”

“Not at all,” he said, and I was pleased to hear the edge in his voice.

His fingers resumed their playing over my skin, and I scooted up more so I could rest my head closer to Sage’s shoulder, and my ass right against his sac. The feel of his erection against my back was distracting, but I refused to cave first. Even though my pussy had flooded at just being that close to hard cock for the first time in forever, I was not going to let him beat me.

Sage turned his face slightly, and I knew he was gazing at me, but I didn’t look up to meet it. His breath was so close it was causing my hair to blow across my face. His heartbeat finally matched mine, and though the movie continued to play, I think we were both aware it didn’t matter anymore. This had become a battle of wills, and if it kept on much longer, I would lose in the most pathetic way.

I had to hold my breath and force myself to stay still, the desire to rub against him was so strong. The only thing that kept me from moving was the thought that to him this could all be a game, but for me, there was only one way I could end it. I needed him. More than I’d needed anyone in a long time. For the first time ever, I knew it had to be him. It had to be my best friend who gave me the relief my body screamed for.

If he wasn’t willing to do that for me, I wasn’t sure what I would do. If he was just hoping to make an ass of me, I might have to punch him right in the dick. This was past being fun. Now, it was reaching desperation.

For the love of God please just break,
I thought as I squeezed my legs together, trying to relieve some of the pressure building inside me.

“Teagan?” Sage’s voice was rough, and it made me shudder hard enough I knew he noticed.

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