Ellie was back. We were sitting in her apartment, having breakfast after Liam and Aiden went to the gym.

"You didn't answer my texts! I sent you the makeup photo and no reaction. Some friend you are," said Ellie.

"I know, babe." I pouted. "I'm sorry. It's just that these two weeks have been crazy. You looked hot, by the way. What was the occasion?"

"Our first anniversary. We went out to dinner and dancing, and it was...God, everything was amazing. I won't ever forget this vacation."

"I bet you won't. You're glowing. I'm sorry we barged in like that today. Liam was crazy to go to that basketball thing."

The truth was, Liam seemed eager to do whatever if it meant not being around me.

"That's okay. Look, I was planning to show you some photos and tell you everything about the trip later, but first, tell me what I missed. You and Liam in the same bed? Seriously?"

"How do you...of course, that photo." I groaned. "It was nothing."

The night of Liam's confession, he had a brilliant idea of sending a picture of his face to Aiden. He didn't know Ellie well enough. Of course, she recognized my comforter. If I told her why we were in the same bed, I would have to tell all of it, which made me decide against it.

"Right." Ellie smiled into her coffee cup.

"Really, nothing happened. Tim's friend Antoine stayed over because his parents had nobody who could babysit him, and Liam gave the kid his bed so that he wouldn't sleep on the couch," I lied. Admitting that we were home alone would raise questions, and I didn't have answers for Ellie. Were we together? No. Were we in love? No. Did Liam really mean what he said? No.

"I'm disappointed." Ellie sighed. "Here I was getting my hopes up."

"Well, don't." I shrugged. "Liam went on a date with a girl, so..."

Ellie's expression turned crestfallen. "Crap. How do you know that?"

I twirled the styrofoam cup in my hands. "She's one of the gym regulars. I was there when she asked him out. He said yes, and they went out. End of story."

"So, are they dating now?" asked my best friend.

"Don't know, don't care. I'm sure they had sex. That girl's super confident, she could have ten guys like Liam. And she's really sexy."

For all I knew, she would be at the gym today, trying to seduce Liam again and succeeding. Just like my ex, Liam had his needs, and just like Paul, he would choose a confident someone over me.

"I'm sorry." Ellie rubbed my arm.

"Don't be. I'm okay. You know, we're getting along really well now. I don't want to spoil it. I really like being Liam's friend. Besides, I have no right to be jealous."

That much was true. Although Liam chose to stop calling me sweetheart and touching me, we did spend time together, playing with Tim and watching movies.

"Guess you're right. It's just that you know; we thought the two of you would end up together- our best friends dating and all that," mumbled Ellie.

I shifted my chair closer to Ellie's and crushed her in a hug. "I'm the one who's sorry."

"What are you sorry for, silly?"

"For not listening to you when you told me Paul wasn't worth it," I said.

"What do you mean? Weren't you going to meet him? Did he do anything?"

"Believe me, he did plenty. Okay, I'm going to tell you something, and you will understand why I wasn't answering the texts."

It was time to let the proverbial cat out of the bag. Ellie wasn't a fool. When we texted, we always replied to messages within minutes or even seconds. My lack of answers was surely enough to make her suspect something was wrong.

I told her about what Liam heard at the restaurant, hoping that the confession would make me feel better.

"How do you feel?" Ellie failed to mask the sympathy in her voice.

"I'm better now. It messed with me at first, but now I'm just pissed at that piece of shit. I believed him, Ellie. I really thought he was sorry. And the worst thing is, Liam heard all that. He must think I'm a doormat like Paul said. What kind of girl lets somebody treat her like that, not once, but several times?"

Ellie frowned. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."

"I wish I was stronger," I muttered. "I give myself all those pep talks, and for what? I'm like a magnet that attracts assholes."

"That's not true, Sky. Not every guy is like your ex. In fact, I don't think there are many guys like him."

"I need to buy an anti-asshole radar on Amazon, put it in my purse, and have it on me all the time."

"I'll buy another for me. Female solidarity, you know?"

I sighed, resting my head on Ellie's shoulder, and then I finally allowed myself to cry.

"Don't, silly," Ellie said, smoothing her hand over my hair as I soaked her T-shirt with tears. "It's good that you know the truth about your ex. Imagine how shitty it would be if you didn't, and he played you? And I'm sure Liam doesn't think badly of you because of it. Liam is a great guy, Sky. If anything, he surely feels sorry for you and what you've been through. I'm positive it wasn't easy for him to tell you something like that."

"I know." I sniffled, grabbing a napkin and wiping off my tears. "Let's forget about him. Why don't we go to my place and you show me those pictures you took? Tim is at Antoine's; we have my apartment to ourselves."

"Okay, but let me grab something first."

Ellie jumped off the chair and dashed to her bedroom. In less than a minute, she was back with a gift bag, giving me a broad grin.

"Ellie, you didn't have to," I scolded her.

"Stop it. I wanted to spoil my girl. Let's go to your apartment so you can try it on."

"Okay." I rolled my eyes, leading the way to my place.

***

"I wanted you to try it on in your room because of your mirror," Ellie said while I was undressing. "It's so beautiful, Sky. You and Liam could make love in your bedroom, and you would see the reflection of the two of you in it. Add some candles, and that's so damn hot."

"You're insane, Elizabeth." I blushed. "Why the hell are you even imagining that? Liam and I aren't together."

"Yet." Ellie giggled, falling back onto my bed. "He's hot for you, and you don't see it. He devours you with his eyes."

"What the hell have they done to my friend on that island?" I teased, adjusting the straps of the dress on my shoulders.

Ellie sighed. "Blame Aiden, and the ocean, and the moonlight. We grew so close, Sky, and making love to him is amazing. You'll get what I mean when you do it with Liam."

I rolled my eyes. "Crazy."

Ellie shrugged. "Maybe. I want to let myself be happy for once."

"I absolutely love it!" I said, looking at myself in the mirror.

The dress was gorgeous. The champagne pink color looked flattering on me, and the neckline made my breasts look bigger. Quite short, the garment didn't reach my knees, but it wouldn't roll up and expose too much skin.

"I saw it and thought you'd look great in it. It's as if they'd made it thinking about you."

"I'll probably wear it to my birthday party." I smoothed out the fabric and turned around to see the back of the dress better.

"You should. All eyes will be on you."

"Doubt it, but I'll put it on anyway. The color is beautiful, and I haven't seen anything like that in the shops we've been to," I said.

"Do you know what you'll do with the party? Who will you invite?"

"We decided to celebrate next weekend when it's Liam's birthday, but we haven't discussed the details yet. Can you give me my phone? I think I've heard a text coming in."

"Sure." Ellie took it from the nightstand and handed it to me. "Here it goes. If it's Liam, ask him when they will be done. Maybe we can have lunch together."

I took the phone from Ellie's hand, and my jaw dropped. "Ellie? What the hell is that?"

Slowly, I brought Ellie's hand to mine and touched the stone on her engagement ring. There was no way. Except that my best friend talked about making love, was glowing and had a permanent grin on her face since the moment she opened the door to her place.

"Are you engaged?" I whispered.

Ellie nodded. "Aiden proposed, and I said yes."

"Oh, my God." I covered my mouth with my hands, and wrapped my arms around Ellie, squeezing her in a hug. "I can't believe you're engaged, and you kept quiet! Congratulations to both of you."

"Thanks." Ellie smiled.

"We need to celebrate," I said as soon as I changed into my clothes. We went to the kitchen. I pulled a bottle of cognac from the cabinet and took two shot glasses, pouring the drink in them and handing Ellie one.

"To the future Mrs. Kennedy?" Ellie batted her eyelashes, raising the glass.

"I need to drink." I downed my shot before Ellie touched hers.

It was the best news I'd got in a while, but the shock was there. I knew Ellie and Aiden were endgame; I just didn't expect him to ask her the most important question so soon.

"Sky, I'm not getting married yet. We're going to wait. Don't be so shocked. I think Aiden did it to show me how he feels about me; it's not because we're planning to run away and elope tomorrow."

I smiled at my oblivious friend. "Ellie, knowing that boy, he's probably planning the wedding already. You're so lucky. I need to know how he did it, when, where. Come on, don't make me beg."

We made ourselves comfortable in my living room, and I got ready to listen to every detail of the story.

The last few days were pure hell.

My decision to go back to being only Sky's roommate seemed right. My life was too complicated, and nothing would change in the foreseeable future.

Yet, I'd been warring with myself since that evening in my room.

I missed our closeness. I missed kissing her cheek and touching her. I might have done what I did to make things easier for me, but the truth was, I'd created a truckload of complications I had no idea how to deal with.

Sky treated me with the same warmth, smiling at me and trying to engage me in a conversation. She didn't deserve my coldness.

Now, Aiden and I were in my car, heading to the gym. I'd been feeling out of sorts all morning. Hopefully, working out would help me with that.

"How was the vacation?" I asked Aiden when the traffic lights turned red. "Judging by the tan, not too bad."

"The place is amazing, man - like a piece of paradise."

"I bet." I refocused my attention on the road.  "Fucking traffic. At least I got a break from it last week."

"Did you go anywhere?"

"Yeah. My hometown. I took some days off - needed to sort out some stuff."

And I did it with Sky, letting her get to know me, taking her places and cuddling her in the huge hotel bed after we danced for hours.

"How was work when you were at the office?" asked Aiden.

"Same old. Ollie is all up in his wedding stuff much to Dar's amusement. Mathis got another project for us to work on, although he and the boss are mysterious about it. We know nothing yet, only that it'll start soon. You're going to work tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I need to talk to Victor about the beach resort."

I nodded and kept quiet until the gym parking lot came into view. I parked the vehicle but didn't leave the car.

"I told Sky about the convo I'd overheard," I  said, eager to let it all out. Maybe this way, I would feel less shitty.

"It's about time. Took you long enough," said my friend.

"I know." I sighed. "I'm a coward. If you think telling the truth made me feel less shitty, let me disappoint you - it didn't. Not when I had to deal with a crying girl in my apartment. She's still pissed at me, I guess. Or embarrassed. Same shit. I know I would be if that happened to me."

Sky was none of those things. If she was pissed at me, I could only blame it on our lack of communication. I could only blame myself.

"You did well by telling regardless of her reaction."

"Maybe some truths are better kept hidden. At least those that wreck you. Okay." I reached for the driver's door. "Let's head in before the guys freak out."

Aiden followed me into the gym. The match started after the round of greetings and questions about Aiden's vacation, and it was the shittiest match ever.

I couldn't bring myself to care, and focusing was a daunting task. The truth was, I cared about nothing except my situation with Sky.

Jeff went on and on about how lazy we were, and it pissed the hell out of me.

"It's just a game, for Pete's sake." I groaned, retrieving my earbuds from my shorts pocket as I stood next to the weights. "If you're talking, I'm not listening," I said, turning up the volume to drown out the sound of my friends' voices and the obnoxiously cheerful song, pouring from the gym speakers.

Aiden and Jeff left me alone. I didn't see them until I finished working out, and we decided to have some drinks on the terrace of the nearby pub.

The place was decent enough. Back in summer, we used to hang out there almost daily.

The waiter brought us our usual order, beer, and we settled in the plastic chairs.

"So, how was the vacay?" Charlie asked Aiden.

"Wonderful. We didn't want to come back."

"I bet you didn't," I smirked. "Did you see anything other than the bed on the island anyway? Judging by this morning, I doubt it."

What the hell was wrong with me? It was an asshole thing to say. It was none of my damn business. What Aiden did with his girl didn't concern anyone.

"We saw plenty," Aiden answered, taking a swig from his bottle.

I didn't miss the hint of irritation in his voice and was about to apologize, but Jeff spoke first.

"Speaking of seeing, is Sky seeing someone?" Jeff looked at me.

"What do you mean?"

"You speak English, boy. Is she going out with someone?"

He couldn't possibly mean it. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and glared at him. "Why do you care?"

"I want to ask her out. You're roommates, so I figured you'd know."

"Out like on a date?"

"Yeah, obviously. We could go somewhere nice, have dinner, see where the thing goes. She's pretty and cool. If she's single, I'd definitely like to try my luck. That girl is something else."

She was definitely something else, and I could see her going out with a guy like Jeff. He wasn't an asshole, and his looks made him popular with girls. He could have whoever he wanted, but I'd be damned if he went out with Sky.

"It's not a good idea," I said, breaking the way too long and embarrassing pause.

"Why the hell not?" Jeff raised his eyebrow. "Is she involved with somebody?"

"She isn't, but she was, and he's an asshole who didn't treat her right."

"I know how to treat a girl; haven't had complaints until now."

"Don't, Jeff. I'm serious."

"Why?"

How could I tell him why if I didn't know it myself? "Because I said so. She's not for you," I said, hoping that he wasn't serious about that ridiculous idea. Wrong.

"Maybe we should let her decide that, boy. I get that you're protecting her, but she's a big girl," Charlie chimed in. Of all the girls he knew, why did Jeff had to lay his eyes on Sky?

She was available, that was why. I might have seen her as mine, but she wasn't. The tension of the last few days poured out of every bunched up, tense muscle of mine. I was about to snap.

"I asked Ellie to marry me, and she said yes."

The sentence came from Aiden, stunning the hell out of everyone, especially me.

I choked on my beer while Jeff and his cousin stared at my best buddy.

"You're kidding, right?" I laughed.

"He doesn't look like he's kidding, Liam." Jeff studied Aiden's face. "For real?"

"As real as it gets."

"Congratulations, Aiden." Charlie smiled. "That's a huge decision you've made, but I guess you're sure, so we're happy for you."

"Congrats." Jeff pulled Aiden into a hug. "Bring your girl; we want to get to know her better. Have you set the date yet?"

Aiden shook his head. "No. It's too early. We've agreed to wait for now, mainly because we still have to tell her family and save some money."

The guys asked Aiden questions, and I sat there like a complete idiot, staring at my beer and saying nothing.

I turned into an asshole, unable to show I was happy for my friend.

Aiden's phone buzzed, and he picked it up. His voice turned soft, and I knew he was talking to his girl. His future wife.

Fuck.

I screwed up in the worst way imaginable. I knew Aiden. One could give him shit about anything, and he would shrug it off. Anything but Ellie.

His girl was his person, the one he would do anything for, the one who got him. He loved her unconditionally.

My silence wasn't what best friends did. He deserved more than that.

He wasn't the one who told the girl kissing her was a mistake despite knowing he would be the one suffering from that decision. I was.

As Aiden strolled to my car with his mouth set in a tight line, I realized I screwed up way more than I thought.