One Of The Guys

Chapter 20

********Taylor POV********

I walk out of the locker room and to Jake's truck. No one else is here, they're long gone by now. I sigh and put my head in my hands. I know that Garrett was a total dickhead in the beginning. But he's different now and Jake refuses to see that. I think he just doesn't want me to get hurt.

The door opens then slams shut, causing me to look up. Jake is sitting there, his eyes rimmed with red.

"Jake-" I start. He shakes his head, cutting me off and starts the truck. As soon as we get home, Jake jumps out and runs into his room. I don't know what to do. Jake is my best friend, whenever I've had problems, I went to him. But obviously, I can't do that now. So I call Zach instead.

"Hey." I say when he picks up.

"Taylor?" He asks, surprised.

"Yeah. I gotta talk to you. Can I come over?" I ask.

"Uh, sure." He replies, a little hesitant.

"Thanks." I say before hanging up. Then I climb into the driver's seat and start the truck.

I see Jake peer out the window of my room, but his face disappears within seconds. Whatever, let him be worried. When I reach Zach's, he's already waiting for me on his porch.

"I'm worried about Jake." I say as soon as I reach the porch.

"I know. But he's worried too. Worried that you'll forget about him." Zach says, motioning me inside. I walk in and we go up to his room.

"I'd never forget about Jake." I say, sitting down on his bed.

"You say that now. It's easy to make promises, hard to keep them." He replies.

"Yeah, but....." I say, trailing off.

"You know what I think? I think that you love Jake and he loves you." Zach says, looking proud.

"Of course I love him. He's my best friend." I say, confused at why he looks proud.

"No. You actually love him, as more than a friend. And he loves you as more than a friend. But you didn't know it till I told you. Well, you knew it, but you were too stupid to admit it. Both of you were too stupid to admit it." He says, looking right into my eyes.

"That...." I start but trail off, looking down.

"Taylor. You gotta figure this shit out. Otherwise, you'll go out with Garrett. And everything will be all messed up with Jake." Zach says seriously.

"Did you talk to Jake about this?" I ask.

"Yeah. He's doing the same thing you are. And I told him to figure this shit out before its too late." Zach replies. I sigh, looking down.

"But what about Garrett?" I ask. "You just like him as a friend. Maybe you got confused because last night was a fun night for all three of you. But you love Jake and you can't let anything get in the way of that." He simply says.

"But I'm supposed to go out with him." I whine.

"Break it off. Tell him that you think you'd be better as friends." Zach replies.

"Okay. I'll call him now." I say, picking up my phone. I dial his number and wait until he picks up.

"Hey." He says.

"Hi." I reply.

"What's up?" He asks.

"Ummm. I can't go out with you Friday." I blurt.

"Is this about Jake?" He asks.

"Yeah. It is. And I'm really sorry. I thought that I liked you as more than a friend but I was just getting my feelings mixed up." I explain.

"Taylor. Don't sweat it. I would never want to get in between you and Jake. We're cool." He says.

"Thank you so much." I gush.

"Yeah. No problem. But I should probably go. I'll see you tomorrow." He says.

"Bye." I reply, hanging up the phone. Zach looks at me.

"You better get home to your lover." He says teasingly. I glare at him, but then I give him a hug.

"Thank you." I whisper. The door opens and in comes Jake.

"Dude. I can't find Tay-" He says, stopping short when he sees us. I step away from Zach.

"Oh." He says, looking down.

"Did you run here?" Zach asks him.

"Yeah. Cause someone took my truck. And didn't tell me where she was going." Jake says, looking pointedly at me.

"Sorry." I say.

"It's fine. So are you guys-" He starts.

"NO FUCKING WAY!!!!" Zach yells. "She's all yours." He says in a normal tone.

"No. She's Garrett's." Jake says, looking down.

"No. I'm all yours." I say softly, looking at him. Jake looks up. Zach looks at both us.

"I know you're gonna kiss. So just do it, okay?" Zach says, finally looking away from the two of us.

I close the distance between us and kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kisses me back and everything is perfect. Until Zach opens his mouth.

"Okay, okay. You can stop now." He says, fake gagging. We pull away and look at Zach.

"Thanks." We both say.

"You owe me." He says, smiling.

"Got it." I say. Then Jake and I walk out. When we get to in his truck, Jake looks at me.

"So. What does this mean?" He asks.

"It means that I love you and I have all along." I reply.

"I love you so much." He says back. Then he smiles and we head back to my house. Our house.