In the Sidelines » Damian Lillard

16.

"HE LIKES YOU." Ty emphatically set his glass of water down on the table and spoke like he was declaring a simple fact.

I sat down across from him in the small diner he invited me to. The sound of animated chatter and food sizzling in the kitchen filled the air. The place was new, as evident from the plushy red booths and spotless tables. Still, it wasn't crowded because it was the odd time between lunch and dinner when very few people ate out.

I frowned. "I don't even get a 'Hey, Arabel' or anything?"

"You didn't deny it." He pointed at me victoriously.

"If we're just gonna keep talking about Damian the whole time, I'm leaving," I said, only half-jokingly. "Why does everyone think that he likes me?"

"Because it's as obvious as the fact that you like him, but both of you are just too damn oblivious to realize that. Oh, here they are!" Ty exclaimed happily.

"Who is they?"

He smiled mischievously. "Sydney and Zac. I invited them here—"

"So I could knock some sense into you about Damian," a familiar female voice interrupted, "and so Zac could eat some food. That boy never stops complaining about being hungry, but I love him anyways."

While Zac sat beside Ty and dapped him, Sydney slid into the booth beside me and gave me a tight hug. "I'm just teasing you, Bel. We realized that it had been a while since the four of us hung out together." She patted me on the shoulder. "Since Miss NBA Owner over here was coming to Oakland for a few days, I decided to fly down here so we could all meet up."

Ty began complaining that he had been waiting forever and the food still wasn't ready. Naturally, he excused himself from the table and began to wait impatiently for the food at the counter. Meanwhile, Zac left to go to the bathroom, leaving Sydney and me alone.

"So, how have you and Zac been?" I asked Sydney, hoping to steer the topic away from Damian.

"Spectacular," she replied. I waited for her to elaborate, but she never did. Instead, she brought up the recurring subject in my conversations today with a grin. "How has Damian been?"

"He's great, actually," I admitted. "In fact, he asked if we could walk down by the bay after his game because it's been a long time since we've both been here."

Sydney pointed at my eyes. "Look, there it was again! Your eyes lit up when you talked about him."

I stared incredulously at my best friend. "I've never heard that one before." I snorted. "You all keep trying to convince me that Damian and I were meant for each other," I laughed and formed quotation marks with my fingers.

My words seemed to elicit something in Sydney because her shoulders stiffened. She took a long sip of her water then turned to me. The look on her face was a warning that she was about to give a long lecture.

"You like him. You've always liked him."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you, Love Advisor Sydney. That's usually what happens when people are best friends."

It became obvious that my joke was no match for her straightforward tone of voice. She ignored my joke and kept speaking.

"You've always cared about him, after all these years. Those years of college when he ignored you broke your heart. You just covered it up with feelings of hate. Now that the hate is fading away, it's impossible not to tell, Ara," Sydney said. Her eyes shone brightly. "You love Damian."

I protested. "Don't you think love is a bit of a strong word?" Sydney tended to be melodramatic.

Sydney continued. "No, you're just stubborn and don't want to admit it. I know why. What if it goes full circle? What if he leaves again, and he breaks your heart a second time?"

I opened my mouth to talk. All of the romance movies she was watching on Netflix were finally getting to her head. Before I could let out a sound, Sydney quickly shushed me.

"Don't even try to argue with me on that one, because I know how sad you were when Damian stopped talking to you."

I faltered. Sydney was right; after Damian and I stopped talking in college, I was a mess for the longest time. Sydney was always there to comfort me, similar to how someone comforted their best friend after a breakup.

Once my friend was on a roll, she talked a mile a minute. "I know you say that you and Damian are just best friends. But that's what love is—even through the really rough patches, you know that the other person will always be there for you. Honestly, Bel. Do you think it was just out of luck that you two met again as adults, even after going different ways in college?"

"Uh, yeah."

Sydney glared at me. "You're ruining my speech. Shush."

"Sorry," I dully replied.

She could tell that her lecture hadn't gotten her point across. "Look," she sighed. "Just consider my words. Sometimes you're too stubborn for your own good, and if Ty Kemp of all people can tell that you like each other...Anyways. There's something going on between you two. Even if neither of you can see it."

She fixed her eyes on me intently. "Someone out there that loves you, Bel, and the rare thing is that you love that person back."

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Surprise! I wasn't planning on updating until I was done with finals, but I felt way too guilty for making you all wait so long lol. Why do you think Sydney's trying to convince Arabel that she likes Damian, especially since she knows how he ignored Ara in college?

All I can say is...8k reads and 400 votes. I know I sound like a broken record, but I cannot be more thankful that so many of you continue to read my story. I love each and every one of you so much! THANK YOU ❤️