In Love With My Best Friend

H

ow did my life get so complicated? One minute, I, Camille Anderson, was living a pretty normal life in which nothing ever
happened to me, and the next I’m practically being hauled away from
the premier wedding venue in Houston, The Corinthian, by security
because of my sudden outburst to the groom.

I should have known I was setting myself up for disaster, but I had to
do it. I had to tell my best friend that I’d been in love with him since I
was thirteen.

I really didn’t expect the scene to unfold the way it did, especially while
Trevor was getting married, but I couldn’t hold my feelings in much
longer. I felt he was making a terrible mistake, because he was marrying the wrong woman. He should have been marrying me.

I guess I should backtrack to when Trevor and I first met. It was
seventeen years ago, when the Williams family first moved into the
house next to ours. I was outside waiting for my friend Tia Simmons
to come by when I first noticed Trevor. He was absolutely gorgeous as
he stepped out of his family’s SUV. He had that “boy next door” look,
with wavy black hair and smooth ivory skin. He looked over at me and
gave me a huge grin, which I greatly returned.

After that day, not only did we become friends, but our parents became
great friends as well. We always went by each other’s homes for dinner
or for game night (until we were too old to appreciate hanging out with
our parents on a Friday night).

We were practically inseparable during our high school years, and many
of our friends thought we would eventually get married and have lots
of kids. When anyone mentioned that to Trevor, he would shrug it off
and say, “We’re just friends, and it will stay that way until the day we
die.” Usually those words would tug at my heartstrings, but being the
shy person I am, I never let my feelings show.

As we went to college, Trevor and I went into the same major, public
relations. That was when he met Chelsea Parker, who was also my
roommate. At first I liked Chelsea because she was basically a sweet
person, but when she set her sights on Trevor, I quickly disliked her.
Not because she took Trevor away from me, but because she became
a different person.

If only I could go back to four weeks ago, or even seventeen years ago,
I would be with the man I loved…

“W
hy did we plan a huge engagement party? Everyone knows
we’re engaged,” I asked my fiancée, Chelsea, as we were
walking hand in hand down the corridor inside Hotel Icon.
“Sweetie, I just wanted everyone to celebrate in our happiness and
what better way than a huge party?”
I sighed as I continued to walk, not realizing how frustrated I was
becoming.

Chelsea was the love of my life. I instantly knew I wanted to marry her
when I first laid eyes on her in Camille’s dorm room. The two were
roommates their junior year at University of Houston, which was great
for me, considering I was able to see my best friend and my girlfriend
at the same time. Although Camille and I were really good friends, I
got the sense that something had been bothering her since I’d been
dating Chelsea. Call me crazy, but it seemed as if Camille was jealous
of our relationship. I hope not, because Chelsea loves Camille and
considers her a good friend.

As we walked into the ballroom, everyone from our family and our
friends were clapping and cheering for our arrival. We started to wave
at everyone as we entered. Once I turned my head toward the center
of the room, I had to stop and admire the person staring straight at
me. My heart jolted several beats at the beauty who was giving me a
dazzling smile. Camille Anderson had always been a beautiful woman,
from her caramel-colored skin to her deep chocolate eyes; she definitely stood out in a crowd.

Just looking at her long hair flowing around her face and the black
dress that hugged her curves in all the right places made me feel sort
of embarrassed, because I shouldn’t have been looking at her in that
way. I always considered her my best friend and nothing more, so why
was I looking at her differently now?

Chelsea turned her attention to me, wondering what was wrong.
“Is everything OK?”
I suddenly realized I was staring a little too long as I turned to Chelsea.
“I’m fine,” I said as I squeezed her hand.

I gave Camille a huge grin as I walked over to talk to a nearby guest. I
snuck another peek at her; she was talking to our friend Tia near the
bar. I don’t know what was going on with me, but hopefully this feeling
I was having about my best friend would go away soon.

That’s if I want it to.

W

hile everyone was saying their congratulations to the happy
couple, I decided to go outside for some fresh air. I propped
my arms on the terrace and stared at the twinkling stars in front of me.
Looking at the sky made me think about all the times Tre and I would
go out to George Observatory to watch the stars. Although he wasn’t
really interested in it, he did it because I loved it. We would sit outside
for hours, trying to find the Big Dipper. We would even point out unknown stars and give them names.

I began to rub my shoulders, realizing I should have brought a shawl
to wear, as I tried to warm myself up. Suddenly, a jacket was draped
across my shoulders, unaware that anyone else was outside. I jumped
as I spun around to see Trevor standing behind me. He gave me a tiny
smile as he put his hands on my shoulders.

“I noticed you were outside when I was talking to my parents. I know
how you get cold easily, so I came outside.”
“Is that the only reason? Could it be to get away from the madness?”
“Maybe so; I really didn’t want an engagement party, but you know
how Chelsea is.”
“Yep; always wants to be the center of attention.”

“How are you? We didn’t get a chance to talk much after I made the
announcement.”
“I’m good. I’m just glad my best friend is moving back. You know how
much I missed you.”

“I have an idea. I missed you too.”
“When do you start working at P&G?”
“Next week. I still have to move a couple of things from Dallas, but
I’m pretty much done.”
“That’s good. Is Chelsea glad to come home?”
“Sort of. She loves living in Dallas, but you know me, I missed being
at home.”
“Well, hopefully we can hang out sometimes.”
“Of course! Who else can I go to a basketball game with since Chelsea
hates sports.”
“Well, it’s a date.”
Trevor looked at me and smiled.
“Yeah, it is.”
I looked at Trevor’s lips, wondering why we never kissed. He had such
kissable lips.
“How’s Eric?” he asked while giving me a blank expression.

I don’t think Trevor really liked Eric. I remember the day I introduced
the two while visiting Dallas. The minute Trevor saw Eric, he immediately started to give him the cold shoulder. I don’t know if it was
because he thought Eric was a jerk or the fact that I was involved with
someone.

“We broke up. It didn’t work out.”
Trevor tried hard not to smile as he nodded his head.
“I can’t say I feel bad about that. The man was a jerk.”
“Why would you assume that? You only met him that one time in
Dallas.”
“First impressions are everything, and he gave a pretty bad one. I knew
right away that he wasn’t good enough for you.”
I looked at Trevor and smiled.
Trevor looked at me as he pushed a strand of hair from my face. Just
the touch of his hand made me quiver.
As we continued to stare at each other, I decided to end the moment
by handing Trevor back his jacket.
“I’m going to head back inside, but thanks for keeping me warm.”
“No problem,” he said as he watched me walk away.
I turned around to give him another smile as I went inside.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think my best friend was checking me
out, and I couldn’t be happier.