in the truck she slammed his door.
He snapped, “What is your problem. I haven’t done anything.”
“Don’t try and act so innocent. I saw you with my own eyes Blake.”
“What did you see?”
“I saw you kissing Jasmine in public like she was your girlfriend.”
He wanted to scream.
“You can’t be serious Melissa. You saw me kiss her on her nose. You have seen me do it before , so why are you throwing a fit all of a sudden.”
“This is not all of a sudden. I told you I don’t like how close you two are.”
“And I told you that you were just going to have to get over that. She is my best friend. I’ve known her since I was two.”
“So I’m just supposed to accept how humiliating it is that you’re being seen with her in public making me look like a fool?”
“You look like a fool because you’re going around yelling at me in public places like you have lost your mind.”
She looked as though she wanted to slap him. What was with everybody today pushing his buttons?
∞∞∞
In the pizza parlor, Damon asked Jasmine, “Are you gonna eat that?”
She p ushed her plate toward him, “No you go ahead. I’m not hungry anymore.”
Rachel asked, “What’s wrong?”
“People suck, so I lost my appetite.”
Damon laughed, “That’s cool, ‘cause I found it.”
Rachel laughed a little too hard. Jasmine rolled her eyes as the two continued to flirt. Her mind was on Blake. She didn’t want to be the cause of problems between him and Melissa. She knew Blake genuinely loved Melissa and she hoped they could work out their differences.
Damon eyed her as she pouted. He wondered if she understood why Melissa was so mad. He knew there was nothing going on between her and Blake. He didn’t really understand why though because he couldn’t imagine any two people more perfect for each other than his two friends.
∞∞∞
Inside the truck it had been uncomfortably silent for several minutes.
Blake said, “Look Melissa, I love you and I want to be with you. Can you please stop trying to make something out of nothing? Jasmine is my friend, you’re my girlfriend.”
If tonight was the only incident maybe Melissa could forgive it and move on, but it wasn’t. Countless people had told of her seeing Blake and Jasmine somewhere together. Though she never heard about anything physical between them the fact remained that he spent too much time with another girl. He had more than enough opportunity to do whatever he wanted, she was his neighbor. She was exhausted with trying to defend herself against the rumors. She had no idea what took place when she was not around and she was tired of wondering.
With tears in her eyes she looked into Blake’s, “I love you too , but it’s time for you to prove that you love me.”
He looked at her confused, “What do you mean prove it?”
“I mean make a choice. It’s me or Jasmine. You can’t have us both.”
For the second time that night his temper returned. He punched the steering wheel. Melissa jumped. His sudden reaction scared her. He was heated. Melissa had been the first girl he was in love with. It hurt him deeply to know she had such little faith in him and that his word meant nothing to her.
He had always treated her with kindness and respect , so this demand that he sever ties with his oldest friend caught him off guard. He found himself in unfamiliar territory. There was no doubt in his mind that he loved Melissa, but he absolutely could not see himself not being Jasmine’s friend because Melissa was insecure.
Blake said, “I’m really sorry you feel that way , but I’m begging you to please reconsider what you’re asking me to do. I don’t want our relationship to end, especially over such a stupid reason. Please don’t make me choose.”
She couldn’t stop the tears now, “Well looks like you’ve made your