Read Online One Step Away (A Bedford Falls Novel Book 1) by Sydney Bristow - Free Book Online
Authors: Sydney Bristow
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while Alexander remained at SIU.
Although time and distance separated them, Damon refused to end a
relationship with someone who had shown so much compassion and
understanding, and he kept in touch with Alexander through email a
few times each month, which centered around their experiences with
the opposite sex: Damon highlighted his countless relationships and
dalliances, not to mention his newfound popularity as one of the
most successful romance novelists on the planet.
For his part, Alexander finally felt secure
in sharing his difficulties in relating to women. Considering that
he forged friendships from middle-school on through college with
people who more often than not used his insecurities against him to
increase their own social standing, Alexander found it difficult to
trust others with his feelings, which in turn explained why he had
so few friends. Damon, however, changed that. In fact, without this
relationship, Alexander never would have trusted Marisa with his
innermost thoughts.
“She didn’t want to lose her best friend. Or
a colleague at work.”
Damon, quirking an eyebrow in thought,
pushed aside thick black bangs that hung just below his eyebrows.
“Okay, go on.”
Alexander explained everything that
happened, inserting how he felt about certain aspects of the
situation, as well as including Kelsey’s theory that Marisa would
need distance from him because he’d changed their relationship.
“What do you think?”
Damon eyes grew wide. “It’s not good.” He
signaled the female bartender for a bottle of Miller Light.
Accepting it, he nodded at her, but acted as if they hadn’t just
shared a flirtatious conversation earlier. The woman, biting a lip
in confusion, kept her eyes on him for a long beat before another
customer down the bar gestured for her. “Jesus, where do I
start?”
Alexander ignored the rhetorical question
and realized that, based on his friend’s look of consternation,
he’d really messed up. He just didn’t know where.
“You shouldn’t have told her that you love
her.”
Alexander stomach dropped. He’d feared that
response. “Why?”
“If you’re attracted to a woman, you show
her immediately. You don’t wait a couple years. By waiting, you
basically told her that you weren’t into her, or in your case, you
didn’t think she’d want you. You knew this, so why did you even
bother?”
“I didn’t think she’d be into me.”
“Ah, so she didn’t put you in the
friend zone. You put yourself there.” His expression
cleared, looking like he’d just picked up some pertinent
information. “Right now, I want to get an idea for who she is. You
never really told me much about her, probably because you knew I’d
bust on you for not acting on your feelings when you first met her.
Which turned out to be fairly accurate. So go ahead: tell me about
her.”
Alexander needed a moment to describe her.
“You know how the gossip magazines always show beautiful actresses
on their worst days? Those stars wish they could be as beautiful as
Marisa – on their worst day. What else? She’s intelligent. Has a
good sense of humor. She’s strong-willed and won’t give up on
someone or something she believes in it. I love talking to her. We
can talk about anything: politics, sports, movies – you name it.
And she goes off on these weird tangents before coming back to her
main point. And her voice…it’s like music. I mean, every time I
hear it, I smile. I can’t help it. It just happens. Oh, here’s
something that makes no sense to me: she has low self-esteem, which
I just can’t understand. And I keep trying to make her see the
woman I see when I look at her. But she won’t believe me.”
Damon lowered his head, looking like all the
attitude in his persona had vanished.
“What’s wrong?”
“That was actually kind of touching – that
last part.” He stayed silent for a few more seconds. Then he
brought the bottle to his lips and gulped down some beer. And
Although time and distance separated them, Damon refused to end a
relationship with someone who had shown so much compassion and
understanding, and he kept in touch with Alexander through email a
few times each month, which centered around their experiences with
the opposite sex: Damon highlighted his countless relationships and
dalliances, not to mention his newfound popularity as one of the
most successful romance novelists on the planet.
For his part, Alexander finally felt secure
in sharing his difficulties in relating to women. Considering that
he forged friendships from middle-school on through college with
people who more often than not used his insecurities against him to
increase their own social standing, Alexander found it difficult to
trust others with his feelings, which in turn explained why he had
so few friends. Damon, however, changed that. In fact, without this
relationship, Alexander never would have trusted Marisa with his
innermost thoughts.
“She didn’t want to lose her best friend. Or
a colleague at work.”
Damon, quirking an eyebrow in thought,
pushed aside thick black bangs that hung just below his eyebrows.
“Okay, go on.”
Alexander explained everything that
happened, inserting how he felt about certain aspects of the
situation, as well as including Kelsey’s theory that Marisa would
need distance from him because he’d changed their relationship.
“What do you think?”
Damon eyes grew wide. “It’s not good.” He
signaled the female bartender for a bottle of Miller Light.
Accepting it, he nodded at her, but acted as if they hadn’t just
shared a flirtatious conversation earlier. The woman, biting a lip
in confusion, kept her eyes on him for a long beat before another
customer down the bar gestured for her. “Jesus, where do I
start?”
Alexander ignored the rhetorical question
and realized that, based on his friend’s look of consternation,
he’d really messed up. He just didn’t know where.
“You shouldn’t have told her that you love
her.”
Alexander stomach dropped. He’d feared that
response. “Why?”
“If you’re attracted to a woman, you show
her immediately. You don’t wait a couple years. By waiting, you
basically told her that you weren’t into her, or in your case, you
didn’t think she’d want you. You knew this, so why did you even
bother?”
“I didn’t think she’d be into me.”
“Ah, so she didn’t put you in the
friend zone. You put yourself there.” His expression
cleared, looking like he’d just picked up some pertinent
information. “Right now, I want to get an idea for who she is. You
never really told me much about her, probably because you knew I’d
bust on you for not acting on your feelings when you first met her.
Which turned out to be fairly accurate. So go ahead: tell me about
her.”
Alexander needed a moment to describe her.
“You know how the gossip magazines always show beautiful actresses
on their worst days? Those stars wish they could be as beautiful as
Marisa – on their worst day. What else? She’s intelligent. Has a
good sense of humor. She’s strong-willed and won’t give up on
someone or something she believes in it. I love talking to her. We
can talk about anything: politics, sports, movies – you name it.
And she goes off on these weird tangents before coming back to her
main point. And her voice…it’s like music. I mean, every time I
hear it, I smile. I can’t help it. It just happens. Oh, here’s
something that makes no sense to me: she has low self-esteem, which
I just can’t understand. And I keep trying to make her see the
woman I see when I look at her. But she won’t believe me.”
Damon lowered his head, looking like all the
attitude in his persona had vanished.
“What’s wrong?”
“That was actually kind of touching – that
last part.” He stayed silent for a few more seconds. Then he
brought the bottle to his lips and gulped down some beer. And
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