A Complicated Situation

"You know you deserve better than this, right? I love Billie, but if he can't give you all of him, then you should look somewhere else," Quinn said as she braided my hair.

Quinn was my best friend from college and my current roommate. She was the one that fixed me up with Mike after she met the guys through her job as a hair stylist.

"It's not that easy, though. I know we are meant to be. I can feel it. But, I can't let him go. Trust me, I've tried," I responded, wincing as she pulled my hair too hard.

Quinn sighed as she continued to braid pieces of my hair.

"I just think that if he isn't mature enough to tell Mike about you, then maybe that is a sign that he isn't ready for a real relationship. Even though he is a 33 year old man and he shouldn't be having this immaturity issue."

I chuckled at Quinn, amused.

"I appreciate what you're saying, but I think that I should talk to Billie again."

In the mirror, I watched her as she rolled her eyes.

"Do you think he'll ever change?" I asked, cautiously. She shrugged before spraying my hair with a mist of coconut oil.

"I don't know, Jen. Only you can figure that out."

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Billie's P.O.V

"What's wrong, Bill?" Tré inquired, as he handed me a beer. I shrugged and popped the cap off the bottle.

"Nothing, really," I lied, hoping he would drop it. But I knew when I looked up at his face that he was not satisfied.

It was just the two of us in the basement of his house and we were spending the evening listening to old records and drinking beer. Mike had been with us, but left an hour back to spend the night with his new girlfriend, Alex.

"Bill, I've known you for 15 years now. I can tell when you're lying to me. So you might as well let me in," He stated, taking a seat on the leather sofa across from me.

I sighed and guzzled the rest of my beer.

"You have to promise me that you won't talk to Mike about this."

I watched as his face tightened and I felt like I might be making a mistake telling him about Jenny. But even though I felt hesitant to release this very personal information, I knew that I needed to tell someone sooner or later.

"Okay, well for the past two years, I've been seeing someone that...I really shouldn't be seeing." I confessed, watching as he raised his eyebrows in a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Wow. Well, who have you been seeing? And why shouldn't you be seeing them?" He questioned.

I inhaled, sharply.

"Jenny Ryan. And I don't think I really need to tell you why I shouldn't be seeing her. I think you know why," I answered, his jaw dropping ever so slightly.

We were silent for a few awkward seconds before he finally said something.

"This is not as bad as what I was thinking, Bill. I thought you were going to tell me you were seeing an escaped convict or something," Tré tried to reassure me.

"But it's still bad, Tré. She's my best friend's ex-girlfriend. This isn't right."

He rolled his eyes slightly as he took a sip from his half-empty bottle.

"But you just said it. Jenny is his ex-girlfriend. They aren't dating anymore, so why is this such a big issue?" He asked. I sighed in frustration.

"It's a big issue because of the way they broke up! There was a huge fight between them and they haven't spoken in two fuckin' years. Mike would be furious if he found out I was doing stuff with her and you know it!" I explained, aggressively.

Again, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. I couldn't understand how he couldn't see what was wrong with this.

"But, on what grounds would he have any right being mad? If I'm remembering this correctly, which I know I am, Mike broke up with her. He doesn't have much of a right to be upset, in my opinion."

I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it when I realized that both Tré and Jenny were right. But even though I came to this sudden, overdue realization, I still felt in my heart that I was wronging Mike, in some way.

"But...he's my best friend. I can't bring myself to tell him this. I don't want him to be mad at me." I admitted.

Tré nodded understandingly. He didn't know how to comfort me, so he just put another beer bottle into my hand, which was just as good as a hug.

"Well, even if I don't fully get it, I'll keep this between us until you're ready to tell Mike. But you shouldn't force Jenny to live in secrecy because you can't bring yourself to tell Mike," Tré said.

We didn't speak for a few minutes, as I lost myself in my thoughts.

"Do you think you love her?" Tré inquired, randomly. I cocked my eyebrow at him, unsure of where this question came from.

"What?" I responded, confused. He sighed, clearly visibly annoyed.

"Exactly what I asked, Billie. Do you love her?"

I sat there, sloshing my beer bottle around, nervously.

"You've been with her for nearly two years. You have to know by now if you love her. So do you or do you not love Jenny?" Tré urged.

I closed my eyes and swallowed hard.

"Yes, I love her," I finally choked out, "I love her so much."