Chapter 2: Samantha's POV

Robbie looks at my lips. My heart pounds a little. I just told him I'm engaged, and now this. My eyes stare back at his lips. It's not like I haven't thought about being with Robbie. Robbie Garvie has always been there for me. And compared to me, he's a tree.

He notices me staring at his lips. He inches closer to me, and I can feel him closing the gap between us. Does he have feelings for me? I guess I'm about to find out. As I close my eyes and prepare to kiss my best friend, he kisses my forehead instead. I don't know what to do now.

Apart of me is relieved he didn't kiss me. We can't pretend that there isn't some attraction between us. I'm embarrassed now. I know that whatever I say right now, however, I react will define our friendship from here on out.

"Thanks for always being here for me, Robbie."

I hope this response doesn't scare him away. I can't imagine life without Robbie in it. He's been with me my entire life. He was there when my mom bought me sea monkey shrimp as pets. They ended up spilling everywhere in my chicken soup. To this day, I can't eat chicken soup without thinking of those poor sea monkeys who gave their lives for my lunch.

I remember our senior year; Robbie kissed me on prom night. God, I want that feeling back. To this day, I wonder if I meant anything to Robbie Garvie that night. The night we had sex.

I wasn't even embarrassed about taking my clothes off in front of him. He was so gentle with me; he cared for me that night. But then we went back to being just friends the next day as if it never happened. I gave Robbie my virginity in high school. Not even my fiance knows about Robbie and me.

Robbie's never shown much interest in women besides Missy Baxter. Missy is a good friend of mine. I think Missy and Robbie would be good together. At some point, I need to ask Robbie to be at my wedding, but I can't after. After we almost kissed.

"I will always be here for you, Sam. We're best friends. Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?" He asks.

"It's just you," I reply.

When Robbie gets up, he stretches, and all his muscles extend toward the ceiling. Robbie has grown up. I can tell he's been working out. Crap, I need to stop checking Robbie out. He sure has gotten sexy lately. And if he can think I'm beautiful, then I can think he's gorgeous, right?

I find myself lusting after Robbie again. If he knew, he'd probably think I was insane. It's easier being friends than more. When feelings get involved, it doesn't work. We'd never speak again.

The truth is I only said yes, to Mark because Robbie never noticed me. Maybe that almost kiss was all in my head. It's awful to be engaged to Mark when I know I have a crush on Robbie. But it's too late; I can't back out now. Robbie wouldn't want that. He'd want me to be happy, happy with 'Mr. Darcy.'

But right here and now, Robbie and I are alone. And I want to be alone with my best friend forever.

I fidget with my new engagement ring. It's big, beautiful, and not me. It's itchy, and I don't like it. But I went along with it because I don't want to die alone. Robbie was too slow, and I can't wait around for him anymore.

But when he looks at me, I swear there's more to it. I want to melt when he looks at me, like the way he's looking at me now. Come to think of it; he only looks at me this way. I'm tempted to walk over and kiss Robbie. I need to get it out of my system. I need to know before I marry Mark that nothing is holding me back.

"Sam, are you okay?" Robbie asks.

"I'm fine." I sway my body on my feet for a moment. I go back and forth. This is nuts. I can't just walk over and kiss Robbie. But I'm going to. I need to know.

I dig up the courage and walk toward Robbie. I grab his head and feel his dark hair in my hands. I put my lips on his and kiss Robbie Garvie. He kisses me back. As I pull away, I notice that his eyes are still closed, and he wants more. I close my eyes again and kiss Robbie. He pulls me in, and then the doorbell rings.

We quickly back away from each other. Like high school, we won't talk about what has just happened between us because this is Robbie Garvie. Robbie Garvie doesn't talk about his feelings. Not even to me, his best friend.

It's the mail delivery man. Robbie laughs and stares at me. He looks satisfied. He heads to the kitchen and shows no interest in talking about this at all. This is why I am marrying Mark. Mark tells me everything. Robbie is closed off, and I can't be with someone like that.

"Sam... I. What just happened?" Robbie asks.

"I think we kissed."

"I didn't kiss you, and you didn't kiss me. Right?" Robbie says.

"Right."

"You're marrying Mr. Darcy, and this never happened, right?" Robbie asks.

"Right," I agree. I'm blushing as Robbie walks over to me from the kitchen fridge.

"Sam? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I reply while trembling.

"Can I kiss you one more time?"

His question throws me off. Robbie Garvie is expressing his thoughts, and that hardly happens. So instead of answering his question, I walk up to him and put my lips on Robbie's all over again.

He pushes me into the wall. He kisses my cheeks, my face, and my neck. I didn't know Robbie felt this way. And I didn't know I still felt something for him. I kiss Robbie back. We aren't just kissing. We are making out. I pull away from Robbie. He looks as shocked as I am.

"This never happened, right?" Robbie asks.

"But it did," I say.

"Sam, don't do this. This never happened. You're marrying someone...else."

Are those tears forming in Robbie's eyes? Fuck, what are we doing? I don't know what to think anymore.

"What am I supposed to do now, Robbie?"

"Marry, Mr. Darcy," he whispers.

"Mark. His name is Mark," I say.

"Yeah, whatever," Robbie sighs as he turns away.

"Robbie, wait. You're right. This never happened."

I see a smile return to Robbie's face. And as I do, I find him staring at my lips again. It's clear to me that this engagement is going to hurt Robbie. But he's right, this never happened, but for some reason, I want to go back and kiss Robbie over and over again.

Fuck, my mind needs to turn off. Robbie's right; we just had a little episode to get out of our systems. It's over and done with, and my feelings for him will never matter.