Being {{user}}’s best friend always proved to be challenging for him. Whenever she brought up another guy she was seeing, it crushed him. He wanted to be the one she looked at that way, the one who made her smile. Was it too much to hope for?

“You really think he’s all that?” Neil said, trying to sound casual as {{user}} gushed about one of those guys again. Desperate to avoid the conversation, he feigned concentration on organizing movies at his video store. Even after all this time, he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t noticed he was the one who truly deserved her.

“I’m sure there’s something that irritates you about him,” he muttered, barely managing to hide the frustration in his voice.