I’ve been in love with my sister’s best friend for months.

The Shadow of Perfection

I’ve been in love with my sister’s best friend for months. What I did made him love me back.

I’ve been living with my older sister, Mia, since I graduated from college. She got this two-bedroom apartment near downtown and offered me the spare room while I figured out my career.

Mia’s basically perfect. She volunteers at the animal shelter on weekends, brings home leftover baked goods from her office for me, and never complains when I forget to buy toilet paper.

The only problem was her best friend, Luke. They met at a work conference three years ago and became instant friends.

At first, I thought he was just another one of her work buddies who came over for wine and reality TV. But Luke was different.

He fixed our garbage disposal without being asked. He remembered I was lactose intolerant and brought oat milk lattes when he visited.

He had this way of laughing at my dumb jokes that made me feel like the funniest person alive. I fell hard.

The thing is, I was pretty sure Luke was in love with Mia. He texted her good morning every single day.

He drove forty minutes to bring her soup when she had a cold. He memorized her coffee order and work schedule.

When she talked, he watched her like she was explaining the meaning of life. Mia was completely oblivious.

She’d tell me how lucky she was to have such a good friend while I died inside. She even tried setting him up with her coworker once, and he made up some excuse about focusing on his career.

For months, I tortured myself watching them together. Luke would come over for dinner and sit next to Mia on the couch while I took the armchair.

He’d help her cook while I set the table. They had inside jokes from work that I didn’t understand.

The worst part was the holiday season. Luke spent Thanksgiving with us because his family lived across the country.

He brought flowers for Mia and helped her make the turkey. I made the mashed potatoes alone in the corner like a sad ghost.

He stayed until midnight helping her clean up while I pretended to be tired and went to bed. I could hear them laughing in the kitchen and wanted to scream.

One Friday, Mia went on a date with a guy from her gym. Luke showed up at our place even though he knew she was out.

He said he left his charger there, but I knew that was bull because I saw it in his car earlier. He stayed and watched a movie with me, sitting on the opposite end of the couch like I had a disease.

The whole time, he kept checking his phone and asking when Mia would be back. When she finally texted she was staying at the guy’s place, Luke left immediately.

That’s when I snapped. The next week, I started my plan.

Every time Luke came over, I made sure to be in the living room first. When he sat down, I’d sit right next to him, not creepy close, just normal friend distance.

When Mia cooked, I’d help while Luke sat at the table. I started texting him memes during the day.

Nothing flirty, just funny stuff I knew he’d like. He always responded right away with laughing emojis or comments that kept the conversation going.

I found out he loved this one TV show Mia hated, so I started watching it and texting him about each episode. Soon, we had our own inside jokes.

When he came over, he started bringing two oat milk lattes instead of one. He’d ask me about my job interviews and remember the details.

He fixed my laptop when it crashed and refused to let me pay him, but he still sat next to Mia at dinner. He still texted her first every morning.

Then came Mia’s birthday party. She invited like twenty people to this bar downtown.

Luke was obviously there, hovering around her all night. He bought her drinks, made sure she didn’t lose her purse, and kept taking pictures of her with her friends.

After a few drinks, Mia started talking about how she wanted to find Luke a girlfriend because he was too good to be single. She literally grabbed our friend Hannah and tried to introduce them.

I watched from the bar, downing my third vodka tonic. I pulled him outside for air, and he just exploded.

The Party and the Unintended Truth

He went on about how Mia didn’t see him that way, how he’d been trying for three years, and how it killed him watching her date other guys. He said he’d basically been her boyfriend without any benefits.

He said he did everything right, but she only saw him as a friend. Then he said something that stopped my heart.

He said, “At least I understood him.”

He said I was the only person who really got him anymore. He said spending time with me was the only thing keeping him sane.

He said our texts were the best part of his day. Before I could respond, Mia came outside looking for us.

She was drunk and happy, talking about how glad she was that her two favorite people were friends. Luke looked at her with a defeated expression.

That’s when I did it. I told Mia that Luke had something important to tell her.

Luke went pale. Mia got all serious, grabbing his hands and asking if everything was okay.

He started stammering, looking between us, so I helped him out. I said Luke had feelings for someone at the party and needed advice.

Mia immediately went into best friend mode, demanding to know who it was. She started listing every woman there.

When she got to Hannah, Luke shook his head. When she jokingly said my name, he froze.

The silence was so loud I could hear the music from inside. Mia’s face went through like ten different emotions.

Then she started laughing. Not mean laughing, just surprised.

She told Luke I’d had a crush on him for months. She said she’d been trying to give us space to figure it out, but we were both too stupid to notice.

I couldn’t move. Mia threw her arms around both of us at the same time, squeezing tight enough that I felt Luke’s shoulder press against mine.

She was laughing and saying something about how she’d been waiting forever for us to get our heads out of our butts. Luke’s face looked like someone had just told him the sky was actually green.

He kept looking between me and Mia like he was trying to solve a math problem that didn’t make sense. That’s when it hit me.

Mia thought Luke’s feelings had always been about me. She had no idea he’d spent three years in love with her.

She genuinely believed this whole time he’d been into me and we were both too dumb to notice. The music from inside the bar got louder as someone opened the door.