Page 33 of Timelessly Ours
It smelled heavenly. Fresh cotton with hints of lavender and rain from being laundered. But woven into the fabric was a masculine undertone of cedarwood and an earthy musk that pierced my senses.
All night.
I wonder if he wants it back…
Still facing me with a big Cora-sized smile, my friend reaches beside her, pulling on someone’s arm.
I frown as she yanks Angel from behind the wall to the front door.
“We’re here,” Cora chirps, letting herself in.
Angel on the other hand winces and gives me a tentative smile.
“Hello, friend,” I offer as sweetly as I can.
“Can I come in?”
I roll my eyes. “Angel, it’s your house. Come on in.” Following Cora, I yank my other best friend inside. “Jesus, woman. You keep this up, I might just have to hurt you.”
Angel’s hands shake nervously when I lead them both into the den. “Don’t make jokes. You know how sensitive I am—after everything that went down between Jace and me last year, the last thing I want to do is betray someone I care about…again.”
That earns my friend another eye roll—two actually. Cora spent most of last winter convincing Angel that she hadn’t betrayed Jace’s trust by accidentally slipping his secret to her. One that nearly cost him his playing career after Cora went to Coach with her concerns that her brother was playing with a bad shoulder.
“I know, honey.” I pat her gently. “Here, come sit.”
“Sit? I can’t sit. We’re going to talk about this nanny business in a minute. But first, please tell me you don’t hate me—I mean us,” she adds with a squeal, pointing to Cora. “She was a part of it too.”
Cora sets her arms on her hips. “Really? Now you throw me under the bus?”
Angel turns and points her thumb back at me, hissing to Cora. “She could snap my neck.”
I sit back with my arms crossed, mildly enjoying this. Then turn to the other brunette in the room. “Hey, babe.”
Cora shakes her head at Angel, who is still pacing the room and moves to sit beside me. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “We all knew it was a risk doing this behind your back but…we were all so worried. It’s not that we didn’t trust you.” She puts her hand on her heart. “I trust and believe in you with my whole heart. But I also never want to see you in a situation where…you feel alone. I don’t know much about recovery, but I work with children whose parents have…similar battles and…it could take years.”
Or a lifetime. “I know.”
She swipes at a tear that falls from her eyes. “I love you. And I totally get it if you need to stay angry…or hidden for a bit longer. Believe me—I know all about needing space after someone hurts you.”
“Dammit, you’re good,” Angel grumbles.
I hug my friend. “Thank you, Cor. That means the world to me. And I know you all had my best interest at heart. And that you do trust me—” I swallow hard. “I just hate having to let you all down.”
Cora shakes me as if to wake me up. “But you didn’t.”
“Right.” I nod and flick her pink streak back. My bright yellow one has grown out and I make a mental note to head to the mall with her sometime soon to have it redone. Angel still has her blue one but doesn't upkeep as diligently as Cora does.
Dying vibrant streaks in our hair is our version of friendship bracelets. Cora started the trend with her hot pink one and I just had to follow with highlighter yellow. The boys still make fun of us for it.
Cora glances at her phone. “I’m already thirty minutes late to work. I’m going to go make a coffee to go—do me a favor and throw this one a bone before she has a breakdown?” She points at Angel.
I look up at my tall blonde friend and raise a brow.
Cora leaves and I stare at Angel. I don’t know why lying to her breaks me more than it does anyone else.
Angel breaks into tears. “I was so scared. So scared that you—when you left, you would—and then we couldn’t find you—” She sucks in a breath and I go to her, wrapping my arms around her.
“I’m sorry. I should have called.”
