Page 80 of Your Play to Call
“And then there’s this whole Dexter thing. He said they talked, and she never brought it up.”
It stings that she didn’t bring it up even though I said it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t, but then all of this happened, and I’m in my apartment stuck with my thoughts.
There’s no way it was nothing. It was enough for him to show up like he did tonight. Before my thoughts run away without me, my mom interrupts.
“Who knows. You’ll have to ask Willow. Also, he sounds like a giant tool.”
I let out a small laugh because hearing my mom call someone a tool is not like her at all but she’s not wrong.
“Where did you hear that term?” I can’t help but give her a little smile.
“I listen to podcasts.” She shrugs her shoulders. “You seem better with Willow—less anxious.”
She’s right. Willow has made a difference. And tonight, I did nothing but make her life more difficult.
“I think there’s time to fix this. Not tonight, but tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. It’s not about being perfect every day but working through things when you fall short.”
Falling short. That’s me.
Chapter 42
Willow
After I text Trippto let him know I’m home, I turn my phone off. I open the door to see Emilie sitting in the kitchen, a box in front of her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well, I saw Dexter showed up to your dinner. Tripp also texted me, telling me you might need a friend.”
“You have friends in town…”
“We had a full weekend, even without me staying there tonight. Believe me, you’re sort of doing me a favor. Had my fill.” She winks at me.
I have no words. From Emilie cutting her weekend short to Tripp telling her I might need someone. I walk to her, and she hugs me. She rubs my back, and we stay like this for a minute.
“I brought cookies. The ones you like with the stupid thick buttercream. Do you want to get cozy on the patio?”
“Sounds perfect.”
After hashing everything out,from Dexter showing up, to the paparazzi nightmare, we’ve each eaten almost the entire box of cookies.
“Were you scared?” Emilie asks, her voice gentle.
“For a few seconds. I thought I was going to get swallowed by the crowd. Like everyone would forget I was there, and I’d get trampled or something. It was nowhere near that dramatic, but that’s what it felt like. For a blip, at least.” I can be honest with Emilie, and she won’t judge.
“I would’ve been scared. People are wild cards.” Emilie sums up my fear in a few short words.
“Fitting end to the Dexter date crash, to be honest.”
“Dexter. Woof. That is so cringe,” she says, fake-covering her eyes in embarrassment.
“Cringe is one way to put it. I was so angry. My blood felt like it was boiling. It’s one thing to infringe on my personal space but Tripp and I were having such a good night. He ruined it.”
“But…?” Emilie baits me.
“I also feel kind of bad for Dexter. He seems to be having a hard time. It’s not like I want to fix it or be friends or anything. It’s just another complicated emotion layered on top of everything else.”
Emilie mulls that over and nods in understanding.
