Those bitches, scared the fuck out of me. I let go of a self-deprecating laugh and wait for my heart rate to get back down to a healthy level, looking down at my phone and seeing my finger hovering over Caleb’s contact.
Was I really about to call Caleb instead of the fucking cops? Of course I was. Because I knew he’d show up. That he’d drop everything and without question he’d be here. And I was suddenly feeling antsy for a whole new reason, because I was starting to realize how much Ienjoyedneeding him. Isn’t that why I called him yesterday? When my life fell apart, he was the first and only person I wanted to be there to pick up my pieces. And I wish…I wish I didn’t need him. I wish I could go back to only needing myself, like I always had. But Caleb shows up and suddenly it feels like I no longer have to carry the burden of my worries on my own. There’s actually someone who wants to share the load. Someone who makes me feel like I’m not alone, and never will be again. And that feeling? That feels strangely a lot like peace.
I start to smile to myself before snapping the hell out of another Caleb-filled daydream. Instead, I pushall that shit down, burying it deep inside, and head into the apartment.
“What is all this?” I say by way of introduction, and Casey and Addy spin with matching megawatt smiles.
“Surprise! We wanted to give you the birthday dinner 2.0 so we could celebrate for real. I have pasta on the stove?—”
“Her pesto one!” Addison says with wide, happy eyes, and I chuckle.
“Tell me you have wine,” I complain as I trudge my way on heavy legs to the couch.
“Do you know us at all?” Addison teases as she lifts two bottles and begins to pour them into glasses.
We settle onto the couch, almost exactly like how it used to be when we all lived together, and I waste no time shoveling in a mouthful of pasta.
“So—”
“I knew this was coming,” I mumble over my mouthful.
“You can’t blame us for being curious. You had a freaking meltdown and then called for Caleb!” Addy deadpans and I grunt in agreement. I’d be curious too.
So, I tell them everything I told Jessie. About my situationship with Caleb being held against me like I was some hoe fucking for a job, and I feel strangely validated at the matching frowns on Casey and Addison’s faces. I reassure Casey about Jessie’s book and that he already knows, and I give them a very brief overview of what went down in Chris’s office and how I am currently unemployed but coming up with a solid plan.
And then I dive into the information Iknowthey have been dying for.
“We’ve been seeing each other. Like here and there for a bit.” I shrug and heap more pasta into my mouth.
“What is ‘a bit’?” Casey queries with a smirk. I keep pushing the pasta around my bowl as I do the mental math in my head.
“Four months,” I mumble.
“Four months!?” Addison screeches, sitting up, and I squeeze my eyes shut, letting my head fall to the couch.
“I know! Okay, I know, I’m sorry. I just…if things didn’t work out or, like, you know, when it’s over, I didn’t want it to be weird. I wanted to keep it a secret.”
“You suck.” Addison pokes her tongue at me and I poke mine back at her while Casey rolls her eyes.
“Okay, you two.” She looks at me then. “Well, if you wanted to keep it a secret, what changed?”
I don’t really know how to answer that. I was falling apart and somehow he became someone who provided a level of peace and comfort when no one else did. And in that moment, when everything felt like it was slipping through my fingers, he was the only person I wanted to hold me together. But of course I don’t say any of that. I just roll my shoulders and avoid eye contact.
“I don’t know, it just did. He’s not as dense as he makes everyone believe he is. He’s been…good company, and he’s easy to talk to. We have a lot of fun.” I sigh, putting my bowl down, not really feeling the pasta right now and feeling hella vulnerable.
“I remember what you were telling me about ‘hot idiot.’ It sounds like you really like him, Rosie,” Addy says gently.
“I’m also going to ignore that I had to find out about ‘hot idiot’ through Addison, after your meltdown, even though I knew you’d slept with him after Noah’s birthday.” Casey glows with a cheeky smile, my face falling into my hands, covering a groan.
“You WHAT?” I can hear Addison put her bowl on the table as she shifts on the couch, and I split my fingers to peek at her shocked face. “Tell me everything!”
“There isn’t much to tell. We slept together…the night of Noah’s party. The surprise one you guys threw.”
Addison, the drama queen, gasps. “That was a year ago!”
“I know! I’m sorry. It didn’t all happen, he was a fucking pest for about eight months before I decided to give in. He was just?—”
“Earth-shattering, show-stopping, saw through space and time, body left your soul—let’s see, what else…” Casey, that traitor, ticks the items off her fingers like a goddamn shoppinglist. “Something about coming back to life as a goddess. Said it ruined sex?—”
