“Nope, sorry.” Sienna points to the door. “You’ll have to take your bony ass somewhere else to watch it.”
Yeah, Sienna’s not her biggest fan. With good reason.
Amelia sniffs. “Pretty sure my rental agreement says something about a functioning TV. Maggie, are you going to honor it, or should I leave that Airbnb review now?”
Sometimes I really hate this girl. “Aren’t there children somewhere you need to exsanguinate?”
“No, but that’s funny.” She tilts her head. “In another universe, you and I could be friends, but now you’re banging my ex, so it’ll never happen.”
Why is she always reminding me that she used to sleep with Olly? I have too much pride to mention that there hasn’t been any banging in a while.
Charlie immediately clams up around the new addition to our party, who sits on my couch even though I haven’t invited her in. I can see why Charlie is intimidated. Amelia is all loud bravado and snooty fashion. She looks like her NYC billboard—untouchable.
The pizza arrives, and I enjoy how Amelia plucks off all the good toppings so she can nibble on her slice of bread and tomato sauce.
We settle in to watch the Broncos take on the Sooners. Oklahoma has a great team this year.
“Lone Star State has had a phenomenal season so far despite a rough start off the field,” the sportscaster says. “Half the team was embroiled in that swimming scandal, to put it politely, but Richard Santos, ‘the Saint,’ has whipped these players into shape. The ethics committee cleared the athletes to play after they investigated a party that got out of hand. Santos says his boys have recommitted themselves to the game. And no one has had a greater comeback than Michael Oliver. He busted his ACL last November, underwent surgery, and has returned with a vengeance.”
My heart jumps when they put his photo on the screen as they discuss his stats. Sometimes it’s surreal that he and I are together, especially right now when his headshot is on national television.
They cut to a shot of Ted and Wendy wearing face paint and matching jerseys, and I smile at the fierce pride shining in their eyes.
“Oliver is developing a similar reputation to his coach—as a straight shooter who is dedicated to the game. He’s someone the whole team says you can rely on. Oliver started playing when he was eight…” The montage of my boyfriend growing up is adorable. I recognize several photos his parents have hanging in their house.
For some reason, my attention strays to Amelia, and I’m taken aback when I see her eyes glistening.
In that moment, it hits me. She’s still in love with Olly.
Is that why she’s living here? Is she trying to get back together with him?
I’ve seen them interact. He barely acknowledges her. It sucked having my brother suspect Olly of cheating, but if anything, it strengthened my belief in him. Olly’s not perfect, and we might bump heads at times, but I know in my heart he’d never cheat.
Amelia quickly wipes her eyes, and I have to admit that even though she’s a giant twat sometimes, a part of me feels for her. I remember what it was like, being in love with Olly from afar.
“Holy crap, that was great.” Sienna’s grinning. Until she sees Amelia sitting across from her, and her smile falls away for a second. She shakes her head comically and turns to me. “I bet he gets some endorsements from that piece.”
“I thought the rules prohibited that sort of thing.”
“It just changed,” she explains.
Amelia tosses her paper plate onto the coffee table. “Which is why I suggested he do that photo shoot last year. I thought it would be good for his career. But nooooo. That’s not how he took it.”
I freeze, her words sending a frisson of anxiety through me, but Sienna cuts her off before she says anything else. “Maggie, before I forget, would you have time to help me with some designs for Sunshine Yoga? I need a new logo and a bunch of marketing materials.”
“I’d love to help.” I definitely need the work, especially since my work-study job tanked.
Amelia turns to me. “You do design?”
“I’m not a graphic design artist or anything. I just like fonts.”
Sienna scoffs. “She’s being modest. She has a great eye for layouts. By the time she graduates, her portfolio is going to be banging.” She juts out her lower lip. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out with that first ad agency.”
Or the second.
“Where did you work?” Amelia asks.
“Couple of places in town. Evergreen Advertising and this place called Spire. They were both through my work-study program.”
