AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her life was good, but it didn’t mean it couldn’t be better.
And that morning, when Annette walked into the kitchen, Sophie finally saw it as an opportunity.
“Morning,” she tried, then frowned when Annette flinched. Guess she deserved that for avoiding them for so long.
“Hey.”
Sophie waited for Annette to get her coffee before she tried again.
“So, if you watch it, there’s aLove Lockedfinale watch party on Friday. Mitch and I are going. You should come.”
Annette brought her mug to her lips, her expression giving nothing away, but Sophie powered on.
“Or uh, if Colin still wants to go to that mini golf bar, we could go there sometime.”
“Oh no, don’t ever,eversay that,” Annette said, suddenly serious. “I’ve almost gotten him to forget about it. If he hears you want to go, I’ll have to be there, and there are,” she leaned in close, her eyes going wide, “clowns.”
Sophie bit hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “Mm-hmm.”
“I’m serious. I can bench press my own weight, but I do not fuck with clowns. Not now, not ever.”
“No clowns. Got it.”
“Good, we can be friends, then.” Annette clinked her mug against Sophie’s.
Sophie finally let loose the laugh she’d been stifling. Huh. A new friend. Maybe she should feel silly for being excited, but to hell with it. She was proud of herself.
Annette reached for the pot to top off her cup. “Girl, just promise me we’ll talk about more than dates. The Bechtel test is such a low bar.”
Sophie felt a little guilty for not giving Annette a chance until now. She was way cooler than she’d given her credit for. “I’ll make you a deal. If you don’t bring up my mom, then I’ll talk about more than Mitch.”
“Can I bring up how stupid the Justice Party is?”
“If you didn’t, we might not have anything to talk about.”
“Deal.” She stuck her free hand out.
Sophie reached, but at the last minute, Annette pulled back.
“But on election day, no restrictions.”
She drove a hard bargain.
“Fine, but then I get one day too.”
“Birthday? Anniversary?”
Oh shit. She hadn’t thought about that. They’d have an anniversary, wouldn’t they? Sophie blinked.
“Shit, I broke you.”
“No, no. Um, maybe I’ll just keep it in my pocket. Get out of jail free.”
“I guess I can accept that.”
They shook.
“Awesome, now can we please talk about your nails? Because I’ve been staring at them every day for literal months, and I cannot be expected to hold my tongue any longer.”
