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“Hey, Blaire,” Rae says.
“Hi. How was your work today?” I ask as I approach her. Rae works as an office manager for one of the big dental chains in town.
“Busy. Lots of people need their teeth fixed these days. How was your day?”
“It was good. First days are always the longest.” I blow out a breath.
“Only one hundred and forty something to go.” I smile, then lower my head to avoid her noticing my tired eyes. I slide off my sunglasses and put them in my purse.
“Come on in and tell me all about your first day.” She holds the front door for me, and we walk into her house.
I walk past her and toward the back of her house to the kitchen. I slide onto one of the stools at her counter high table and place my purse on the stool beside me.
“Wine?” Rae asks as she walks toward the refrigerator.
“Yes, please.” I reach into my purse and check my phone for messages. Nothing.
“How many students do you have this year?”
“Um, I have eight. Four young women and four young men.”
With the two large goblets in hand and an extra-large bottle of a blush wine, she sits one in front of me and says with a cheeky grin, “You look like you’re going to need more than one glass.”
“Probably the entire bottle.” I let out a tired laugh and lift the goblet sitting near me, holding it for her to fill.
She fills my glass, then hers, and sits on the stool across from me.
Rae and I have been best friends since college. Even though we didn’t share classes, we met up at a frat party and hit it off. We’ve been inseparable since. She was my maid of honor, and I was her matron of honor. She’s Britney’s Godmother. Now we’re both divorced single moms. Her divorce was a lot messier; she caught Trevor cheating and kicked his ass out. No second chances given by Rae. She comes from a broken home and had warned him if he ever cheated on her, he’d be gone. She kept her word and filed for divorce immediately. She has primary custody of their ten-year-old daughter, Grace, my goddaughter. Trevor sees her every other weekend and every Wednesday night. Rae reluctantly agreed to share Grace every other week in the summer after she and I had a long heart to heart.
Trevor isn’t the doting kind of father that Preston is, but he is a good dad to Grace, and she deserves to spend time with him. That’s the reason I convinced Rae to allow him every other week in the summer. And let Grace know she can talk to her about anything. Be as open as she feels comfortable with her daughter. Trevor’s a cheater, and a dirtbag as a husband, but he is a good father.
Rae’s mom helps her when she needs someone to pick Grace up from school when she’s working extra hours to make ends meet.
“Hey.” Her hand touches mine as she brings my attention back to her.
“So, tell me about your new students. Are the young women nice? Too pretty to be chefs one day?” She sips on her wine, then her eyes widen, “Oh, wait. Tell me about the young men first. Any hotties? Like that barback from The Oasis?” Her foot bumps mine under the table.
I laugh, then gulp down my wine and shoot my arm with the goblet in hand toward Rae.
“Please?” I smile. I need more wine to tell this story.
She pours my glass three quarters full, and I bring it to my lips, taking a long sip before licking my lips clean of the refreshing beverage.
I clear my throat and say, “All of my students are so nice. Two of the young women are very pretty. Candace and Samantha. They could be models. I’m not sure why they’re taking culinary classes. Judy and Carrie are sweet. They’re much quieter than the other two.” I pour almost all the wine down my throat.
“Okay, so what about the young men?” Rae asks.
“Oh, they’re very nice, too. Three of them look older to be first year college students. I’ve not asked anyone their ages, just their goals for their future.” I empty my glass again and hold it out to Rae. I’m hoping she doesn’t ask about the fourth young man, Jaden.
“In a minute.” She takes my glass.
“Tell me about that last young man.” She sits both glasses to the side and props her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her palms.
Fuck. I drag my hand through my hair and sputter out a breath. Falling back against the wooden frame of the stool, I cross my arms over my body. She knows I was seeing someone, but she didn’t know that someone was Jaden.
She kicks my foot again and I sit forward.
“Okay. But first, I have to tell you the guy…” I pause and draw in a breath. I know I can tell Rae anything and she’ll have my back. I close my eyes, then let out the breath I’ve held for a few seconds.
