Well, that is what you said about that one girl last year.
RIDGE
Right, you liked her, but she just wanted to be friends, so you suffered through that while liking her the entire time.
BANKS
It’s not like that.
LYRIC
I might bring my co-worker, Philip.
Who the fuck is Philip? I don’t type that, though. I need to be cool. I shouldn’t care anyway. Except we definitely just had sex. Maybe I should have been more clear that if we’re going to be fuck buddies, it should be exclusive. If we start seeing other people, we can’t have sex anymore.
Yes, I’ll talk to her about it when I see her. No need to bring it up over text. That doesn’t seem appropriate.
Whatever. I shouldn’t even be worried about it. Fine, bring Philip. I should really turn my attention to this party I’m throwing. Technically, it’s going to be Ridge and Darcy’s engagement party; most people just don’t know that yet. So I should keep them in mind when planning.
I need to talk to Lyric about that too. As my roommate, I guess we’re technically co-hosting. I’ll need her involved to pull this off. Maybe I can ask her who Philip is. No, no. None of that.
I spend another half hour on my Viking sketch for my client, then put it away. Unable to concentrate, I look down at my leg. There’s a small patch of skin just above my knee on the inside that is completely blank. I’ve been trying to figure out something to put there, but nothing is coming to mind. Of course, I could make this fun. This area of my leg doesn’t really have a theme. It’s just a collection of smaller tattoos that I like or that have meaning. Some are inside jokes. Some even represent people in my life. Yes, this could be fun.
I pull my phone back out and navigate to my texts with Lyric.
ME
If you were choosing a symbol to represent yourself, what would it be?
LYRIC
Whoa. Are you high at work? This feels like a high question.
ME
Not high. Just curious.
LYRIC
Hmm. I’d have to go butterfly.
That makes sense, since she collects specimens. I checked out her collection before, but it seemed larger when we moved her in. They’re very beautiful.
ME
Why butterflies?
LYRIC
My mother actually gave me my first specimen. It was before she got sick. I know I told you she gave me my favorite, but she’s the one who introduced me to the hobby too.
ME
Does it make you feel connected to her?
LYRIC
In a way. Or sometimes it feels more like I’m doing it on her behalf. Like she can’t, so I do it for her.
