I shake my head, leaning against the back of the couch. “No. I’m driving tonight, so I’ll just have one or two at the bar.”
“Responsible,” she teases, popping the cap off one for herself. “What happened to the reckless guy I knew in college?”
I shrug. “I graduated, grew up.”
She takes a sip, then gestures around the room with the bottle. “Seriously, though. Thank you for helping me with all this. I know I could’ve just called management.”
I chuckle. “That’s what Robyn said.”
Tessa’s eyebrows lift a little. “Oh?”
“Yeah.” I grin, shrugging my shoulder.
“Is your girlfriend cool with us?” Tessa asks, sitting on the other end of the couch. “Especially now that I’m living here?”
“Of course, she has a male bestie of her own.”
Tessa tilts her head, studying me over the rim of the bottle. “But would Robyn call her bestie to fix her stuff?”
I huff out a laugh. “Robyn?” I shake my head. “Fuck no. She’d call the landlord or pay someone.”
Tessa’s eyes sharpen. “Oh?”
“Robyn’s a city girl,” I say, pushing away from the couch and stretching my shoulders. “Only child. Her father lives abroad. Sent her to boarding school when she was a teen. She was raised to handle things herself—and she does. Back in Rockton, we were taught to lend help to any neighbor.”
Tessa hums, considering that. “Well… that’s interesting.”
I glance at her.
“Not the type of woman I would’ve pictured you with.”
“Why do you say that?”
She shrugs, but it’s a little too casual. “Well… because, you know.” She gestures between us. “You’re friends with me.”
I blink.
“And I really think you like helping me,” she adds.
“I… do, but what does that have to do with my girlfriend?”
She shifts her weight, crossing one ankle over the other. The light from the lamp catches her pale-blonde hair that’s resting over one shoulder in straight strands.
“Well… it’s not just that. It’s also the thing with your dad.”
I straighten. “Tess, my father leaving has nothing to do with who I love.”
She eyes me, pupils blown and eating up the dark green of her irises. “You love her?”
“Of course I do.” My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. “What’s this about?”
She just stares at me, then waves a hand, forcing a laugh. “Sorry, sorry. Forget I said anything.” She sets the beer down and moves toward the hallway. “You should head out. I’ll meet you at the bar.”
This time around, her eyes don’t meet mine. Tessa’s always been blunt, sometimes too blunt, but that question—you love her?—sits oddly in my chest.
Maybe she’s just curious. We haven’t seen each other much since we finished undergrad and she moved away. I didn’t have a serious girlfriend before Robyn. Before Robyn—BR—I only went on dates with girls, sometimes for one or two months at a time.
Heading into her bedroom, her voice trails from there. “The bar’s walking distance, right?” she asks.
