“I can see,” Ophelia said in mock disgust at his sweat. Ophelia strained to keep her eyes trained on Luke, but her traitorous body couldn’t help but look at Etienne. His dark brown curls were damp with sweat, making the coils tighter, and his cheeks were flushed from working out. His sweaty shirt clung to his muscles, and his basketball shorts had the same effect as gray sweatpants. And she could smell him from the couch, not in a bad way. She just recognized the way he smelled— tree bark, fresh air, and soap. This time, his scent was muskier from basketball.
Ophelia had a weird thing about smells. Always had. Her high school boyfriend, her first love, smelled like her teen years: bottled cut grass, pine trees, salty sweat, and strawberries. A scent she’d never forget. And scents weren’t limited to just men. Her mother smelled of Lancome makeup, coffee, and lavender. Jolie smelled like a honey-baked ham, and growing up, she’d jokingly nip at Jolie’s arm and say she tasted like Thanksgiving dinner. Evangeline smelled pink, all poppies and cotton candy.She even used her sense of smell like others used their “gut instinct.”
“Hey, E,” she said.
He locked eyes with Ophelia. The corner of his mouth lifted, and his dimple popped through his beard. “Hey, O,” he said.
Etienne was technically a friend of Luke’s from high school, but he had evolved into somewhat of a staple in Ophelia’s overarching friend group. She originally met Luke, Etienne, and Ben, the third member of their friendship trio, in college at LSU. At the time, Etienne was on the med school track and was constantly studying, so she barely saw him out at bars or parties in college; when she did, he was always cornered by a gaggle of women fawning over his brooding mystique and good looks.
But he had accomplished what he set out to do. He was now a doctor— a general practitioner in New Orleans, to be more specific.
Over the years, Ophelia learned that it was unlike him to express his emotions. Instead, he kept them inside, turning them round and round like gemstones in need of polishing. But when he did speak, everyone listened because they knew it would be something important or profound or so perfectly funny they did not want to miss it.
The word Ophelia would use to describe their current friendship would be “strained.” Not because something happened between them, like an argument. No. The exact opposite, in fact. Nothing hadeverhappened between them. They were like two magnets attempting not to smash into each other every time they were in one another’s vicinity.
“Ophelia, you staying for dinner?” asked Luke. “We’re grillin’.” Luke didn’t wait for a response, heading straight for the kitchen to prep.
Ophelia hesitated to respond, unsure if she wanted to stay or if she wanted to head back home and decompress more. Her mind felt chaotic, and she was itching to write it all down in her journal, so she could process it better. Before she could answer, Jade cut in.
“I actually think you should stay the night, babe. You shouldn’t stay at your house alone tonight.”
Etienne looked at her curiously. “What happened?”
“Umm…a lot happened today. I’ll let Jade do the full recap, ’cause I’m wiped from talking about it, but Avery’s grandma was killed by a serial killer. Avery found her this morning.”
“Fuck… fuck,” Etienne mumbled in disbelief. “I’m so sorry, O.”
Luke came barreling from the kitchen. “Whoa! What the fuck happened?”
“Hold on. Let’s decide what you are doing tonight before we go into all this mess again,” Jade demanded.
Ophelia weakly nodded. “I’ll stay here.” She wasn't sure if she should be left alone quite yet, and she was not sure if it was even safe to return to her house. God, she despised this feeling.
Ophelia told the group she needed to call her mom, so she stepped outside to the back porch for some privacy. She hoped that Jade would fill them in on the rest of the story.
After the lengthycall with her mother, Ophelia returned inside to Jade, who had Theo wrapped around her body and was placing a vintage coupe in Ophelia’s hand.
“For you. It’s a lavender and gin cocktail with some CBD drops.”
“You’re a goddess,” said Ophelia as she took a sip of the herbaceous drink. “Where are Luke and Etienne?”
“Luke is showering, but Etienne’s flavor of the month called, so he bailed on dinner.”
“You mean Sarah? The girl from Mardi Gras?”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see how much longer that lasts. You know how Etienne is with his hoetation of blondes.”
Ophelia barked a laugh. “That I do.”
“What about you?” asked Jade. “I feel like we haven’t discussed gentlemen callers in a while.”
“Honestly, my last hookup was with Ben, and that was…yikes.” Jade and Ophelia both grimaced. “Since then, I’ve been busy with Healing Artists, Prytania Botanica, and my hot pink vibrator.” The choice to hook up with a friend in her circle was one she did not think was so wise in hindsight. But the horny brain wanted what the horny brain wanted, and at that moment several months ago, Ben was a man offering her pleasure.
Jade nodded. “Heard that.”
“You? What’s the sex life like for a postpartum mom with a six-month-old?”
“Umm, I’m in the starfish phase of my sexuality. I’m so exhausted that when we do have sex, I just lie there like a marine invertebrate and let Luke do all the work. I mean, I still love it and want to do it, but my energy is zapped.”
