Maybe I should try to sublet my apartment while we’re gone? The thought of someone stinking the place up has me crushing that thought away.
“Everything okay?” Birdie asks.
“I think this shop might be above our paygrade.”
“I think you’re right,” she says as we both do our most polite walk out of the store and head back on to the main path.
We end up at a more touristy keepsake shop and I’m staring at all the pamphlets as Birdie comes behind me.
“Oh, would you look at that,” she says, picking up a green brochure. “Lain’s Highland Tours, might want to look into that.” She slaps the pamphlet in my hand.
I roll my eyes at her, because I haven’t even told her I spent the whole day with him a few days ago. I’m not sure why I’m holding back from her, I guess I just don’t want her to romanticize the whole thing. I’m not here for some Highland romance, I’m here to grieve, move on, and get closer to Birdie.
“Cute,” I reply, looking through all the brochures. “This looks fun.” I hand her a brochure with an adorable cow on the cover and she glances at me oddly.
“You and cows? I’m not sure I see it, Mais,” she jokes.
“You’re right. Let’s just go get some dinner and figure out what we want to do for the rest of the weekend?”
“I heard Greer’s is fantastic,” she says with a smirk and I shake my head.
“That is not where we will be going tonight.”
“Is there a very tall, ginger-haired gentleman you’re trying to avoid, Maisie?”
“I’m not avoiding anyone,” I say a little too quickly.
“Please, Maisie, you take life too seriously. We’re in Scotland for a whole month and you need to let your hair down a little. You know, a little hook up wouldn’t kill you.”
“It just might,” I grumble as we walk down the cobblestone path.
“I mean you’ve had hook ups before right?”
I wrap my arms around myself. “I mean, I’ve had my heats serviced.”
She stops us at the corner. Greer’s is right there and I swear if she tries to get me to go inside, I’m probably going to combust.
“Are you telling me you don’t have sex outside of your heat with anybody?”
She says it so loud I swear a few people walking by are staring at us.
“Damn, Birdie, say it louder so the whole town hears.”
“Oh wow. No wonder why you’re so uptight. You need to be getting laid more often.”
I gasp at her accusation of being uptight, no matter how accurate that may be.
“I-I don’t.”
Birdie links her arm with mine as we walk in step with one another. “Hook ups are easy. You just have to go in knowing what you want. You’re not looking for a bond mark or some epic grand gesture of love. You’re two—or more—people looking to feel good. When was your last heat any way?”
“A few months ago, I’ve been taking suppressants anyway,” I tell her honestly, wondering if her words have any merit to them.
I’ve been a rule follower, someone who worked themselves to the bone and let my life pass me by. What if, for once, I didn’t worry over the small things and actually let myself loose? It’s not like I’ll have regrets I can’t hide from. If it goes south, I’ll be on a plane back to Chicago, anyway.
“I don’t know, Birdie.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” she says, nearly dragging me into Greer’s and plopping us both onto bar stools.
