Did a person only getoneride-or-die best friend in their whole life?
Because lately Cassidy was starting to feel like she’d already lost hers.
She flipped the sign on the coffee shop door to closed and turned the lock, the click echoing through the quiet space. The Coffee Shop Next Door was empty now, the counters wiped down, the pastry case ready for tomorrow’s treats, and the air still heavy with the scents of coffee and cinnamon.
It wasn’t the most exciting job in the world, but she liked it.
She liked the routine of it all – take an order, make a coffee, smile and take payment, rinse and repeat. She was a creature of habit and enjoyed the happy little rut she’d set for herself, which included dinner on Wednesdays with her bestie Juliette.
Cass took off her apron and dropped it in the bin at the back of the shop, said goodbye to her manager, and stepped outside into the cool May evening. Normally she’d walk home with Juliette. Her best friend not only shared a split-double with Cass but worked at the bookstore next to the coffee shop, and that made their lives easy in the best possible way.
But Juliette wasn’t walking home with Cass tonight.
She was packing up her side of the split-double and moving across the river to King Lake with her wolf boyfriend, who Juliette called her mate.
Cass adjusted the strap of her purse and started the short walk home alone. She felt strange and she couldn’t really articulate why. It just felt odd, after such a long time walking home with Juliette, that Cass was alone. She wasn’t sharing details about the customers in the shop or hearing about the latest romance novels coming into the bookstore; it was just the sound of Cass’s shoes on the sidewalk and the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
She could be happy for Juliette’s newfound love and still miss her.
By the time Cass reached the house, the sun was setting, turning the white siding gold in the fading light. She paused on the joint sidewalk and looked at Juliette’s side. It was quiet from the outside, the blinds closed, a potted plant that needed watering at the front door.
Soon it would be empty, and the landlord would find someone else to rent to.
Striding up to the front door of her side of the split-double, she unlocked it and walked in. She was meeting Juliette at an old-fashioned pizza parlor for dinner, a place that Juliette had seen on social media and suggested they try. Cass had tried to share in her enthusiasm for the restaurant, but she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that their friendship was changing.
She pushed away the disgruntled feelings and told herself that a hot shower, fresh clothes, and pizza with Juliette would save the evening.
Another sigh escaped her as she made her way to her bedroom to get ready. Nothing like a friend finding their happily ever after to make a person feel their own loneliness like an ice pick in the ear.
But she wasn’t going to dwell on that.
What could she do, anyway? It wasn’t like Prince Charming was going to drop out of the sky and cuddle her into oblivion tonight.
Shedidbelieve in love, she just didn’t believe in fast love, the stuff of one-nighters and rushed declarations, the kind of heat that made people rearrange their whole lives in a heartbeat.
Juliette was happier now than Cass had seen her in recent memory, and she wasn’t going to throw cold water on that with her own slightly sour outlook on love. She just hoped that Juliette’s mate Sigh was really as steady as he seemed.
Pushing the worry aside, she stripped and turned on the shower, determined to focus on the night ahead. Pizza, gossip, and time with her best friend… something familiar she could still count on.
Tonight, she needed that more than usual.
She wasn’t surprised when Juliette didn’t show up at the pizza parlor.
Disappointed? Yes.
Annoyed? Sure.
But surprised? Not in the least.
As the server refilled her water and dropped off the check for the mostly untouched meal, Cass checked her phone again, her thumb hovering over the screen like it could make a text appear. But the screen was blank, without anI’m sorryorrunning latetext to be found.
She set her phone face down on the table. Cass still couldn’t believe that Juliette had flaked on their dinner, especially when she’d been so excited to try the place.
But maybe that was the problem. It wasn’t just one forgotten dinner.
It felt like the last couple of weeks had finally caught up with them. Juliette was slipping deeper into her new life, and Cass was stubbornly holding onto the old one with both hands.
She paid the check and boxed up the individual pizza she’d ordered while she waited. It had smelled delicious, but she’d felt weird eating alone after asking for a table for two.
