I smirk, recalling the many times over the years I had to nurse her back to sobriety after a night of too much fun. The woman could never hold her alcohol.
Ah, so that was you who was dancing on the benches in front of Sal’s? It was the talk of the town today. Surprised you didn’t hear.
I did no such thing. You know Evan is the dancer in our family, not me
I laugh. God, I miss her humor.
I’ll make sure the correction is made before it goes into the Blue Fields Gazette gossip column this weekend. I think Cindy is already working on her article.
Oh God, let’s hope not. Cindy hates me. She never got over that sleepover in eighth grade when I accidentally cut her hair with crafting scissors
I can see the headline now. “Blue Fields Welcomes Home Dancing Queen Amelia Baker Years After Tragic Hair Cutting Scandal!”
I’ll have to convince her to delete that drunk picture of you I already emailed her, though. Sorry about that.
You haven’t changed one bit, Ronin Kane
My throat feels tight. I miss this—this easy banter between us. It used to be like this all the time before. Maybe it’s not too late to get it back.
Jury’s still out on you. Must conduct some further research, I think.
Well, lucky for you, I’ll be here til the new year. Plenty of time for experimentation
Don’t tease me with a good time, Baker.
Am I flirting with her? Jesus, I think I am. I need to chill. We’re barely back on speaking terms.
Don’t tease me with experiments, Kane. You know science is my weakness
A laugh escapes me. Science was Mel’s worst subject in high school.
By weakness, I can only assume you mean kryptonite. Don’t forget, I was there when you failed chemistry and spent the summer makingup the credit
There is no reply yet, no jumping tiny dots on my screen to show she’s typing. I finish my beer and stand up to clear away the empty bottles. My stomach grumbles loudly, so I stop by the fridge to grab a slice of leftover pizza.
Leaning on my kitchen counter, I chew my cold pizza and contemplate what to say to her next. I should be pissed at her for standing me up, but for some reason, I’m not. I’m tired of being away from her. For years, I held on to my hurt and the anger when she left without telling me. I want to move on from that and try to salvage the friendship I miss so fucking much it makes my chest hurt.
After rinsing my hands off, I pick my phone back up and send another message. I’m not ready for the conversation to be over yet, and I hope she hasn’t fallen asleep.
You’ll be at the cookie exchange tomorrow, right?
A few minutes go by, and just when I’m ready to give up and head to bed myself, I get a reply.
Sure will
Well. See you then, Mel. Night.
Goodnight, Ronin
Chapter Eleven
RONIN
TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD
I’ve been such an idiot.
When Mellie left without so much as a goodbye or explanation to anything, it cut me deep. I’ve been ignoring her calls and texts out of pure pettiness and frustration. And hurt, if I’m being honest.
