Even Holly winces in sympathy as she sips her drink. “Oof. I can’t believe he held on for that.Andproposed.”
“Once we talked it through, he got it,” I say, wrapping both hands around my warm cup. “Deep down, I think he felt the same. He just thought a proposal might move things along. Move me, I guess.”
Tatum shakes her head slowly. “Geez. He’s worse than the women who think a baby will save a marriage.”
“It’s not like that,” I defend. “Haven’t you ever held on to something too long? Even if it was just for the comfort of it?”
Holly and Tatum exchange a quick glance, then look back at me with twin expressions.
“No,” they say flatly in unison.
“I hate you both.” But I’m smiling.
“Look, Aspen,” Tatum says, leaning forward. “I hate to say I told you so, but that man has been trying to sleep with you for six months, and you’ve been treating him like your co-worker with HR over your shoulder.”
I wince. “But we had so much fun together, Tay. We were even planning to take French classes together so we could learn how to talk shit about people in another language.”
Tatum rolls her eyes. “And that makes him your bestie, not your baby daddy. You don’t want to climb him like a tree. You want to high-five him after soccer matches and text him memes about your menstruation.”
Holly snorts into her drink. “Yeah. I’ve seen the roster of manliness on that team. I’d gladly mount any of them—consensually, of course—and then very disrespectfully. The fact that you’ve had unfettered access to one with an Irish accent who worships the ground you walk on, and you never evenattemptedto get in his pants? Honestly, I’m ashamed of you.”
I open my mouth to defend myself. Saysomethingthat makes this all sound less tragic. But all that comes out is a groan.
Because they’re right.
Both of them.
And I hate it here.
Tatum folds her arms. “So, here’s what’s going to happen. You areabsolutelycoming to Vegas with us next month.”
I whine. “Girl, I can’t. Work is crazy right now. Youknowthat place falls apart without me whenever I’m not there and I always return to a forest fire of issues.”
“Bullshit,” Holly coughs into her drink without even looking up.
I blink. “I beg your pardon?”
She sets her mug down. “I saidbullshit.No one person is holding a whole ass hospital together, Aspen. Delegate. Train someone. Or admit you’re hiding behind work as a cop-out.”
I flip her the bird, and she just smirks and sticks her tongue out at me.
“You’ve said it yourself,” Tatum adds. “All you do is work, and that’s why it made it easier to ignore the faux relationship you’ve been carrying on with Croix. Come to Vegas. Live a little.”
One of our old sorority sisters just got divorced and hit the financial lottery in the settlement. Mylene’s going fullBig Vegas Energyto celebrate, complete with first-class flights, penthouse suites, unlimited drinks, spa days, and shopping sprees. And while everyone else RSVP’d immediately, I’ve been playing the, “I’ll see,” game every time they try to lock me in.
“Come to Vegas with us, Pen,” Tatum says, her voice softening. “Let us get you out of your comfort zone while we spend all of Kevin Spencer’s money.”
Kevin Spencer. Mylene’s ex-husband. Professional ball player, disappointment, and casual misogynist. Honestly, spending his money would be its own kind of healing.
I crack a smile, but I don’t say anything.
Tatum sees the hesitation and pounces. “When was the last time you did somethingjustfor you? Something a little crazy?”
“I don’t do crazy,” I say flatly. “My momma raised me Pentecostal.”
Tatum flashes me a sneaky grin. “Well, no friend of mine is leaving this earth without having at leastonereckless weekend in Vegas. We can pray about it afterwards.”
Holly clinks her mug to Tatum’s. “Yes! I still remember my first wild night in Vegas. It’s basically a rite of passage.”
