"Only for me then?"
"Of course, only for you." I blow her a kiss through the air, and she dramatically catches it and slaps her hand to her chest.
Fia and I both know we’re nothing more than good friends and roommates who fuck. When it comes to committed relationships, we're on the same wavelength. That's what makes living with her so easy. I don't have to explain that every person I go on a date with isn't the one who'll change me, like my sister and Iris so often like to believe. They're both hopeless romantics, and that's worked out well for them, but that's not how I roll. The sooner they both accept that, the less agony I'll put them through every time I cut someone off.
There's an aggressive knock, followed by the front door—which I forgot to lock behind me—flying open. Speaking of my overly optimistic best friend, Iris comes rushing through the door.
"How did it go?!"
Iris lands on the couch next to Fia, leaving me to close the door.
"I was just telling Fia here that there's nothing to report. I walked in, he gave me my jacket, then I left."
"That's not true." Iris is beaming from ear to ear, and it's starting to freak me out. "I was following your location, and you were there for at least fifteen minutes."
That's how she knew I was finally home. "So?"
"So...grabbing your jacket and leaving doesn't take fifteen minutes."
"Neither does whatever your little imagination is dreaming up for me."
"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you don't ever have quickies that last less than ten minutes."
"Fine, I do. But that's not what was happening today. I ran into Raina, the other tattoo artist who was supposed to do my newest piece. We chatted for a bit before I even saw Kass."
Fia and Iris look at each other like I'm full of shit.
"I'm serious! You guys know I wouldn't fuck someone that hot and not tell you."
Fia ponders something for a second. "I've never actually seen a picture of him."
"What?" Iris looks appalled at Fia's confession. "Ohmygod, let me show you!" She whips out her phone and starts frantically tapping the screen until she finds what she's looking for.
Fia slowly scrolls through the photos. "Fuck, B. He's fine."
Iris takes her phone back from Fia. "I can't believe you haven't asked to see a picture of him yet. Or that you haven't looked him up yourself."
"I never look up the people B sleeps with. There's no point." Fia glances over at me. "It's not like we'll ever actually get to meet them."
The cogs start turning in my head. I couldn’t. No. Yes. Maybe? "You could."
Iris's face lights up again. "You're going to introduce us to him?"
"Not you."
Her face contorts, like she's actually taking offense to that. "What? But you just?—"
"Fia can meet him."
Fia's eyebrow cocks up. "Why me?"
Am I really going to do this? Is this really how I want to handle these complicated feelings I don't know how to process? Yes, it is. Anything to divert the attention away from me. Anything to prove to them that this is no different than every other time I've hooked up with someone.
"Because I want you to fuck him."
Iris chokes on…air? Whatever it is, her mouth is hanging open, and she's making a sound I don't recognize. When she catches her breath, she spits out, "You can't be serious."
"I am. You guys think I have some deep, hidden feelings for this guy, and I'm going to prove to you that I don't."
