Mike never called again. It had been over a month now and we had to spend Christmas together, like we always did. Maybe he’d been too drunk to remember? Or maybe he was too embarrassed?
I shook my head and kept cleaning the floor. It was mostly to find something to do. Pete had spent a lot of time with me lately, a surprise considering he was dating Jackson now. Pete had admitted that he feared Mike felt lonely after his break-up, so he intentionally spent less time with Jackson, allowing Mike the chance to have Jackson all to himself. I was just glad since that meant I got some bestie time, too. Unlike Pete, I didn’t have a job currently, so I had way too much time on my hands and spent most of that time gaming. I did make a little money helping my mothers out with their online store. If they hadn't been helping me pay for the apartment, I would’ve needed to move back home. Something I dreaded. Pete was supposed to move in withme, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen now with Jackson in the picture.
I had a few hours to kill before Pete came over after work. His job was so cool and fascinating to me. He worked as a medium and helped ghosts either move on or get moved around. He’d explained it several times to me, but I still had no idea how he could free ghosts from attachments, such as humans. It also sounded like the worst kind of torture that you got stuck as a ghost next to the person who’d touched you while you died. I didn’t want anyone to touch me when it was my time to go, no thank you. I wanted to haunt aplaceand not aperson. Even with mediums around to help, it would be complicated to ask one for help once dead. You’d have to somehow stumble upon a medium who would be willing to help you and not all would.
I sighed heavily as I watched the clean floor. I couldn’t keep scrubbing it forever. I simply had to admit defeat and start job hunting again; no more procrastination. I stood, my back aching as I returned to the computer. I ran my hands through my dark blond hair and figured a shower would do me good before I turned the computer on. Not that I was intentionally pushing job hunting aside, but what if I got called in to a last-minute job interview? Icouldn’t show up with greasy hair, now, could I? With that in mind, I stood and got ready to shower.
Pete came with goodies,lotsof goodies.
“Oh, my God! You brought me my favorite burger too?!” I gasped, clutching the offered bag like it was the greatest treasure in the world. It sort of was to me. I’d forgotten to eat lunch. It often happened when I got too focused. My bodily needs took a step back while I concentrated intently on my current task. This time it wasn’t gaming but job hunting. Once I got into the groove, things just went smoothly. I felt awfully proud of myself. I truly deserved that damn burger.
Pete laughed. “Forgot to eat again?”
“Yeah,” I said, taking the other bag from him. The delicious scent of cinnamon wafted from the warm bag and I groaned. He’d brought dessert too.I truly loved that man.
“Gaming? Or cleaning?” he questioned with a knowing lilt to his voice.
“Job hunting.”
“Wow,really?”
“You don’t have to soundsosurprised,” I said, rolling my eyes. We sat and turned on the TV. Pete and I had the same love for sci-fi. I put on my newest obsession and we began eating. Being with Pete had always been easy, as if we were true brothers and not just besties. He was stuck with me for life and even though I knew I would see less of him because of Jackson, I also couldn’t fault him for that. I could only enjoy these moments we had together and cherish them more.Huh, I guess buying me food made me way more loveable to be around. I should write that down for my future partner,if I ever found one, that was.
“So, have you gotten all your Christmas presents?” he asked, knowing fully well that I didn’t.
“Nah,” I said, waving a ketchup covered hand in the air. “I think I’ll make them something this year.”
“You could paint?”
My dry look told him everything I thought about that stupid idea. I didn’t have a single artistic bone in my body. Normally, parents kept the things their children made growing up, but all mine “mysteriously” broke. I knew what my moms were up to and I couldn’t even blame them.
“I meant more like food or a cake,” I explained. Now, cooking I could do, and I made the best damn cookies in the world. I even had a recipe that was perfect for the freezer. I would dump so many damn cookies on them, their freezer would be stocked full for an entire year.
“Jackson won’t tell me what he bought for Mike this year,” Pete shared with a knowing grin. “I bet it’s gonna be hilarious.”
“Oooh, I can’t wait to see it! Think your mom would mind cookies this year? I really can’t spend much on presents until a job comes my way.”
He smiled. “My mom adores your cookies! And she would much prefer those than a gift card anyway, just saying.”
Pete’s phone beeped and the dopey look on his face gave the sender away. Jackson was my newest competition for Pete’s time, but seeing the happiness shine out of my best friend meant that I would gladly share him.
Chapter Two
Mike
Dylan looked so peaceful when he slept.Why was I staring at Dylan again?Right, because I felt so embarrassed over my drunken call a few weeks back. Now we were here, in my mom’s living room, sleeping right next to each other; me on the couch and him on a mattress on the floor. Christmas ended a few hours ago, but I still couldn’t seem to fall asleep. The conversation Dylan and I had shared over the phone kept running through my head. Vera had always hated being away from me. She always demanded I return home sooner, or, in her exact words, “worked faster”.It was a struggle having to explain to her over and over again that I needed to be allowed to enjoy my job or I would end up resenting it. She couldn’t seem to understand why I enjoyed traveling. In her mind, that meant that I enjoyed being awayfrom her. I sighed. She truly was a bitch like Dylan had said. Shedidhave some good qualities. Most of them just disappeared as soon as I began working for real. She enjoyed fancy dates, still waiting to get a job herself, but my travel had created tension and arguments, heated arguments, too.
Dylan let out a cute snorting sound and my focus was back on him. He’d been there when I called, even though we weren’t exactly close. I still had no idea why I’d called him; only that I needed someone to talk to so I clicked his name. His soft words had helped, but he’d also said things that no one else had ever said to me. Like how she knew what she was getting into. Jackson had said something similar, but not the exact same. I should’ve told Jackson that Vera’s biggest issue with me was my abundance of…emotions? Was that what Vera had said? She wanted me to be more protective and comforting and she hated when I cried during movies. She wanted me to comfortherand not the other way around. I should’ve bought her one of those toy robots as a gag Christmas gift, since she seemed to want that for her life partner. The reason I hadn’t told Jackson that part, was because my best friend was protective of me, and his years of therapy meant he was all about showing emotions. I was glad Pete was datingsomeone as emotionally mature as Jackson. Although, the thought of Jackson dominating my little brother in bed caused me to gag. It was something I hated knowing about their relationship, but it was what it was and they were happy.
Was I over Vera? Not completely. Feelings simply didn’t work that way, but before today, I would’ve given us another chance. The thing that solidified that we would nevereverwork again, had been her posting on her socials that she’d gotten flowers from a guy she was seeing. Then she’d tacked on how nice it was to date arealman. She’d moved on and already posted it for all to see. I was not going back to her no matter what after that.
Fuck, to think I’d shortened my trip to Japan just to talk to her was enough to make me see red. I’d called and texted while away and she’d ignored them all. Then I returned home, hoping she would see me in person, but no. Japan had been one of the countries I’d been most excited to see, and she’d somehow tainted the experience.
Never again.
Dylan’s soft snores were enough to make me relax. I had good people around me and, in a few days, I would leave for two wholeyears. Africa was my next destination and I would enjoy every second of it. Vera would soon just be a memory. I’d make sure of that.
The sound of my bag hitting the floor shouldn’t have been so satisfying, but it was. That sound meant that I’d finally made it. My hotel room in Africa wasn’t exactly spacious, but it had everything I needed. My coworker Ivar had the room next to me and I was once again so damn happy we weren’t sharing the same room for the two years we would stay here.
