Page 3 of Reaching Gavin

Chapter Two

My current boyfriend was reliable,attentive, and battery-operated. So what if my longest lasting relationship had variable speeds and pulsating action? Mr. Dependable, my vibrator, had never let me down. It was also sitting in the middle of the floor in my new condo. My roommate’s cat dozing lazily next to it.

“Seriously!” I grabbed it from the cat who batted at my hands as if put out by the theft. “It’s mine, you know. How did you even get into my underwear drawer?”

Great. Now I was talking to a cat. Further proof that today had nearly broken me. When she tried to follow me into my bedroom, I slammed the door before she made it inside. She responded with a frustrated meow. At least, the cat was talking back. I plucked a few of her hairs off the vibrator and returned it to its resting place among my unmentionables, then kicked off my heels. I’d thought the last couple of years walking a college campus would have prepared me for being on my feet all day, but Seattle’s terrain was hilly and prone to cracked sidewalks. I’d also quickly learned that despite the bank of elevators at NWI, I could wait my whole life for one to come, so I’d made myself acquainted with the stairs as I delivered files from office to office in an effort to get to know the building better.

I didn’t bother to undress before flopping gracelessly onto my bed. I was too exhausted from the potent combination of nerves, excitement, and annoyance that had held me for most of the day. My phone showed a dozen missed texts from my best friends, Jillian and Jess. Ones wishing me luck and checking in on me. The messages had gotten progressively more anxious when I hadn’t responded. I heaved a sigh and sent one back.

Cassie: Facetime?

Jess: I think it’s like 1 AM in Scotland. Jillian might be asleep.

I kept forgetting to check the time difference. She’d only been gone for a few weeks. Not long enough to process her absence fully. Even during summer vacations when I headed home to Texas, we hadn’t really been that far away from one another. But before I could backtrack, she responded.

Jillian: I’m up!

Of course, she was up. She’d probably been having toe-curling sex with her boyfriend, Liam. He was the reason she was halfway across the world. In fact, both of my best friends were out of the country, thanks to the men in their lives. Jillian in Scotland with her boyfriend and Jess in Mexico with her husband. Another change I hadn’t fully processed yet.

It took a few minutes to get both of them on the screen. Jess was lounging in a hammock, sunlight haloing her face and highlighting her honey blonde hair. She was tanner than I’d ever seen her and thanks to her lack of make-up, I noticed she had a few more freckles speckling her nose than she usually did in rainy Washington. It was dark in Scotland and Jillian had clearly snuck off to have this chat without waking up Liam or his family. I could barely make out her dark hair piled into a messy crown atop her head. Her mascara was slightly smeared and she had a glow radiating from her that wasn’t courtesy of cosmetics. I’d been right about why she was still up.

“You look gorgeous!” Jillian sang, no doubt referencing the fierce color palate of sharply lined eyes and classic red lipstick I’d chosen in an effort to look less like the baby intern I was. “Very boss babe.”

“I don’t think I fooled anyone into thinking that,” I said with a roll of the eyes.

“I bet they had a ton of applicants and they chose you,” Jess reminded me, her image swaying slightly on the screen as if she was being rocked by a gentle, invisible breeze.

“There are two interns,” I said in a measured tone, meant to sound casual. Both my friends visibly tensed, but waited for me to continue. “It wasn’t what I expected.”

“Tell us about it,” Jess said, moving the screen closer to her face as if to show her genuine interest.

That was the amazing thing about best friends. They knew exactly when to listen, even when the sad single of the lot wanted to cry about ex-boyfriends and rough days at work. I hadn’t been too busy to notice that both of them had started calling less frequently for venting sessions of their own. Now they had their own significant others to cry to, which, if I was being honest, made me a little jealous. Not that I was losing them—I knew that I’d never really lose either of them—but because part of me wanted what they had. For the moment, they were stuck dealing with listening to my life’s little curveballs.

“Yeah, spill it,” Jillian encouraged as if she could read my mind. She had an uncanny knack for knowing how to say just what I needed to hear. She was here for me. Jess was here for me. Regardless of their relationship statuses.

“I ran into Luka,” I started, deciding to make the day’s events a slow burn. At least today had the makings of a helluva story.

“Wait, freshman year Luka? The Italian sex god who spent all day in the gym?” Jillian clarified.

“It seems like you remember him fine,” I said with a shake of my head. Maybe I didn’t want to relive today or all the memories it dredged up.

“There was a one-month period where you only left your room for classes—and don’t get me started on how loud you two were.” Jess’s lips pursed as if recalling an unsavory smell.

“You’re one to talk. I spent my last vacation listening to you and Roman bang,” I reminded her. I was teasing, especially since she had a point. At least, she’d been discreet with Roman. Luka and I had been caught in the men’s restroom by the dormitory advisor and been cited on several occasions for noise violations. Yeah, my relationship with him was memorable.

I filled them in on that awkward, chance encounter, even admitting to my idiocy with the credit card machine.

“That was a real crappy start to your day,” Jillian said with sympathy.

“At least, it could only get better, right?” Jess chimed in.

Such wishful thinking. If she only knew. “Actually, then I ran into Danny.”

“Danny?” They both repeated in unison with blank faces.

“The nice guy who kissed me like he was my brother.”

That jogged their memories.