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I licked my lips. “I texted him complaining last night when you two told me to piss off.”
“Did he entertain your bullshit?”
“He did.”
They both turned and looked at me. With an eerie synchronicity, they both said, “Marry him.”
I blinked.
As if they hadn’t just gone otherworldly on me, they spun back around and got back to making pancakes.
They were weird.
Seriously.
Almost as weird as my situation with Noah.
“So, what are you going to do?” Halley asked, putting sliced strawberries into a small bowl. “
I shrugged and looked down. I didn’t freaking know. It wasn’t every day one was put in this situation, was it? I doubted there was anything on Google about this, either.
It wasn’t really your run-of-the-mill situation.
“Why don’t you just go out with him?” Ava poured some pancake mix into the pan. “One date isn’t going to kill you.”
I wrinkled my nose up. “Because it’s…”
“She doesn’t know,” Halley sang, dropping more strawberries into the bowl with a flourish. A little too much flourish, if you asked me. “Reagan, who has her nose in everyone else’s relationship, doesn’t know what to do with her own.”
“It’s not a relationship.” I pushed my hair away from my face. “It’s two people who happened to meet each other in strange circumstances. That’s all.”
“Riiiight.” Ava flipped the pancake and eyed Halley. “Do we believe that?”
“We do not,” Halley confirmed. “But I bet—”
“No. You are not betting on me right now. Where’s the compassion? I’m homeless!” I wasn’t above a few dramatics. I think I’d earned the right to be dramatic in this situation and yes, I would use it to guilt the fuck out of everyone.
For the next few days, at least.
It’d probably get old after that.
Although the look these two were giving me said they were already tired of it.
I wondered how much it was to buy two new friends…
Ava wiped her hands on a towel. “What are we betting?”
“Fifty bucks says Reagan sleeps with Noah at some point.”
They sucked.
“Why is it always fifty bucks? How many times do I have to tell you that I’m broke?” Ava complained. “I knew I shouldn’t have become friends with the rich kids in school.”
“Fine, twenty bucks.”
“That’s more like it.” Ava stuck out her hand. “I don’t think she will.”
“That’s right,” I said, pointing at Ava. “She’s got my back.”
She poured another pancake into the pan. “Uh… I’m only saying you won’t because she beat me to saying you will.”
“You bitches suck.”
***
NOAH: How’s Justin?
I wrinkled my face up. Apart from a shower, I’d spent all day in bed. Great Aunt Bethel had about had a coronary when she’d come back from church and found me on the sofa watching TV.
I had a TV in my room. Never mind said TV was fifteen years old and couldn’t connect to the internet for Netflix—it was good enough, apparently.
ME: In the trash along with all my other teenage band posters. I can’t deal with eyes on me when I get changed.
I set my phone in my lap and picked up the remote to scroll channels. There was absolutely nothing on any of them, and I was honestly an inch away from texting my brother and asking him to bring me a real television.
I didn’t think Amazon Prime would get it here fast enough.
Also, I had no idea what made a good TV.
NOAH: I get that. The last time I stayed with my parents, it took me ten minutes to remove the teen-me posters from the room. They kept it as some kind of shrine.
ME: It’s weird. My brother’s room is the same. We all live in the same town. I’m not going to pop over and stay for the weekend.
NOAH: Yeah, I don’t have that excuse. My parents live in Maine.
ME: How the fuck did you end up here?
NOAH: Got on a raft off the Maine coast and drifted down like an explorer.
ME: You’re funny.
NOAH: That’s sarcastic, isn’t it?
ME: Hey, look at that. It CAN translate over text.
NOAH: LOL. I went to school in Charleston. Went home for a year and got pissed off with all the snow, so came back. Moved around a few times until I found somewhere I liked.
ME: Did you move to Creek Falls or nearby?
NOAH: Creek Falls. About six months ago. Which is when I started dating.
ME: I’d ask you how that’s going, but I already know it’s not very well.
NOAH: Ha!
NOAH: I work a lot. There’s always overtime available and I want to do work to my house, so I take it.
Was I… talking to someone who had their shit together? Holy hell.
ME: Wow. A guy who sends dick pics but actually has a career and a house.
NOAH: And sometimes makes bad decisions… Like sending a dick pic.
ME: We can’t all be perfect.
NOAH: Truth. Are you still on bed rest?
ME: Medically, no. Unofficially, yes.
NOAH: I’m sure she means well.
