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I smile indulgently at her. For all that she can be a pain, she’s probably one of my favorite people in the world. “You ready?” I ask her, ignoring the mess on my bed. It’ll just give me a reason to reorganize my closet when I get back.
She huffs for a second, like maybe she does want to put up a fight about the extra clothes, and then she shrugs and reaches for my hand. Her palm is soft against mine, comforting in the way only a best friend can be, and it eases a little more of the tension as I let her lead me out of the bedroom and to the front door, where all my stuff is waiting.
Flor doesn’t rush me as I double-check that everything is secure, and she’s tapping on her phone in the hall by the time I’m locking up. We get down to the curb, where it’s pouring rain, and dive into Sage’s SUV while he gets out to store my bags in the back.
Seriously? Why does he have to be so sweet?
I don’t really know Sage very well yet, but I do know he balances Flor out. Where she’s driven and sometimes a little obsessive when she gets an idea in her head, he’s the calming voice of reason, able to ease her down without making her feel bad about herself.
He’s exactly who she needs, and it’s yet another reason it’s hard to be around them sometimes. Flor deserves to be loved by someone like Sage, but it makes me wonder why it’s never happened to me.
“Okay, so,” Flor says when Sage climbs behind the wheel and shakes the water from his hair. Flor extends her arm behind her seat with a Starbucks cup in her hand. I take it greedily, knowing it’s exactly the way I like it: a London Fog with an extra pump of vanilla. “There are three rules this weekend that must be followed at all times.”
I groan and brace myself, smiling when Sage meets my gaze in the rearview mirror and winks. I’m sure he’s already been given this talk more than once.
“Absolutely no mention of Captain Asshole,” Flor says, referencing John as she ticks the list off on her fingers.
I snort-laugh. “Not a problem.” I really didn’t have plans to wallow about that douchebag.
“Andyou only get to say no to three things,” she adds on.
She must know I was going to negotiate that one. She generally has a “no saying no” rule on her vacations, and I always have to push the issue. Leaning forward, I take a sip of my tea before smiling at her and resting my cheek on Sage’s seat so I can meet her eyes. “Ten things.”
I hold my breath and wait for her to counter.
“Four.”
I don’t even bother speaking. I just raise a single brow, giving her a completely deadpan expression.
She sighs. “Fine, five.”
It’s a two-day weekend. I can live with five. “Okay, but you have to accept my ‘no’ answers without question.”
She hesitates and turns her gaze to Sage, who sighs and shakes his head. “Babe, you know how this works. Eden knows what’s good for her.”
“Mostly,” Flor says, but not in a mean way, and it’s not like she’s wrong. I’ve kind of got a track record of ignoring big, glaring red flags. “But fine. Unless it’s something important.”
It’s the best I’m going to get out of her. “Deal. And the third?”
“You have to try at least five new things. If you get five nos, then you also have to step out of your comfort zone five times.”
This is where I start to get a little suspicious. I know my friend loves me, but I also know when she’s up to something. It’s usual for her to set these kinds of rules on trips and vacations, but she sounds a littletooinsistent.
“What are you up to?” I ask.
Flor attempts to look shocked while Sage bursts into laughter, only just managing to keep his eyes on the road as he practically doubles over.
“I told you,” he says when he can talk again, “Eden is too smart for your schemes.”
Flor scoffs and smacks him with the back of her hand. “Shut up.”
I grin at him. It’s been a long time since it was cool for people to make fun of me for being smart, but those old childhood memories still sting sometimes, so it’s nice to have that be a positive thing about who I am.
“Look,” Flor says, and she now seems genuinely concerned, which is setting off all kinds of uncomfortable pops of anxiety in my gut. “I want you to be happy and have a good time this weekend.”
Oh, and look at that, the panic’s started. It makes my face all tingly and numb, and I kind of want to make Sage drive me back home. “What did you do?” I whisper.
Sage looks at me again, worry in his eyes. “I told you that you needed to run this by her, babe.”
