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Forty-Four
DAKOTA
Of all my goodbyes, perhaps the most unexpectedly hard one was Naomi. I called to tell her I was leaving on a Thursday, and by that Saturday night I was buying her dinner, explaining to her how I was picking up my entire life and moving it to the mountains of Colorado.
But of all the people I was saying goodbye to, Naomi was the only one who really and truly understood.
“Just like that, huh?” she joked, tracing the salt on the rim of her margarita glass. “Three ridiculously hot guys ask you to move in with them, and you just say yes?”
“No, not yes,” I smirked. “I told them ‘fuck yes’, and then they celebrated by tattooing my ass into the couch cushions.”
With anyone else it would’ve felt like I was rubbing it in. But Naomi wasn’t just anyone. When it came to the few friends I had left, she was the only person who knew the actual truth. Plus, Naomi enjoyed… details.
“Well it’s not fair,” she told me sadly.
“Are you kidding?” I waved my hand dismissively. “You’ll find your own guy, the second you start looking. Naomi, you’re gorgeous!”
“No, no, I don’t mean that,” she countered, mugging for an imaginary camera. “IknowI’m gorgeous.”
“Well, obviously,” I smiled.
“I mean it’s not fair that I have to lose you. After living in the same town all this time we just finally became friends. And now you’re going away.”
That part sucked, I had to admit. In just the short time we’d known each other, we’d developed some very sisterly bonds.
“Look, it’s not like I’m disappearing off the face of the planet,” I said. “And the house is huge! You could come down and visit, anytime you wanted. In fact, the guys are really looking forward to meeting you.”
My words seemed to cheer her up a bit. We continued chowing down on the free bowl of tri-colored tortilla chips that our waiter kept refilling, as we totally ignored our burritos.
“Well if you’re really flying away to your little three-on-one paradise, let me indulge myself one more time.”
She reached out and took my phone, then began flipping through my most recent photos. I had nothing to hide, but I rolled my eyes anyway.
“Jesus, Dakota.”
Naomi held up a photo of Merrick and Aurelius, both flexing for the camera. Their arms and shoulders were almost comically enormous.
“Where’d you take this?”
“We’ve got a home gym on the first floor,” I told her. “And they’re always hamming it up for the camera.”
“With biceps like these, I’ll bet.”
She kept going, flipping past candid shots of the four of us in various places throughout the house. There were pics of us outside, exploring the wilderness, and shots from downtown when we were picking up groceries. There were even a few pics taken of our weekend in Vale.
“Wow, you really are a lucky bitch,” Naomi said wistfully. “But if anyone deserves something like this, it’s you.”
I gazed down casually, watching the past few weeks of my life flash by. It occurred to me how happy we all looked, and how in every picture we were smiling ear to ear. Until you saw things from the outside in, you never truly realized just how much of a charmed life you led. And I was totally seeing that now.
“Any… good ones?” Naomi asked slyly, still flipping.
“You mean dirty ones?”
Her mouth curled up at one corner. “You know damned well what I mean.”
“Then no,” I answered smartly, trying to think. “Unless you count a few shirtless pics the guys sent me to whet my appetite, while I was back here getting my stuff.”
“Ohhh,” Naomi said excitedly. “Let’s see those!”
