Page 35 of Touch of Heartache


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“Duh,” said Gavin. “I’d give you half a dozen lectures on drinking safety until I was blue in the face, but I hope Frankie did that much for mealready.”

“Yeah…” said Lilac, although she wouldn’t say that Frankie had been much gentler on her than Gavin might have been. Or heaven forbidBrielle.

“Did you tell Brielle?” she asked, suddenly sick at thethought.

“No,” said Gavin carefully. “I said I was worried about you yesterday, but she had her own crisis to deal with. And that was before I knew you were half-passed out in a park, begging your co-worker to fuckyou.”

Lilac winced. She’d never been that forward. Brielle was always the one who was, though you couldn’t tell by looking at the two of them side-by-side. It wasn’t fair. Brielle got away with being beautiful but seeming innocent—and she totally wasn’t, theminx.

“What crisis of Brielle’s?” asked Lilac, a littlecurious.

Gavin sighed dramatically on the other end of the phone. “Fine. I’ll talk—you’ll listen. Then we’ll switch it up, okay? Oh, those are mine!” he said, quickly switching gears. Lilac heard him saythank youto someone and ask for a tray, but he immediately dove back into their conversation. “Brielle texted me yesterday, panicked that her kid sister, Nora, was running away from home. She thought she might be at O’Hare and asked me to try to get there first to stopher.”

“What? Why? What couldyoudo?”

“I don’t know,” said Gavin, and he mumbled anotherthank youas a door chimed and suddenly there was honking and the distant racket of a jackhammer as well as Gavin’s brisk footsteps. “I was closer and okay, I couldn’t really do anything until Brielle arrived, but I like to thinksomeof my friends find me a comfortingpresence.”

“Gavvy,” startedLilac.

“Li,” he echoed back, his footsteps suddenly grinding to a halt. “So… We found her, I let the poor girl pour her little heart out to me, their mom came and all was well in the end. I even got to meet Brielle’s hot newlay.”

“Oh,” said Lilac, unexpectedly hit with something like envy. “She and that comicguy?”

“Yeah,” said Gavin. His voice lowered like he was about to whisper a national secret. “And oh my god, Li, he’ssohot, I had to fan myself half the wayhome.”

Lilac was glad to know that Gavin wasn’t too broken up about his disastrous date Saturday at least.Saturday…

Lilac wasn’t sure what Gavin was talking about for a little bit as her thoughts drifted, but then she snapped back to attention at what he said next. “But I didn’t even tell you what happened between Brielle and PembrokeSaturday!”

Oh, yeah. Their fight.“What?” asked Lilac, glad for another excuse not to talk about herselfagain.

“Pembroke was dating Daniel fucking-whatever-his-last-name-is!”

“Who…?” asked Lilac, confused on more than onecount.

“Brielle’s ex! Thatscumbag.”

“Oh,” said Lilac, and an image of Earl flashed through her head. She found herself crying quietly without even meaning to. This was about Daniel and Brielle,not…

“I’ve been trying to reach her since then,” said Gavin. “But she hasn’t responded. Brielle said Pembroke pretty clearly broke the hell up with Daniel in front of her, but what the hell drove her to datehimof all people in the first place? Oh my god, you women are going to kill me, you knowthat?”

Lilac felt immensely guilty then. They were supposed to be moving on. Gavin had his own life to worry about, his own problems. She listened as Gavin’s footsteps suddenly became hollower, the sounds of construction abruptly cutout.

“How are you?” she asked, trying her best to stay outside of herself, to be the friend he deserved. She knew Gavin’s other friends—most of whom were queer as well—teased him relentlessly for bothering with Lilac or the other two for that matter, but especially Lilac. The two of them were such a “trope,” a “straight, white bitch and her gay best friend,” she remembered one had said. To her face. Over drinks, but even so… Shesighed.

“All right,” answered Gavin, clearly busy. “Jenny, can you pass these out? I’m heading to thebathroom.”

Lilac wasn’t sure if that was where he was actually headed. “What about… yourdate?”

Gavin scoffed. “Old news. Overit.”

She wasn’t sure she could have been in his place. “But whathappened?”

“Nothing,” he snapped. Then a door slammed and all other sound died out. “Nothing hewantedto happenanyway…”

So his date had tried to pressure him into sleeping with him. Which Gavin never did on a firstdate.

“I’m sorry,” saidLilac.

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