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An hour later we were both starving. It had taken a little bit longer for us to fall into our old habits, but they were there. She’d had me laughing my ass off about her roommate, who had a pet snake that was constantly escaping and winding up in odd places.
“I mean, I don’t have a problem with the snake, but it’s a little unnerving when you reach for a pen and pick up a snake instead.” I shuddered.
“Yeah, no thanks. I would drop that snake off at the first animal shelter I could find and never say a word to the roommate. Snakes don’t belong in dorm rooms.” She flicked her tongue out and made a hissing noise.
“Oh my god, stop it, stop it right now!” I said, putting my hands up to defend myself. She just kept hissing and then I got off the picnic table and she chased me around the track field until we both fell on the grass and rolled over onto our backs, laughing until we couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed with someone like that.
“So, have you dated anyone at school?” she asked. I sat up and pulled up a few blades of grass, tying them together.
“Not really. You?” I didn’t want to talk about dating with her.
“I’ve gone on dates, but no one stuck.” She shrugged her shoulders like it didn’t bother her.
“Yeah, I’ve gone out with people, but I haven’t felt that spark.” And I hadn’t fallen for any of my friends, either. It was fine. I was still young and in college and I didn’t think I needed someone right now. I had enough to deal with.
“Me neither,” she said with a sigh. I continued to pull up blades of grass and tie them together.
“Do you want to get something to eat?” My stomach was going to start growling any minute.
“Uh, sure. Did you want to go somewhere?” Not really. But the only other option was going to Anna’s. I sent her a quick text asking if it was okay that I brought Fiona over. She knew Fiona and they got along.
You’re hanging out with your ex? Are you sure that’s a good idea?
Probably not.
We’re just sorting things out from years ago. No big deal.
It wasn’t. I didn’t think. I just wouldn’t make it a big deal.
Yeah, sure. There’s a frozen pizza in the freezer if you want to put it in the oven, I should be back by the time it’s done.
“You can come back to Anna’s. Her girlfriend is out of town, so it will be just the three of us. Is pizza okay?” She nodded and I stood up. I held my hand out to help her up and she took it. Fiona was taller than me by a few inches and I’d always liked being the shorter one. My hand lingered in hers for a few seconds and then I took it back and dusted it off on my jeans.
“Let’s go.”
Four
“Wow, this is really nice,” Fiona said when I showed her the apartment.
“Yeah, I’m really fortunate that Anna had room for me. But I would have slept on the floor rather than go back to my parent’s house this summer. Wine?” She nodded and I filled a glass with a sweet red that Anna had several bottles of.
She drifted around the apartment, paying attention to Lacey’s photographs and the framed articles that Anna had put up everywhere.
“So, Lacey is a journalist?” I handed her the glass of wine and she clinked it against mine before taking a sip.
“More of a photographer turned journalist. She travels all around writing articles and taking pictures of people. She also does boudoir photography specifically for queer people as well.” I motioned to the studio-slash-my-bedroom.
“That’s really cool,” she said, looking around at the lighting equipment and various props that were stacked in corners and shoved away. Every day I made sure to keep the studio as clean as possible so Lacey wouldn’t come back to a disaster in her work space. I wanted to be a good guest, even if they wouldn’t let me pay rent. I could unload the dishwasher and vacuum and keep my shit looking nice. It was the least I could do.
“Yeah, I haven’t met Lacey yet, but Anna loves her, so I’m sure she’s great.” Murder chose that moment to make his appearance and jumped up on the couch.
“Hey, little monster,” I said, leaning down to scratch his ears the way he liked.
“Oh, isn’t he pretty,” Fiona said, holding her hand out to Murder so he could butt it with his head.
“This is Murder and he’s a good boy,” I said. Murder was going nuts with all the pets and attention and rolled over for belly rubs.
We both nearly jumped when the door opened and Anna called out.
