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When a knock sounds on my door, I do not get up or say anything, but Erika pushes the door open and steps into my room with a steaming cup of coffee, the only type she knows gets me temporarily out of this funk.
“You're a lifesaver,” I say, sitting up as soon as the aroma hits me.
Erika simply scoffs, an attempt to wipe the pleasing smile from her face.
“You should be thankful that we still two weeks to hang and do whatever we want. That should be enough time for you to get over your stupid boss who doesn't know your worth.”
I chuckle at Erika's harsh words, making no attempt to correct her. Mitch deserves it, doesn't he? For making me feel lower than low. But I still say, “He's not that bad.”
Erika's response is an intense eyeroll. She plops beside me and says, “You've been moping around for days, I honestly hate to see you like this.”
I take a sip of my coffee because I do not know what to say. I hate to see myself like this too. And knowing that Mitch has this sort of power to render me a sad mess makes me feel even worse.
“This is one of the shitty things about love,” Erika begins as she gazes at my face, where my pain is evident. “If you had like five boyfriends, you wouldn't be feeling Mitch's absence.”
I shake my head at my friend.
“Some of us prefer to stay monogamous.”
“And it's fun? Nothing looks fun about the current state you're in,” she says, taking in the large shirt I have on and the leggings and my bad bed hair. “You need to see yourself. Where did my hot nerdy girl go?”
“She's not awake yet.” I joke as I take another sip of the strong coffee.
“We have to do something about this,” Erika says, sitting up cross-legged. “You cannot continue to pine after your hot boss who will probably have his big daddy arrange some vanilla marriage for him.”
I shake my head at Erika's crude words.
“I don't see Mitch getting married to some blonde girl whose parents are just as boxed up as his parents.”
“You're just saying that because you're still very much in love with him. That view would change if we both hit the bar tonight. Get drunk off our asses and snore the night away. Come on, I'm tired of feeling like I'm living with some grieving widow. Making comfort coffee for you is getting exhausting,” Erika confesses with a frown.
“Well, you are obligated as my friend to never stop,” I tell her as I take an exaggerated sip of the coffee, laughing a little when her frown deepens. When she continues to watch me, eyes a bit concerned, I find myself comforting her. “I'll be fine, okay? His mistrust just hurts more than I thought it would.”
She shakes her head at me. “His opinion of you does not define you. You know that, right?”
I nod. “His opinion of me might not define me but it does matter to me. You get that, right?”
Erika nods. “Like I said, if you had some extra guy somewhere to meet up for sex—"
“Nothing of the sort will happen,” I tell her as I get up to stretch. The coffee has completely woken my brain cells, and at times like this, I am more grateful than ever that my roommate is also my best friend, who fussed over me the moment I stepped into the apartment, face crestfallen.
“You know…” Erika says as she eyes me up and down, “you are really hot. You could get any man or woman you wanted.”
I pause, hands still clasped behind my head, chest pushed forward.
“Woman?”
“Yes,” Erika answers absently. “Great tits, by the way,” she grins.
My hands drop automatically, dropping my face to my chest where my nipples have tightened from the slight cold. I jokingly glare at Erika.
“You're a perv, and there can be no woman. You know I'm straight.”
“At least my dirty mind did draw a laugh out of you,” she says as she gets to her feet, making her way to the door.
When she passes me, I draw her back into a hug.
“Thank you for being here.”
