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Chapter One
“Are you sure you didn’t want to go out tonight?” Riley asks as I take my seat on the couch next to her.
She didn’t explicitly say it, but she was trying to save some money right now so I had suggested we stay in. So we ordered pizza from our favorite place, she grabbed the wine and we sat on my oversized couch talking about life.
“Yes, I was just at the bar last night anyway. I’d much rather spend the night in with my favorite girl,” I say, blowing her a kiss and she giggles. I have no trouble being affectionate with Riley, but then again we have been best friends for almost ten years.
She had been sitting alone at college orientation, one of the only people there that looked like they could use a friend. So I had sat down next to her, made fun of the God awful presenters, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
She eventually graduated before me, taking a job in business that she hated. It made her enough money to make a dent in her student loans, but last year after her mother died she had made some big changes. Breaking up with her toxic ex, Colleen. Good riddance, I had never liked her. Taking a trip all across Europe with her savings, and coming home to quit her job to find something she truly enjoyed. She is working part time at Starbucks to pay for rent and figuring out what else she wants to do. It is something I admired about her. She had stayed with me a bit after her trip, but we both decided if we wanted our friendship to last, we shouldn’t live together. She moved in with Sawyer just a few months ago.
“So you’re coming up on the one year mark with Cody, how does that feel?” she asks, taking a bite of the pizza we ordered.
“Uh, you know…” I look away and reach for my glass of wine.What was with everyone lately asking about Cody and I?One year isn’t a big deal.
“I know, I know, feelings are gross. I’m just happy if you’re happy.” She smiles.
“Yeah, I think I am,” I admit.
“Well, good. You guys definitely looked happy last night,” she teases and I burst out in laughter. She had walked in on Cody and I getting a little frisky in the back of the bar. I an glad we can laugh about it without Cody and Sawyer around.
“Trust me, I was on my way to happiness. He made me pay last night for not locking the door though.” I chuckle.
“Oh my gosh, tell me about it! Sawyer was so pissed I said anything, I forgot how some people can be.” I nod. I get it, if Cody knew how Riley and I talk about our sex lives I’m sure he’d blush, but it is my best friend. If you can’t talk about it with your best friend who can you talk about it with?
“So tell me about what new thing you’re doing this month.” Every month she is taking some kind of a new class. Last month it had been knitting and the month before scuba diving.
“Sawyer’s actually teaching me how to ride a motorcycle,” she says excitedly. Her girlfriend had been the first motorcycle she ever rode on, but that was only a few months ago.
“Oh my gosh! That’s amazing! When did this start?” Riley is someone who moved to the city when she was eighteen, but she is also someone like me who never had an interest or reason to learn to drive. We have both survived thus far learning the subway and bus lines and relying on Ubers or taxis when the latter fails.
It is something Cody always teases me about. He had grown up upstate where it was a rite of passage to get your license the moment you turn sixteen. Although these days he is used to the subway since it isn’t like he could drive his pickup truck easily around New York City. He rides his motorcycle with Sawyer most days but I know he doesn’t prefer it to the open roads.
“Just this week! She offered and I don’t know, I figured why not. And I kind of love it!” Riley explains. I haven’t seen her this excited about something in a long time.
“How does it feel? Like scary?” I’ve been on the back of a motorcycle a few times to know the rush of being on one, but I could never imagine being in control of it.
“It’s actually really fun, it has this rush. Like similar to how it feels on the back of one, but with more power. It’s hard to describe, but I like it so far.”
“Where are you learning?” I ask confused, there aren’t many places in the city for her to learn safely.
“Near Logan’s house, Sawyer and I rode up this weekend to see him and Elijah so she gave me some lessons while we were up there. It’s a lot easier to ride there and definitely not as scary for a beginner like me. Plus I still have to get my motorcycle license to legally drive anywhere else.” Logan is her younger brother and Elijah is her baby nephew, who just turned three and is cute as a button.
“That makes sense, how are they doing?”
“Great! Elijah is only getting cuter and Logan just got a new job that he really likes.”
“Aw thats great, we really need to plan another visit up there. I miss your family.” I sigh, there was a time when Riley and I were taking weekly train rides to visit her family. It had been a few months since I’ve gone up, with Sawyer taking my place most of the time. I am happy for them, for Riley to go from not speaking to her family for so long to them having her girlfriend visit is huge for them.
“Yes! My pop was just asking about you! I bragged about how busy you are at work and how happy you are with Cody.” She smiles proudly.
“Oh gosh, let’s not.”
“So, I love living with Sawyer but oh my gosh she hates how messy I am! I didn’t even think I was that messy.” Riley frowns, and I can’t help but laugh. Too many times had I found her dirty clothes on my bathroom floor to count.
“I think Sawyer and I just found something new to bond over,” I joke.
“Oh, come on! I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
