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“It is,” Olivia replied.
“Why do you think there are so many reporters out there?”
“Must have been a slow news day.”
I laughed at the thought, and when she joined in, I relished the way the moment released some of the tension. As embarrassing as this all was—it was funny in its own way. “I always wanted to be famous, so I guess I finally got it, didn’t I?”
“You did.” She chuckled. “You sure did.”
Soon enough we arrived at the car rental place, where she went in and secured the car that we rented last minute online. White sedan. New York plates. No hint of me anywhere, not even on the rental car agreement, which would last for at least the next month, thanks to my only-for-emergencies Visa credit card. If there was ever one of those, I figured this moment counted as one.
When Olivia and I said goodbye in the parking lot, I had tears in my eyes.
“Thank you so much.”
“No problem. What are friends for, after all?”
“You really are my best friend,” I said. “Especially after all this.”
I pulled her into a hug and held on to her tightly, wishing I didn’t have to let her go. I hadn’t been so close to anyone since moving back to Ohio, and just a month before, I considered Olivia one of my “hang out” friends, not a real friend. I wouldn’t have expected her to come through for me like this, but she did. Maybe Cincinnati was warmer than I thought, and in a new way that was different from the life I’d known growing up in the eastern suburbs of the city. Maybe it really had been a good decision to move back to the only place that had ever felt like home.
“You’re amazing,” I added into Olivia’s shoulder. “I don’t think I could have made it through any of this without you.”
“Don’t mention it. What are friends for?”
“I—”
“Come on.” She pulled away and grasped my shoulders with her hands, her gaze fixed on me. “You can’t cry. Someone might see you and then people will have more things to write about.”
“Plus, I need to drive two hours,” I said. “Hard to do if I’m sobbing all the time.”
“That too.”
I sniffled. “I didn’t realize when I moved back here from New York I’d find a friend as amazing as you. I’m so lucky.”
“I’m lucky too. After all, it’s not every day that a bartender and coffee shop owner like me gets to be friends with a major celebrity.”
I laughed once. “Is that what I am?”
“Hey, you know, there’s always a silver lining to moments like this. Some publishing house will probably offer you a ton of money one day to describe Landon’s dick in a trashy memoir.”
I laughed louder and had to admit, she had a point. “Yeah, you’re right. And if I was any journalist worth my salt, I would want to interview myself about that.”
“What’s it like?”
“His dick?”
Nodding, my friend took her hands away. “Big? Thick?”
“Oh, um...big enough, but when it’s hard...” I spread a hand. “Probably the best I’ve ever had.”
“Lucky bastard. Figures it’s not enough for him to be rich. He has to be sexy too.”
“More than I expected.”
“Listen, in the end, it’s going to all work out. And if it doesn’t, at least you get some time in Rockbridge. It’s nice there.”
“I’m sure it is.”
