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“Good morning, love. We were wondering if you were going to stay in bed. We would have kept a plate warm for you,” Layne said. I slid into one of the chairs at the dining table next to the kitchen.
“No, I’m up,” I said through another yawn.
“You can go back to bed, if you want. This weekend is all about recharging, and if your body needs sleep, then your body needs sleep,” Layne said.
“I’m good. I think I can handle a day of reading and watching movies and having snacks,” I said.
“There’s a little hiking trail behind the cabin that we might take a short walk on,” Layne said. “Totally optional.”
I sighed, because a walk was probably a good idea. It would be beautiful outside, and I needed to move my body. I walked around the pottery shop a lot during the week, but I needed to add more movement to my life. I had no qualms about doing a yoga practice in the living room or a quick cardio workout when I’d lived with Joy, but after Lark had moved in, I’d stopped doing anything like that and it was starting to affect me.
“Sounds like a plan. After breakfast?”
Joy dished out French toast slathered in Nutella, with spicy potatoes. I’d brought my emergency hot sauces to add an extra kick. My coffee was mixed with Layne’s hot chocolate to make a creamy thick mocha and I wanted to drink five hundred cups of it.
No one said anything about Lark directly until we had put on our boots and ventured outside and onto the trail marked with a handmade wooden sign. Thankfully, there were spray-painted markers to help keep us from getting lost, and Layne kept track of where we were via the GPS on her phone.
“So,” Joy said as we tromped along, crunching the frost-covered leaves under our feet, “are you going to talk about the Lark situation or not?”
I looked up into the trees and sighed.
“We kissed,” I said. They still didn’t know we’d kissed several times, and we’d also had sex. If I had my way, they never would.
“And?” Joy prompted.
“And then she said we shouldn’t ever do it again and then basically ignored me last week. She thinks that if we were to hook up, that it would get too messy being roommates and that we should just cut our losses now.”
I purposefully stepped on a branch to hear a satisfying crack as it broke under my foot.
“And you obviously don’t agree with that,” Layne said, reading my tone.
“Obviously not,” I said. “I know why she’s resistant. I do. But I really think we can just do this, get over it, and be fine after. I’ve done it before.”
Layne and Joy shared a look. “Have you, though?” Layne asked gently. “You don’t usually hook up with people you’re going to talk to after, let alone share a living space with.”
I let out a frustrated sound. “It’s fine. If she doesn’t want to do it, then there’s nothing I can do about that. I just need to wait for this fire to burn itself out.”
Layne and Joy shared another look, and I was beginning to get annoyed by it.
“Maybe my hookup hiatus was a bad idea,” I said. Not having sex is what had gotten me here, so the solution might be going back to having sex. I’d check out my dating sites later. Sure, the last time I’d been on them had been a disaster, but I could try again. I just needed to vet my potential partners better.
It was time for me to get back in the game with someone new.
* * *
After our walk,we defrosted in the cabin and Joy made lunch of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with spinach, and leftover stew. I didn’t know if it was the walk, but I was absolutely ravenous.
Post lunch, we all found a cozy spot and pulled out the books we’d brought. I was determined to get through at least three cozy mysteries during this trip, and I’d also brought backup books just in case my mood changed, or I finished early. Another reason I wanted to get over this thing with Lark was to just get back to my regular life. She’d affected my eating and sleeping and reading and I hated it.
“Afternoon snack?” Layne asked in a cheerful voice as I finished the last few pages of the first cozy mystery.
“Yes, please,” I said as she handed me a plate. I’d pulled one of the overstuffed green plaid chairs that matched the couch to the window that had a perfect view of the birdfeeder. Joy had kept the fire going and the crackling had lulled me into a meditative reading space.
I munched on the cracker plate as I finished the book and set it aside before reaching for the next one.
My phone went off before I could open the cover and I looked down to find a message from Lark.
I opened it up and was instantly alarmed.
