Carly put a hand on my arm. “Andrew will be here in five. We’ll drive you home.”
“It’s not far,” I said. “I’ll get a rideshare.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Tessa said. “Oliver’s on his way. We’re heading south, and we can drop you off.”
Exactly what I needed: more examples of paired-up friends to intensify the loneliness I’d feel in my apartment.
“Yes, come with us,” Savannah said. “Then I won’t feel like a fifth wheel. Or is it a third wheel?”
Her soft smile was full of hope, like the new feelings I’d experienced tonight were her everyday reality. How painful it must be to sit across from Tessa and Oliver as they cuddled on the sofa, whispering their nerdy secrets, every damn night.
A hand curled around my biceps. “Come with me,” Justine said. “We single ladies need to stick together.”
Relief flooded me. We’d both been single forever. Spending time with Justine was exactly what I needed. “Let’s go.”
By the time we’d tipped the server and finished our round of goodbyes, our car idled outside. I leaned my head back, ready to relax on the short ride home.
“Bridget, what are you not telling us about Costa Rica?” Justine asked, her brown eyes blade-sharp.
“Nothing,” I squeaked.
She tilted her head. “I think you met a man. Or a woman. A Costa Rican, maybe.” She scanned me for a reaction.
“Justine, I?—”
“It’s someone forbidden. I’m almost sure of it.”
I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose. I never,everwanted to be on the wrong side of her cross-examination.
She nodded. “Now I’m positive. If it’s a woman, you know we’d welcome her into the gang, right? If she makes you happy. Times are different now. There’s no stigma in being bisexual like when we were in college. I’m sure your parents will be cool about it. Do you need an immigration lawyer?”
“Jesus! It was a weekend fling!”Oh, fuck.I clamped my teeth together.
A victorious smile tugged at her lips. “If it was only a weekend fling, you’d tell us about it. You havefeelingsfor this person, and you hate it.”
“I do not.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Bridget. Always have been. Remember the first time you tried pot, and you were too high to go to class the next morning?”
I buried my face in my hands. “Don’t remind me. I missed a test.”
“You told your professor your cat died, and when he asked you its name, you totally panicked.”
“I screamed the first name that came to mind.”
“And he said, ‘Who names their catWeed?’”
“That was the only B I got in college.” I sighed, remembering the humiliation of letting myself down, of allowing one moment of fun to spoil my perfect GPA.
“Clearly, you aren’t going to tell me what happened. And you don’t have to. But if I could offer a bit of advice?”
“Yes, please, give me all the answers.”
“You’ve always been the one to go for your dreams. And now you want what Carly and Lucie and Tessa have. So go after it.”
“I can’t have what I want,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t even want it.”
She scrunched up her face with the effort of holding back from asking me what I wanted. In the end, she said, “Let go. Want what you want. Life is short, and you might not get another chance.”
