She leans back into her seat. “Just ignore me. I’m not trying to be a buzz kill.”
“She needed someone a little more focused, and I needed less. It’s a compliment, honestly,” Noelle explains.
“Gah, this shit with Lauren has me questioning why I’m so easily dismissed, you know?”
“What thing?” Noelle asks.
“Sofie didn’t tell you?” she asks and again answers her own question. “She thinks it’s stupid; of course, she didn’t.”
“Or she didn’t want to tell your story if you didn’t want to share it,” I offer.
Noelle shakes her head.“She says it’s because we grew apart, but it’s because she outgrew me.”
“Wait, back up. Why did she say you grew apart? What is the because part?” Nalani asks.
“She didn’t ask me to be in her wedding.” Noelle crosses her arms. “But she asked some of the other girls.” She leans forward. “Did she ask you?”
“No. I haven’t spoken to her since the goodbye party when I was supposed to transfer to Lincoln.”
“She was so pissed Dash was leaving,” Noelle says with a little twist of her lips. “She never believed he’d make it pro, so as soon as his magic dick left campus, she sank her talons into Louie.”
“Louie, as in the nerdy hot tech geek you were crushing on and afraid to approach?” Nalani asks.
“Yep.”
“Fuck her. That’s?—”
Noelle interrupts, “Lauren. That’s Lauren.”
I lean over and take her hand. “With all the kindness in my heart, I want you to accept the truth, and that is you’re a good friend, and she never deserved you.”
“I know. I just …” She shrugs. “She told me I was stupid for buying the bookstore and wanting to be a romance author because I’ve never even had a real relationship, so how could I even know what it was like to be a heroine in a story. She?—”
Nalani gasps, “You bought a bookstore?”
“My dad got sick and, well, he’s gone and left me some money.”
“She said that shit to you instead of supporting you when you were going through that!” Nalani huffs.
Her face crunches up. “God, what is wrong with me for caring?”
“It’s not about the caring part—that makes you human. It’s the caring about people so small that they need to treat others like shit to make themselves feel big.”Excellent assessment, I think.
“After her wedding, I’m going to break it off with her.”
“Why go?” Nalani asks.
“It’s her wedding?” she asks, shaking her head. “I need help. I know.”
As the car pulls to a stop, “You just need to talk through what you already know and realize how awesome it is that you’re chasing your dreams instead of a man.”
“I need to see this bookstore.” Nalani smiles.
“It’s small and needs more work. Maybe?—”
“It’s yours. It’s your freaking own business, Noelle. It’s your dream. You made that happen. I wanna see it.” Nalani laughs. “Can we skip the damn game and go now?”
The door opens, and Sofie looks at me. “You were supposed to text when you got close.”
