“Marissa!” Aspen yells and scowls at her friend, but Marissa doesn’t flinch.
I laugh a little. “Nooo. Maybe unemotional and bossy describes it best. He’s particular. I overlook it for the most part, but sometimes it’s hard."
“That’s what he said,” Amanda shouts into the group and then turns red when what she’s said registers. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“Well this has gone downhill.” Aspen throws her balled up napkin at Amanda. “The way I see it, you guys have experienced some lag and it's making you nervous to believe him.”
“Huh?” My question seems to be the one on the other ladies’ faces as well.
Aspen’s face reddens. “Come on. You know what lag is. When your game slows down,” she suddenly perks up and her voice becomes excited. "Or like when your Internet stops and you can’t get your tabs to load. It’s lag.”
Amanda shakes her head a little. “Not all of us try to open fifty tabs at once, Aspen, but yes I know what you mean.”
Marissa laughs at the exchange. “Finn is so turning you into a nerd, Pen.”
“Whatever.” Aspen does her own annoyed look and continues. “You and Trey should have become a couple when you met on vacation, but you lived too far apart. You definitely should have ended up together when you first moved to San Francisco, but because he’s a dipshit you two experienced some lag and you’re picking it up now. Emotionally you two are further ahead in your relationship than people just starting out."
“So our relationship had to buffer?”
She looks to the ceiling in thought. “Um, maybe. I don’t know, my nerdome isn’t that high yet, but kind of.”
We all turn our attention back to our brunch containers and I let Aspen’s words soak in. The longer I process them, the more they make sense. Trey and I are moving fast, but in a way we’ve been working our relationship out for months. If we had met in a bar or restaurant here in the city, everything would be different. We’ve had some setbacks, but maybe we’re both coming to terms with them in our own way. I’m ripped from my thoughts with a rustle of papers as Jason returns to our group and throws down a thick newspaper on the table between us.
“I’m assuming no one has read this yet. You need to call Trey.”
I look down to the paper he’s thrown on the table as Aspen gasps. The headline’s sideways, but the large bold print makes it easy to read even from my angle.
Local Millionaire Gaming Playboy Caught in a Cheating, Drug, and Embezzlement Scandal
