If this is the state I left him in all these months, then I can’t call myself that good of a friend, either.
“Dude.” My hand grabs onto his wrist, lowering the drink. His eyes are defeated, isolated, and it’s brought to my attention how badly we both needed each other lately. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not.”
“It is.” His hold on the bottle stays tight, but he doesn’t fight against me. “I’m sorry, too.”
“The fuck do you have to be sorry for?”
A month ago, I might have argued there was nothing I needed to be sorry for. I take in the sad state of his apartment, square my shoulders, and accept I’d be wrong.
“The phone works both ways. I could’ve called you.”
“You texted. I left you on read.”
“Yeah, like, five times. Whoop dee doo.” The sarcasm pulls a chuckle out of me but falls flat on his ears. I push his down arm until the glass meets wood. “I had your address. I could’ve come here to check on you. When you were in LA it made sense that we couldn’t see each other, but now we’re twenty minutes apart. There’s no excuse from either of us.”
He shrugs but releases the alcohol. I hold my right hand out in a peace offering, grinning so he knows it’s nothing but genuine.
“We’re both sorry. We understand each other. We forgive each other. And we both swear we’re not going to go that long without being there for one another again.”
Derek tilts his head and jerks his head at my hand, as if he’s checking whether I’m sure. I nod and hold it closer to him.
He nods back and slaps his hand into mine, hooking them together in a handshake.
A few seconds pass. Shakes and half-tilted smiles are exchanged before we let go.
There’s barely a second to recover from the silent bro mental messaging we’ve just done before Derek settles comfortably in his chair, curiosity kicking in.
“So, tell me about Liliana. What does she look like? Is she in your art classes? Actually, wait, you introduced her to Clem?”
Finally, I can talk about her.
A chortle of laughter racks through me. Derek barely pays any mind as he keeps throwing questions into the fire about Lily.
“I’ll answer what I can.”
“What do you mean ‘what you can?’ I need you to answer them all!” He shakes my arm excitedly, curls bouncing with his movements.
It’s nice to be around the person who knows me best, even if he resembles an over-energized golden retriever sometimes.
“In that case, how much time do you have?”
“Loads. As much as you need.”
The imaginary plans I had for later tonight aren’t as appealing as when I first showed up. Gulping down the rest of my Blue Moon, I crack my neck and prepare myself for what I know is going to be a long night of talking, talking, and more talking.
“Fine. I’ll start from the beginning.”
Derek gives me two thumbs up and sits up straight, Modelo bottle forgotten. I chuckle.
“Do you remember the girl from my comms class I had a crush on?”
twenty-seven
LILIANA
“Please tellme you brought back li hing mui mango.”
