"Oh." Eden's mouth turned down in sadness. "How do you feel about that?"
"Sad if she goes. Happy that she's kinda moving on from dad's death a little."
My mom had always declared that she would never leave the town where my dad was buried, where her happy memories of him lay.
But I also knew how much she missed the closeness of her family, especially now that her only child had moved out.
It was a big culture shock for my mom to come to the States. Moving from a small village on an island, living with her extended family - to a foreign land with no family, even my dad's. He had been estranged from them at the time.
I loved visiting my extended family in Trenton. A few of them were scattered over the US, but my mom's sister had settled in the States from Samoa a few years before my mom moved. It wasn't that long before other relatives followed. I couldn't blame my mom for contemplating the move.
My mom only settled in New Haven for my dad, who already had a job here.
Mom would never say, but I knew she never felt truly at home here. The townsfolk were friendly and welcoming, but she craved the closeness of her community. There was always a buzz, a different kind of love, when we were with our loud, boisterous family in Trenton.
"Would you move there?" Ryan's brow furrowed in concern at the thought of being separated.
I forced a smile past my tense mouth. "And leave you two losers? Yeah, right."
Later that evening, I heard a continuous ringing coming from my phone. It wasn't a ringtone I was familiar with.
It was an Instagram video call.
From Simon.
I paused for a second, giving my vibrating phone a chance to stop. It kept ringing.
Feeling panicked, I patted my hair, which I had put in twin French braids to protect my curls while I slept. I glanced down at my oversized Guns 'N' Roses t-shirt, which hung off one shoulder. I was wearing tiny shorts, which were obscured by the hem of my shirt. But he couldn't see -
Fucking hell, what was I doing? Who cares what I was wearing! I didn't give two licks about Simon.
I snatched up my phone and stabbed the button to accept the call.
"Hello?" I slowly drawled out. I wasn't wholly convinced that he meant to call me - I could've been a butt dial.
"Hey, gorgeous," Simon's cheerful drawl reached me as his face cleared on my screen. His dark hair looked damp - like he had just come out of the shower. My mind recalled his broad shoulders and muscled arms that showed a routined workout. Tight abs with a perfectly formed Adonis belt leading to...
God. I just realized how often I had seen him half dressed - in my hallway with a towel on, when he borrowed Brian's clothes at my apartment and again when he attempted to tug off said clothes at Malley's parking lot. I needed to get laid.
"How was your day?"
I raised my brow at his question. Okay, clearly, he had intentionally called me.
"Um...why are you calling me? Did you need something?"
"Apart from you?" He winked as he settled back and rested his head on a wall.
"What do you want, Simon?"
His smile dropped, and he ran a hand through his wet hair, causing the strands to rise.
"I had dinner with Barron this week. Did you hear that they wanted to go away for a weekend this summer?"
"Yeah. Eden literally just told me today. It's only the wedding party, right?"
"Yeah, just you and me." He paused. "And the Bride and Groom, Ryan and Travis. Should be a blast."
"Mmm hmm. Was that all you wanted to say?"
