“You seemed deep in thought and then made this unhappy face.” Emma stares at me, waiting for an explanation that won’t come.Two can play that game, Emma.
I take a swig from my wine and look at it with worry. Then the verbal diarrhea commences. “I just saw girls throwing themselves at him. But he introduced himself to Adam as my boyfriend and then called me his girlfriend when I saw him on the floor. It was a shock initially, but it felt right, so I went along with it. But…” I hesitate. “But I just hope I am enough. What if I am not enough? Look what Brodie ended up doing?”
Emma comes close to me and rubs my arm. “Hey, where is this coming from, Liv? You are smart, beautiful, and one of my best friends.”
This makes me laugh. “You think I’m beautiful?” Mimicking Cher, my favorite character from the movieClueless.
Emma snorts, acknowledging the reference and choosing not to be distracted by it in her line of questioning.
“Is that all you got out of that little pep talk? Yes, I do think you are beautiful. I know this because I don’t have ugly friends.”
I fist pump the air at this comment with a “Damn straight,” as it gets the desired reaction Emma was hoping for.
Emma is now beaming at me. My thoughts turn somber as I look her in the eye.
“I guess Brodie just did a number on me. The cheating made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, and I feared Dax would lose interest. I don’t think I can take that kind of rejection twice.”
Emma seems to ponder my response, then shoots up from her seat. She announces that she will throw on some clothes and put her hair up. “I’ll be right back.”
I go to refill my wineglass and throw on some music. Halsey “Bad at Love”starts playing, and I immediately begin dancing. Emma enters her room and laughs at me, singing into my wineglass.
“That’s my girl.”
She also starts singing the lyrics with me, and we dance around in the apartment, not spilling a drop of alcohol from our goblets of wine. She refills her wineglass, and I quickly down mine asking for another refill. She questions me with a finger pointing out in a scolding manner.
“Don’t you have school tomorrow, missy?”
I nod, not missing a beat of the songs that continue to play through Spotify. We laugh and throw ourselves onto the coach. Another song ends, and I watch her sip her wine.
“So, will you tell me why I came home and saw Eduardo practically naked in his boxers, pulling up his pants?”
She winces at first.
“I saw him coming out of your room as I was getting home. Imagine my shock when I saw him and not Jameson. What’s going on, Emma?” I don't think she will say anything, but when she surprises me and starts to speak.
“I sent Jameson home, and Eduardo came over after Jameson left. I didn’t plan on anything happening between us, but it did, and that’s all there is to it.”
I ask anyway, despite her apprehension in answering my questions, “How did you meet him?”
“Long story short, an employee of his was injured at the club, and I guess that was what brought him in. I took him into the trauma bay to get him placed on the monitors and called the doctor.
“Trauma bay?” I ask with wide eyes, contemplating what injury it could have been to necessitate a trauma bay.
She looks at me and bites her lip before she answers, “Stab wound to the hand.”
“What?” I practically scream.
“Oh, it was nothing, really. Needed some stitches and didn’t hit anything important in the way of vessels. Weirdly, it looked more bloody than the wound was. Lucky, actually.” She stops to think about that for a minute before proceeding. “Eduardo showed up, said something to his employee, and sat in a chair, staring at me while I worked.”
Sensing that she doesn’t want to get into it, I let it slide for now, but I plan on revisiting this subject later. I mean, what is up with that situation?Stabbed?I thought Jameson mentioned that night that he and Eduardo were frat brothers.
I get up from the couch and place my wineglass in the sink. Grabbing a glass of water, I return to the couch with Emma.
“So when are the girls coming?”
Emma perks up and shouts excitedly. “In a few weeks!” She is practically vibrating with excited energy.
Just like nothing happened, she is back to the same fun-loving Emma.
