“Well … get out. We’re having a girl-talk break,” Loren demands as if she’s not speaking to her boss.
“Technically, it’s supposed to be your planning period. And I only came for a Gatorade,” he says, gesturing toward the vending machine. “But now I might want to stay for the girl talk.”
“Jay Dee-hee,” Loren whines. “I’m finally making another work friend, and you’re ruining it!”
He puts a dollar bill into the machine before mumbling, “I thought I was your work bestie,” and adding a mocking face at the end.
“But you’re a big, stinky boy. It’s not the same. And I already know too much about your love life because you married my actual best friend.”
JD snorts as he retrieves his drink. “I bet Daisy would be willing to tell you all about?—”
“That’s what I’m saying!” she interjects. “I’d really like to trade stories that don’t involve one of my brothers by blood or by law for once!”
He leans back against the vending machine and crosses his arms. “I feel like Rowan pretty much fits into that category by now, anyway.”
My stomach dips. “And what makes you so sure we’re talking about Rowan?” I ask, mirroring Loren’s tone from before.
“Come on, everyone knows he’s been hanging around for you,” he says before he gulps down half of his drink in one swig and lets out a burp. “Well, that’s what my wife and I both think.”
“Why do I find it hard to believe you and Tenley swap office gossip?” I reply in an attempt to take the heat off myself.
“He’s actually kind of better at girl talk than Tenley is,” Loren turns and admits quietly.
JD finishes off his sports drink and tosses the bottle into the trash can from across the room. “See, I can hang.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty shitty when it comes to talking about real feelings. So all you’re getting from me is crude humor, anyway.”
Loren frowns. “Why not both?”
I blink and look away, unable to answer her.
“Yeah, why not both?” JD parrots, and Loren throws a chip at him, which he tries to catch in his mouth and misses.
“You’re totally ruining this for me,” she growls at him.
“I’m making it easier. It’s called comedic relief,” he says as he stuffs the chip crumbs into his mouth and walks over to steal another from Loren’s bag. And I actually find myself laughing at him.
“This is totally weird. You guys know that, right?”
They glance at one another and shrug. “Families come in all shapes and sizes,” JD declares as he pulls another bag of chips from his pocket and opens it up before placing it down on the table in front of Loren. She takes a chip without question, and the two of them stare at me expectantly as they crunch away. Truthfully, they’re kind of adorable, and my heart aches at the notion of forming a familial bond like theirs.
“I mean, name a better duo,” Loren continues, and JD squats down to press his cheek to hers as they pose with matching cheesy smiles, in spite of their comical size difference.
“Yeah, and on Wednesdays, we wear pink,” JD declares.
A loud cackle bursts out of me, so I instinctively cover my mouth to muffle it. And maybe my heart’s still a little too full from this morning, but I can’t help thinking it’s okay to be the girl with the big laugh and the loud feelings this time, at least with people who might actually care about me and like me for who I am. So I let myself laugh, and my friends join in.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
claire
“I forgotwhat we were talking about in the first place,” I say as my laughter dies down.
“I think we left off at what Rowan is like in bed,” Loren reminds me, and my cheeks heat again.
JD lets out a whistle and rises to his feet. “Maybe you were right. This tea might be too hot for me.”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “You talk a big game for a man who dips out at the first mention of a bed.”
