Midway through my attempt to catch up on the latest season ofIs It Cake?, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and try to smother my disappointment at seeing Mike’s text.
Mike:
Are we still ok to swing by?
I glance around at my pristine apartment, empty of life and excitement, and I sigh.‘Sure,’I type back.‘I’m looking forward to seeing you.’
Even if there’s a part of me that would prefer to see the other Barratt man in my life instead.
***
Seeing my best friend is exactly what the doctor ordered. Despite being a little jealous at how happy and loved-up he and Becca appear, even after almost three decades together, their buoyant mood is contagious.
We catch up over coffees, with neither of them being big drinkers, especially after having imbibed over dinner and Mike driving, and I ask Becca whether my restaurant recommendation lived up to expectations.
She gushes about the tasting menu they’d ordered, while Mike playfully complains that he’s still hungry and might go through a drive-through on the way back to their hotel. They banter for a while, and I try not to think about similar conversations I’ve shared with Cody.
It’s particularly difficult to do when I can see Cody in each of them.
Is that creepy?
It feels a little creepy.
Just as I’m trying to get over that delightful new twist to my relationship with my oldest friends, my phone vibrates in my pocket again.
I frown as I read the text from ‘Cody Barratt,’ feeling my heart rate pick up.
‘SOS’is all it says.
“Is everything okay?” Mike asks me.
“I don’t know,” I answer distractedly. I’m transported back to the night I got a similar drunken message from a then-unknown number. Just how bad is my young friend’s luck that he has to send out another SOS message during the very first date he’s gone on since the disaster at The Fruitbowl?
Before I can respond to the text, another one appears on my screen, followed rapidly by another, and then another.
The spelling in all three is correct and clear, which settles my racing heart a little. At least, until I process the words properly.
Cody Barratt:
I’m in the elevator.
Your elevator.
I’m coming up. We need to talk.
My panicked gaze flits from the phone to Mike and Becca, then back to my phone.
Oh, I am so fucked.
Chapter Sixteen
This is probably the biggest leap of faith I have ever taken. I feel giddy with nerves as I travel up in the elevator, slipping my phone in my pocket after telling Ken that I’m coming. He arranged for me to have standing access to his apartment months ago, which is great because I didn’t want to have to wait for his doorman to approve my visit. I might have chickened out.
My stomach twists and clenches, and I’m equal parts excited and nauseated.
I feel more settled when the elevator opens into Ken’s foyer and I find him waiting for me. His expression is pensive, and I’m sure I’m to blame for that. Maybe I shouldn’t have opened with an SOS message, but I thought it was kind of clever and cute.
“Code—” he starts softly, but I interrupt him, needing to get my feelings out before I lose my nerve.
