“Excited. He was sweet. He’s always sweet.” I could feel myself blushing.
“Excitement was your gut reaction. Nice. I’d say that’s a good sign. What’s got you all in your feelings today?”
I hesitated before saying, “After…our moment. He got a weird phone call and tried to brush it off.”
“Maybe it was his mom?” she supplied as she ran her finger through her locks. “I’d brush mine off too if she called me after I’d been on my knees for someone.”
“He has two phones,” I told her. “I think he’s deep into something. It’s more than just some silly favor thing, I originally thought. I think it’s something bigger.”
She paused her primping. “What are you thinking?”
“Sex? Drugs? Something that makes him act odd. It’s a small pocket of odd, but I can’t ignore it. My mom spent years ignoring stuff like that about my dad,” I said while picking at a loose thread on my bed. “I don’t think I want to let Weston go this early, though. That’s probably the desire talking but he gets me. He tries to get me, like you try, and that’s rare for me.”
“He could have been acting weird for a lot of things.” She waved her hands as if to swat away my anxiously buzzing thoughts.
“I know, I know.”
She gave me a look that reminded me she didn’t enjoy speculating. “Why don’t you ask him?”
“I need more time. I don’t want to approach him sounding demanding because we’re not even dating. We’re strictlynotdating.”
“What are you going to do in the meantime?”
I pressed my lips together and gave her a look. She let out a groan that made me bite back a laugh.
“Don’t make me do this,” she said, but I can tell by the way she turned her full body to the camera I could persuade her to join in on my madness.
“You’re the best social media investigator I know,” I sucked up to her with a pout on my lips. “Please, it’ll be fun. Good practice too.”
“It’s childish. Besides, you can do it yourself. I taught you what to look for,” she told me. I watched her play with a wayward loc. She couldn’t decide if she wanted it hung on her face or pinned back.
“You’d be so much more thorough. Besides, I don’t want to get caught in too many posts and start freaking out prematurely.” I tilted my head to the side. I attempted to widen my eyes to make myself look young enough to be pitied. She tried to focus on her reflection but couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off her phone long. She was also waiting for a text from the dentist. So, she wouldn't be able to avoid looking at me for long.
“What’s his last name,” she gave in with a roll of her eyes.
I pressed my palms together in a silent “thank you” and said, “Briggs.”
“Fine,” she said. “I make no promises on finding anything interesting, but Covee?”
I sat up straight to show her I’m listening.
“Promise me that if I find something weird, you’ll ask him. Face-to-face. Like the brave bitch I know you are.”
I chewed my bottom lip and tried to think of a way to avoid promising such a request. Ari didn’t back down and raised an eyebrow as she waited for a response.
“Fine.” I nodded. “I promise.”
“Repeat the words,” she ordered.
“I promise I will ask Weston, face-to-face, if you find something weird.”
She smiled. “You have yourself a deal. Oh, and Covee?”
“What?”
“Don’t think I forgot about spring break.” She’d started packing up her things into a yellow handbag. “I’m sending you flight options after my date.”
“Okay.” I shrugged. “I’m open to looking them over.”
