Tahnee:No as in no intimacy whatsoever. It was supposed to be, but Cole made sure to limit any sort of physical touching.
I sigh a breath of relief, giving Tahnee a weak smile, and placing my phone back on the table.
“Didn’t you say you saw him the night he got back from New York and he ignored you? Maybe he felt guilty?” Olive says. I forgot that I mentioned that part and not what followed after.
I shake my head in response. “No guilt necessary. I told you guys, he and I are friends, and we’re fine.” Now he’s in California looking for a new place to live. While I know Mara is here in Grangewood Creek, I can’t get the image out of my head of her on the TV, looking at him like some lovesick puppy who had just found its new owner.
He’d only given me the ‘I don’t share’ speech after going on national television, admitting to being in a relationship with his co-star.
Well,hedidn’t admit anything. She did. He never corrected her, though. Not when he knew the whole of America would be watching. He’d never embarrass her like that, because like I keep telling the girls and myself, he owes me nothing.
But he made sure to tell me he hadn’t been with anyone else since the night we met, and while that didn’t sound believable, every part of me wants to trust that he was telling the truth.
Is it really so hard for me to accept that a man could want me for me?
That someone out there wouldchooseto want me?
“Did you see him go live from Cali this afternoon?” Lizzie asks Olive and Lizzie shake their heads, and I just stare at her with my eye twitching.
No, I did not, and now I want to go home and watch it until my phone goes flat again.
“No,” Tahnee shouts, frantically scrolling through her phone to see what Lizzie is talking about.
“He basically called Mara out in front of everyone. Said they were just friends. Nothing more,” Lizzie says, watching and waiting for my reaction, but I don’t give her one.
Tahnee turns her screen toward Olive so they can watch it together with the volume up the loudest it can go.
I hear his voice, but don’t see his face.
‘I just wanted to set the record straight. Mara and I are colleagues who happen to get along as friends off screen, too. My private life is for me to enjoy, and I’d like to keep enjoying it without everyone wanting to know who I’m dating.’
“Did he just admit he was dating somebody?” Olive gawks at me, and I bury my hands in my face.
“We’renotdating,” I say from behind my palms.
“I feel like you’re hiding something,” Tahnee says, right as a Bea brings our burgers and fries over, placing them on the table. “You’re being awfully shady.”
“It’s nothing, seriously. We’re friends. Can we drop it?” I assure them, my fingers tapping my thighs under the table, away from prying eyes.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I rarely blush when I talk about a ‘friend’,” Lizzie remarks, making air quotes while Olive and Tahnee nod in unison.
“Guys, comeon. Do you really expect me to fall for an actor who’s about to have millions of women throwing themselves at him?IfI were to ever actually meet someone, I would want to be a priority. Not be with a man who has women throwing themselves at him every chance they get.” I shrug, and they sigh in agreement—even Tahnee, the married one.
“You totally watched that interview,” Olive says, straightening her back in her seat, causing the rest of the table to laugh. I can only keep up this charade for so long before I break.
“Fine. I did. Are you happy?”
“Ecstatic.” She smiles, lifting her glass of water and clinking it against mine.
Out of all my friends, Tahnee and Cassandra are the only married ones. Olive, until recently, I assumed was just anti-love and anti-anything that involved her stepping out of her comfort zone. But now I know she’s just a private person, and doesn’t want anyone to know about the people she dates.
Lizzie, on the other hand, desperately wants to meet her knight in shining armor, but I think by now she’s dated every eligible bachelor in Grangewood Creek, and comes up short every time.
“So, what’s going on with the music, Ol? Any updates on the soundtrack? Maybe even a potential album?” I ask, changing the subject away from me and the shitshow that is my love life, steering it to the only person on this table who has something exciting to talk about.
“I’ve been in and out of the studio that the label has given me access to, with a bunch of different producers.” She smiles. “It’s been cool working with people who take my ideas seriously. Watching them work off a chord progression or a vocal run hasbeen fascinating. I’m really excited to show you guys what we’re working on,” she says with a content sigh and a gentle smile, her hazel eyes filled with pride.
“Have you heard anything about any of your songs being chosen?” Lizzie asks, dipping her fries in ketchup.
