“Because isn’t sex supposed to complicate things?”
Emery shrugs. “Men think so.”
Christin cackles. “Good one, Em.”
“Emotions that are worth having are complicated,” Maya returns.
Emery squints at her screen. “Did he ask for more?”
“He said he wanted to fix us. I told him to leave.”
Emery notes. “That means you’re still in control.”
Christin nods. “You don’t owe him anything. Not another night. Not forgiveness. Not a future.”
“I know,” I say. And because of my family and these women, I do.
I deserve everything.
Maya smiles. “For what it’s worth, if this turns into something again, it will be because you decided he’s earned who you are now. He can’t chase who you were.”
“And if you end up hurt,” Christin adds, “we step in.”
“Loudly,” Emery says.
“With destruction,” Christin adds.
“And snacks,” Emery finishes.
“Figuratively,” Maya says quickly on the off chance someone decides to listen to one of our calls.
I feel my chest loosen, warmth replacing the tight coil of anxiety I’d been bracing against since the call started.
“I love you,” I say.
Maya smiles softly. “We know.”
Christin’s voice is gentle but unwavering. “You don’t lose us for choosing what you need even when it’s messy.”
Emery lifts her glass toward the camera. “To Amy. For taking on the…hard things.”
“For demonstrating flexibility,” Maya snickers, but lifts her drink.
“For not relying on herself.” Christin’s response is just as cheeky before she presents her own goblet.
I lift mine but, unlike them, I can’t keep a straight face as I return their toast. “I love you all.”
They clink their glasses against their screens, before bursting into gales of laughter. Even through the thousands of miles that separate us, I feel held.
Not because they agree with every choice I make.
But because they never stopped trusting the woman making them.
17
BEHIND-THE-NET FEED: PASS FROM BEHIND THE NET INTO THE SLOT
The call connects on the third ring.
