“He hasn’t…no it’s not like that. At least not anymore.”
“This is Nicholas Locke. It isabsolutelylike that. And although math has never been my strong suit, I can do three minus one which means you have two more tickets to Bone Town, so I would hop aboard the hookup train, choo choo.”
“Rihanna, stop.”
“What?! Do not try that prissy, good girl act with me, mamacita. Remember I was the one who went with you to get your first Brazilian because you were going to fuck Professor Douchebag.”
“I only got that becauseyousaid I needed to.” I’d been a virgin at the time, I hadn’t had clue what I was doing.
“I know,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to go to the salon by myself, so I told you that so you would go with me.”
That tracked. Ri was an amazing friend and person, but she had no problem manipulating situations to get what she wanted. Not so much now, but when we were younger.
“Fine, Brazilian or not I still know as soon as you realized the girls were going to be gone, you know you thought about round two.” She took a sip of the wine in her glass.
That was the one thing about being friends with someone your whole life. They knew you, and Ri was right. I had been thinking about it. And dreaming about it. Hot, sexy, wild dreams. But they would not be coming true.
“I don’t think he’s interested anymore.”
“Right,” she agreed flatly. “He’s not interested. That’s why he showed up on my doorstep the second he found out that you were evicted and insisted on moving you, your mom, and your daughter in with him. That isfor surethe actions of a man who isnotinterested.”
I still couldn’t believe he’d done that. “He was just being nice.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“You haven’t seen how things have been. It’s been totally platonic.”
“Yeah, and whose fault is that?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ri changed her voice so that it sounded prim and proper. “Last night was great, but it can’t happen again. No one can know that anything happened. If we do move in it has to be completely professional.”
“How did you…? Were you listening at the door?”
“No!” She gasped as if she was offended. “I was watching on my Ring camera app.”
“Ri!”
“Stop trying to change the subject. You made it clear that there would be no funny business, in fact if I remember correctly, you actually said no funny business, which is a term I thought we’d left in the ’80s but apparently not.”
Ignoring her dig at my vernacular, I maintained my position. “Just because the girls are gone does not mean that we are alone. Our moms both live here remember?”
“So. That makes it even hotter. You never had to sneak around, and since he grew up in foster care, I doubt he did either. You guys can live your Katy PerryTeenage Dreamwith each other.” A knock sounded in the background and Ri picked up her phone, probably pulling up the Ring app she’d used to spy on me. “Shit, I have to go. Tyler’s here.”
“I thought that was over,” I said.
“It is,” she confirmed. “He’s here for the breakup sex.”
“Breakup sex?” I repeated.
“Yeah, you know, one for the road.”
I didn’t know. “Okay, bye, love you.”
“Love ya!”
The call disconnected and I grabbed the last load I had to put in the laundry and went downstairs. I’d never been envious of Ri’s social life before, but I had to admit I was a little bummed that she was going to be having hot breakup sex and I was going to be pining away for a man who I’d just realized I loved.
