Grace didn’t hesitate. “Of course.” She thought she might have seen Rafael flinch out of the corner of her eye. “Whatever you need.”
That night after they’d tucked themselves into Grace’s bedroom, Alma told her even more about the fight, and Grace listened with rapt attention, sure her friend had never been so vulnerable in her life. Perhaps the closest Alma had come was after a fight with her mother, but even that didn’t seem to compare to this argument with Obinna. “I think I’m just not cut out for this, Gracie, this relationship thing,” Alma explained. “You were so good at it.”
Grace snorted. “I thought so, too, and look where that got me.”
They were side by side in Grace’s tiny bed, whispering in the dark just as they had for so many nights throughout their entire friendship.
“It takes some adjustments,” Grace said. “But that doesn’t mean you’re bad at relationships or this isn’t meant to be. You and Obinna love each other. You just have to figure out the best way to fight and work through this stuff.”
“I don’t know how to fight when he can’t even look at me. And I was so angry.”
“I’m sorry, Alma. I know it’s hard, but it doesn’t mean you can’t handle it. Sometimes you’ll get angry. Sometimes you might want to scream, but it doesn’t mean it’s over.”
Alma’s eyes softened. “I’m so glad you’re here, Gracie. This is exactly the situation where I need my best friend in the same city. I wish we were living together right now, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Grace reached out and put a hand on her best friend’s arm. “I’m glad I can be here for you, too.” She meant it with every fiber of her being. When Derek had ended things with Grace, Alma had called every day and listened to Grace cry. Alma had never needed this kind of support before; she’d always been so tough and independent, but now that she was in crisis, Grace wanted to return the favor, to be the friend Alma deserved. “We’ll figure this out.”
Alma blew out a thick breath. “I don’t know. We’ve had fights before, but not like this. This felt like too much.”
“Too much because you don’t want to deal with it? Or too much because of how much you care?”
Alma groaned. “The second one. That’s the scary part.”
“We’ll get through this, Alma. I promise, and you know I wouldn’t promise that if I didn’t mean it.” After all, Grace was still standing after everything had happened, and she was sure Alma was a stronger woman than she was.
Alma squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to hold back tears. “I don’t know how to fix it, though.”
“Maybe you both need a little time before you talk it out. Maybe you need time to consider all the marriage and kids stuff. That’s not unreasonable.” Grace shifted on the bed, turning further toward her best friend.
“He thinks I already should have been considering it.” Alma opened her eyes and frowned.
“That sounds like it’s just coming from a place of insecurity. He’s worried about how you really feel.”
Alma sighed, adjusting her position so she could lean her head on Grace’s shoulder. “I love him, Gracie. You know I do, but that’s a lot to consider.”
“It is. And he should understand that.”
“I’m so glad you’re my best friend,” Alma said, and Grace felt a new sense of guilt bubbling under the surface of her skin.
“Me too,” she whispered.
Despite how keyed up Alma had been when she arrived, she fell asleep next to Grace quickly, her breath heavy and her knees digging into Grace’s side. It was Grace who was too agitated to sleep, too wrapped up in her own thoughts, consumed by daydreams of slipping out of bed and into Rafael’s room to pick up where they’d left off.
She knew that made her a terrible person. After everything Alma had done for her—beautiful, fierce, heartbroken Alma—Grace was just flagrantly ignoring all of her advice and good judgment and obsessing over Rafael anyway. But the way his skin felt against hers made her feel like she was about to burst into flames. She hadn’t even known that was possible. And the way he looked at her… Who could resist that? Why would you ever want to?
Because most likely she would end up with a broken heart all over again. And then she would still have to see him and be civil for the rest of their lives. It would make things awkward for Alma, and at the moment, Grace was still living with the guy. She could get kicked out on the street again, just like with Derek. What would happen when he woke up one morning, ready to move on with someone else, and Grace was still just there in his apartment, pining for him? That was pathetic. She was pathetic, and painfully aware of it.
Grace’s phone vibrated with a text alert on the nightstand, and she snatched it up, knowing it could only be one person, the person she most wanted to talk to.
Rafael: “How quickly do you think we can get them back together?”
Grace smiled to herself and started typing. She was going to let him destroy her, wasn’t she? She’d already been through hell. She could take it. She might as well just enjoy it and then start bracing for the aftermath.
Grace: “Should we invite Obinna for breakfast? At dawn?”
Rafael: “That’s still too long to wait. I want you now.”
Ugh, how could her nipples get hard from a single text message? And the way her body was thrumming, she couldn’t possibly sleep. Not that she was a great sleeper anyway, but there was no longer any hope.
