[gif of dancing cat]
Sarah
QUEEN.
Emmy
Excuse me, I think you dropped your crown [row of crown emojis]
Caitlin
How do you feel, Soph?
Me
I feel…happy. Really, really happy. A little nervous about what happens now. Also, you don’t even know the craziest part. Hold on a sec.
Needing to see their reactions in person, I hit the video call button and wait as all their faces pop up on screen.
“You had sex with Tyler,” Sarah practically squeals, beaming at me through the screen.
“Really, really good sex,” I say with a grin. “Like, the best sex anyone has ever had.”
“I’m so happy for you, Soph,” Maddy says, smile on her face. “Don’t be nervous. You and Tyler have been a long time coming, even though he took his sweet time figuring it out.”
I shrug, pulling my feet up onto the seat and resting my chin on my knees. “I don’t know. I’m thinking the time might have been worth it. I mean, not that the last three years haven’t been torture, because holy hell. But he needed this build up, I think, to figure it out for himself.”
“So what made him finally get his shit together?” Emmy asks, flopping back into her millions of pillows.
Caitlin rolls her eyes, kicking back in what I can see is her desk chair at work, which means she went from her own birthday party to the office. I’m not sure if that’s dedication orinsanity. “Did you not read the message where I orchestrated him a little bout of raving jealousy?”
I laugh. “That might have pushed him to boil, but he had already been simmering for a while before that. You’re never going to believe this. Like, literally never.”
“Oh my god, I love this night,” Maya says seriously. “Like, I am literally in love with this night. What happened?”
I pause for dramatic flare before holding the phone away from me so they can see my whole face. “Tyler is RenegadeRush.”
Silence. Complete and utter silence for five full seconds before the car fills with the sound of five women talking all at once. I let them go for a few minutes, my heart overflowing with love for them. Tyler might be my person, but these women are my soulmates. The missing pieces of me. I could never do life without them.
“This is the best thing that has ever happened,” Sarah says, wide grin spread over her face.
“We need to know everything, like, yesterday,” Maya orders. “Start talking, Soph.”
“Agree.” Maddy nods. “How did he find out? When did he find out? What happened when he told you he knew? This is like a movie, which is somehow appropriate considering your mutual love of all things rom-com.”
“Leave nothing out,” Emmy says, rolling onto her side and holding the phone out in front of her.
“Hang on.” Caitlin holds up a hand, gray eyes studying the screen. “Where are you right now?”
I look around, having forgotten entirely that I’m still in Tyler’s car. “Oh, right.” I laugh. “I’m in Tyler’s car parked in front of his parents’ house. He brought me over here and told me to wait in the car while he did…well, I’m not entirely sure, actually. He said it was a surprise, but I think I know what he’s up to.”
And then, I tell them everything. About the night three years ago when I realized I had fallen hopelessly in love with Tyler andhim figuring out I was the girl he was talking to on the app and how he set out to make me fall for him because he didn’t realize I already had. About the interview, minus the California part because I think Tyler has to hear that first. About the kiss and the best sex of my life and how I’m pretty sure we both admitted we love each other and how I feel like I could float away on a pink cloud of happiness.
“Oh my god,” Sarah whispers when I finish, eyes wide. “Like, oh my fucking god.”
“I know,” I say, my eyes filling with unexpected tears made of feelings that are too deep for words. “I can’t even process it all. What do you even do when you get everything you’ve ever dreamed of all in one night? I’ve had sex before. Good sex, even. Or at least I thought I had. But it turns out I didn’t know anything because holy shit, you guys. Like, seriously, holy shit.” They are the only words I can come up with to describe what happened tonight. “You understand,” I say, eyes on Maddy.
She nods. “I do. It’s different when you’re in love. It changes everything.”
