Becca:Stop what?
Gideon:Being so sweet. You need to stop or I'm going to seduce you.
Becca:LOL! Good to see you still have your sense of humor.
Gideon:I'm serious.
Becca:Yeah, right.
Gideon:You can't tell me you've never thought about it.
What is going on tonight?
I stared at my phone, waiting for an 'lol' or 'just kidding' from Gideon, but nothing came. He couldn't be serious, could he?
Gideon:It's okay, you don't have to answer.
I didn't reply. I slid the phone across the table, pushing it with my fingertips until it was out of my reach.
He's drunk. He doesn't know what he's saying.
I repeated that to myself over and over as I cleaned up the kitchen and went to bed.
Chapter Three
Becca
When I woke late the next morning, I grabbed my phone to see if Gideon texted anything more. He didn't. It was for the best. I didn't want anything ruining our friendship. So why was I disappointed?
I pulled on a bright red sweatshirt from my uncle's gym and grumbled as my feet touched the cold tile floor in the kitchen. This time of year always made me feel lonely. Ever since I had moved away from my family, the holidays had this effect on me. I was glad Gideon didn't text anything more. The last thing I needed was to act on something when I was vulnerable.
Desperate to get my mind on something else, I picked up my phone and called my friend Sandra. She and I went to college together, but she moved to Washington State where she had grown up four years ago.
"Hey, I was just thinking about you," Sandra said as she answered the phone. "I was going to call you later."
"I beat you to it," I said with a laugh, glad to hear her voice. "How's the house hunting going? Did you find something yet?"
"We finally found a place that's available immediately. It's this gorgeous Victorian with an updated kitchen and a detached office near the koi pond for Billy. We're supposed to move in tomorrow."
"Wow, a Victorian and a koi pond. I can only imagine what you're leaving out."
Sandra laughed, but I could tell it was forced. Anyone else might have missed it, but I knew her too well.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's Billy," she said hesitantly. "I...I don't know..."
Her voice was filled with pain and confusion. A faint sniffle came through the phone. There was only one thing I could think of that would upset her so much. I didn't want to ask her, but I needed to know.
"Is he drinking again?" I asked.
Sandra squeaked something I couldn't understand, then took a shaky breath.
"It’s been so long. He's been sober for two years. I really thought after the last time that this was it, he finally had it under control."
Sandra had told me about Billy's drinking, but I always felt she was hiding something from me. I knew him, we had met several times and had spoken on the phone when he answered. He seemed like a good guy, but when he drank, he simply wasn't himself anymore. I suspected drunk Billy was much worse than Sandra would ever admit.
"Did something happen?" I asked.
