Page 95 of Playing the Player

Knocking on the red door in front of me, I wait with a large bottle of champagne clutched in my hands. There’s a commotion on the other side. Olivia is whisper-shouting at whoever is in the room with her. “It’s Sasha! Get the stuff!” I laugh and playfully roll my eyes at how ridiculous she’s being. “Oh my fuck! Hurry up!”

The door swings open a second later, Josh and Olivia standing in the doorway wearing party hats and holding balloons. “Happy birthday!” Olivia sing-songs, dragging me into a tight hug.

“You guys!” I squeal when she lets go and I embrace Josh next.

“Happy birthday, Sash.” He says when he releases me, patting my head like I’m a fucking dog.

I smile up at him sweetly. “Thanks, Spudnik.” His left eye twitches as he scowls and Olivia cackles with laughter.

“I take it back. I hope you have a really shitty day.” He storms off as Olivia and I burst into a fit of giggles. He will never live that one down.

We settle onto the couch beside each other. “What are you doing here so early? I thought you were working today.”

“I quit.”

“You did?” Olivia squeals, jumping on top of me. “Finally! What happened?”

I tell her everything. Every word. Every glorious second. By the time I finish, Olivia is practically vibrating.

“I am so proud of you, girl.” She squeezes me tight and it’s the best feeling in the world.

“I have no idea how I’m gonna pay my rent in a few months, “I admit, laughing into the hug, “but I don’t even care.” I sigh happily when Liv lets me go. “I feel so free. Plus, now I have all the time in the world to write.”

“Oh!” Olivia gasps. “Speaking of writing…” I sit upright, giving her my full, undivided attention. “I was talking to Charlie earlier. One of her friends is an editor. She said she’d happily take a look at your manuscript once it’s finished.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. And she works with a few publishing agencies, so she could try and-”

“YES!” I squeal, tackling her down onto the couch. “Oh my God, yes!”

“What’s going on out here?” Josh asks, walking down the hall with Isabella in his arms.

“She said yes!” Olivia swoons as I get up from the couch and practically sprint towards them.

“There’s my beautiful girl!” I coo, taking Bella from his arms. “You are getting so big.”

“She takes after her daddy.” Liv says, kissing her baby girl on the cheek. “And she’s awake just in time to give auntie Sash her birthday present.”

“Liv, you bought me that dress for my birthday, remember?”

“That was from me. This one is all Bella.” She hands me a box with beautiful pink wrapping paper.

Isabella is sitting on my knee as I carefully tear open the gift, pulling out a white box. Bella’s chubby hands grab for it, but she misses and then starts screaming in my ear, the high-pitched sound piercing my brain. “Wow, girl. Calm yourself.”

“She has the worst temper sometimes.” Olivia shakes her head, sighing heavily.

“She gets it from her momma.” Liv looks offended while Josh starts snickering beside her. She swings around, hitting him over the head with a couch cushion.

Bella bursts into a fit of giggles as she watches her parents act like kids in the playground with a crush.

Ignoring their flirtatious bickering, I open the box, finding a brown wooden one inside. Pulling it out, my eyes instantly well with tears. “Isabella! I love it!” I kiss Bella on the cheek and she peers up at me with a gummy smile. What I would give to hear a baby laugh every day of the week. It’s like a happy drug and one that I could easily get addicted to.

I flick through the photos on the photo block using the little hand crank on the side. It’s filled with photos of Isabella and me since she was born. There’s one of her sleeping on my chest when she was only a week old. There’s one of her smiling up at me. There’s one of her covered in spaghetti sauce, dirty hands pressed to my cheeks. Engraved at the top of the wooden box says: Auntie Sash and Me.

“I love it, Liv.” My voice cracks. “Thank you.” I quickly wipe away the tears, smiling at my best friend. It’s the little things like this that I appreciate more than anything. It’s strange how something so simple can make you feel so much.

“I have one more thing for you.” I look at Olivia with narrowed eyes. She’s done too much for me already. She disappears down the hallway before returning with a badly wrapped box. “Conor dropped it off this morning.”