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“You’re officially making me nervous,” Melanie said, eyeing Rory. “Spill. Now.”
She wrung her hands. “I had the Thanksgiving from hell.”
Melanie hummed. “Me too.”
She stopped, blinking at her friend. “Crap, Mel, I—”
“You first,” her friend said, holding out a hand in a plea for Rory to continue.
She sat down on the couch, tucking a leg underneath her. “Mel, really, my problems are dumb compared to—”
“Rory, please, for me? Let’s talk about you.”
Feeling antsy, she bolted back up and paced again. “I did something stupid, Mel. Like, really, really stupid.”
Melanie raised her brow. “I doubt it. You are the furthest thing from stupid.”
“I do not deserve you,” she grumbled. She paused, facing Melanie full on. “Okay…I-I kissed Tyler.”
Melanie covered her mouth and let out some kind of exasperated sound that was half laugh, half pure shock.
Rory sat back down, covering her face with her hands. “Stupid, right?”
“Oh my god. Where? How? When?”
“Backyard. Late at night. He was being all broody about Jay again, and we were fighting, and he stormed out, and…I chased after him.”
“And the kiss?” she cooed.
“Probably the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Melanie screamed, laying down on the throw pillows and placing her hands across her heart. “I’m going to combust from cuteness.”
“But you’re missing the emergency part of this conversation, which is the fact that I’m technically seeing someone else,” she rationalized. “And so is he.”
Melanie sat back up. “Did you guys talk about it?”
“Briefly? He…told me he couldn’t break it off with her.” Her voice croaked as she said it.
Melanie tapped a finger to her lips. “Something weird is going on here. There’s no way he wouldn’t choose you.”
“Well, he didn’t,” Rory growled. “So he’s still seeing her and I guess I’m still seeing Jay, and I don’t even know what’s going on with him…you see? I’m a mess!”
Melanie reached for Rory’s face and guided her down to her lap, then stroked her mahogany hair. “You’re not a mess, you just have two hot boys very into you.”
“Does Calvin know you think they’re hot? Because he might lose his mind.”
The sound of Melanie’s cackle reverberating off the walls made her smile.
She closed her eyes. “Do you think I’m horrible? For cheating on Jay?”
Melanie’s hands kept brushing through her hair. “Is it cheating if you’re not actually dating him? Sounds like you guys haven’t even had that talk yet.”
She sat up, facing her. “I just figured we were. Why are boys so confusing?”
“Maybe it’s time to ask him.” Melanie shrugged. “If that’s what you want, of course.”
She groaned, laying back on her friend’s lap. “I don’t know what I want.”
