Hasta la pasta,
Rosalie
True friends. I should have known she’d hold us to that. I find myself tracing over her signature on the screen and messing up the zoom. Setting the phone down, I scrub a hand down my face and hate myself a little. She doesn’t want to lie to me, but my every interaction with her is with the intent of hiding my true feelings. Do I have any other choice, though?
Chapter 22 – Buckle Up
Rosalie
In the end, the interrogation I was so worried about wasn’t even possible. Aubrey wasn’t there, and Kambryn got sent into work sometime during my date. She did call me, but she already knew everything (at least from Trey’s side). Trey called Gavin on the way home about the possibility of a double date and spilled his guts.
Apparently, Trey likes me. He thinks I’m big game. I’m not sure I’m in love with the hunting metaphor, but Kambryn assures me it’s a compliment. And then she has to go, because even though she practically runs the gym where she works, she’s not supposed to be on personal calls outside of breaks.
Just when I’m settling into bed with a book that’s more emotional-support rectangle than reading material, Marisol calls.This is the conversation I should have been worried about all along. The letter Liam sent me via text is still fresh in my mind, including his list of favorite road trip snacks. His list is as deplorable to me as he found mine. Who likes Cheez-Its?
If I answer right now, Marisol will drag things out of me I don’t want to share, and they won’t be food-related.
Kambryn wants to hear about anything romantic, and she’s easily sidetracked by fun details. Marisol is a bloodhound. She wants to know what the details mean and plot them on a timeline like an analyst. Sometimes I think she’s more like Andrew than we give her credit for.
We’ve been trading text messages back and forth while in the midst of chaos. Yesterday, after our dinner, Bea climbed up to get a box from the top of her closet and broke the shelf and her leg. Her current goal is to get a celebrity signature on her cast before it comes off so she can sell it on eBay. She doesn’t even have a cast yet. Her leg is splinted until they go in Monday to see a specialist.
Taking the call before it goes to voicemail, I answer with, “How’s Bea?”
Marisol sighs. “She’s got a lot of energy for someone who’s supposed to be confined to their bed.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Okay, Ro. I have ten minutes. I have to be asleep before Andrew starts snoring. He’s brushing his teeth right now, and then he has to check all the doors and lights. So, once and for all, what is going on with you and Liam? I’m tired, but I’m not dead.”
“What do you mean what’s going on with us?”
My fake plea of innocence does not go over well. “Rosie, you tell me the truth right now.”
“I don’t know what’s going on. Right now, we’re friends.”
“You’ve always been friends.”
“But not confidants.”
“Interesting. What kind of confidants? Like, late night calls? Meeting up?”
“We arenotmeeting up. I mean, tonight we ran into each other, but that was by accident.”
She’s silent, waiting for me to actually answer the question. Kambryn would have totally taken the sidetrack bait, wanting to know why we ran into each other. Finally, I admit, “We write each other letters.”
Her sigh matches the way I feel inside. “I love that for you. What else?”
“What do you mean, what else?”
“What else is different? You went straight to ‘we’re friends’ and sidestepped the whole attraction thing. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed him looking at you. I’ve known Liam a long time, and I know what he thought of you when you first started working for him. You were his Nanny McPhee, tweedy jacket and chin hair and everything. He had blinders on out of self-preservation. Those blinders are clearly off, and I’ll admit I’m a little scared for you.”
“You’rescared for me?” If she’s scared, I should be scared, and I don’t want to be scared. I’ll get a lot less enjoyment out of his letters. I’m not planning on doing anything crazy. We’re friends now. I thought I was being pretty pragmatic about the whole thing.
“Baby, you haven’t seen Liam in love.”
“Sure, I have. I’ve been working for him for four years. He’s had several girlfriends.”
“They came and went for a reason. He wasn’t ready, and that wasn’t love.”