“Damn,” She sighed, pushing her hand across the table and holding onto mine, like she couldn’t stand not to touch me. “And now you’re afraid of being chosen second, to a man. Or not chosen at all. And when you didn’t get a text back after I spent the night with Tanner, your brain went somewhere dark.”
I scoffed again, hating how she pinpointed everything so effortlessly. “How do you do that?”
She smiled sadly, tilting her head to the side, “I care about you, Rhea.” She said, in place of an answer. “And you’re not second. You’re not less. You’reyou.”
Her smile wasn’t pitying. It was reverent. Like she saw every cracked, broken piece of me and thought it was beautiful, anyway.
“I didn’t mean to go off the deep end.” I admitted, squeezing her fingers in mine. “I’m sorry.”
She waved me off with pursed lips. “You showed up, had some words, and left. That’s hardly the deep end.” She chuckled, “Take it from someone who once poured an entire gallon of milk over myself in the middle of a grocery store in a desperate last-ditch effort to win someone over.”
My eyes bugged out of my head, and she giggled.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she winked, “but maybe I’ll tell you someday.” She leaned forward, resting both elbows on the table. “Right now, I just want to focus on you.”
I sighed and then stood up, rounding the table to sit next to her. Instantly she snuggled in against my side, and I held onto her, desperate to feel her comfort at the end of my mental spiral I’d been in all day. “I was a bitch to Tanner today.” I whispered after a while.
She chuckled, “I heard.”
I groaned and glared at her, making her giggle again. “He called me after you left the bakery, saying he thought you were upset and asked me to check on you.”
“He did?” I scowled, trying to imagine a situation where I would have done the same for him.
“He did.” she replied, kissing my cheek. “We don’t want you to be upset, Rhea. Especially because of us.”
“Just once,” I groaned dramatically. “Just one time, I want that man to get riled up by something I did and act like a Neanderthal.Just once.”
She laughed out loud, tipping her head back, shoulders shaking. “That sounds a little like maybe?—”
“Don’t you dare,” I glared at her, and her lips snapped together, cutting it off.
But she was too intrigued to give up. “Almost like maybe you’re trying to get his attention.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled my arms back off her body as if I were cutting her off for her bad idea. “As if.”
“I mean it!” her voice rose, “It is giving elementary playground vibes, through and through.”
I pursed my lips, “I do not want your boyfriend’s attention.” I deadpanned. “I just want to irk him. I want to make him squirm with frustration until he just—loses it!”
“Yep,” she popped the p on the word and grinned, “full on kiddie flirting vibes. I’m much more direct in my flirting style, but I can see how the game of cat and mouse would get incredibly hot between you two.”
I scowled, feeling guilty for what she was insinuating, and maybe even a little panicked by the idea. “I mean it, Goldie, I’m not into Tanner. That’s not what I want.”
“Okay,” She held her hands up and nudged me with her shoulder when I finally relaxed. “I’ll drop it. I didn’t come here to spin your head up any more than it already was today.”
“Then what did you come here for?” I asked, focusing on her and not the way something low in my gut warmed up at her excitement over me potentially wanting Tanner’s attention.
“You.” She answered instantly. “I came here for you. To make sure you were alright and happy and totally on board with letting me be your girlfriend still.”
“Girlfriend, huh? I don’t know if I’m ready for all that.” I said with a smirk, and she nudged me hard enough to knock me off the bench backwards. I landed on my back, and she simply glared at me over her shoulder.
“No sweet treats for you then.” She pulled a white box out of the pocket of her hoodie, with her logo on the lid. “They’re only for my girlfriend. Bummer too.” She said as I scrambled to my feet, failing as my boot got stuck between the bench and the leg of the picnic table. Finally, when I got on the bench next to her, straddling it, she opened the lid and showed me the delicious creation inside.
It was a brownie the size of her head, and I could tell just by looking at it that it was rich and tasted like fudge. On top was a drizzle of what looked like peanut butter sauce, with shavings of peanuts sprinkled on top.
“Oh, my fucking God,” I cursed, reaching for the box, but she snapped the lid closed and slid it back into her pocket. “Hey!”
“Nope, my goodies are only for my girlfriend.” She said highhandedly, and I wrapped my arms around her, leaning her backward over my knee like I was going to drop her as she dissolved into a fit of giggles. “Fine, fine!” She hollered, staring up at me.