Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
“There have been some signals.”
I had a terrible fear she was going to ask—
“I was actually wondering if he could be my plus one at the wedding.”
My insides instantly cramped as a bowling ball seemed to settle in the pit of my stomach. “Oh, um, I’ll talk to Hale.”
Hale was always my scapegoat in a pinch. I’d learned that from getting out of boring work things Remington sometimes wanted me to do. While I wanted to support Elle’s choices, I wasn’t sure I wanted to invite this guy to my wedding where Elle would be sitting directly next to Barrett.
“Thanks. You’ll like him. Maybe we can all go out sometime so he can meet you guys and you can get to know him. I think you’ll really like him.”
That seemed so much safer than inviting him to the wedding. “Let’s do that.”
Unfortunately, like after any battle, the damage could not be undone. While we found our white flag and called a truce, words had been hurled. I left the gym sore and wounded in ways that had absolutely nothing to do with the machines and everything to do with the girl who used to be my best friend.
I knew it then.
We were over. Something in the security we shared had changed.
I felt our ending like a slice through bone. But I denied it all the same. I wasn’t ready to amputate just yet, so I let it fester as I waited for a miracle to come.
She was my Elle. Plenty of others in my shoes would have done the same.
Douche-Canoes
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR OFF-ROAD TRAVEL
The following Friday evening, as soon as I turned in my assignments for school and finished the last of my work for Remington, I showered, dressed, and ran Elara to her grandfathers.
Hale came home, bent to kiss me, and scanned the unusually tidy living room. “Where’s my daughter?”
“Marta’s watching her at your dad’s tonight.”
He frowned. “All night?”
“Yes. We have the double date with Elle and Paul, and Andrew was unavailable. Go change.”
“Did you clear this with my father?”
“Of course not. Besides, It’ll do Remington good to spend some time with his granddaughter. Marta’s the one who volunteered to watch Elara anyway. Relax. It’s handled. We have to leave in thirty minutes.”
He eyed me curiously. “Let me get you a glass of wine.”
“I don’t need wine.” Hale typically offered wine whenever I was especially…uppity.
“You seem…tense.” He rubbed my shoulders. “It’s just dinner with Elle, Rayne.”
It was more than that. I hadn’t been myself since the fight at the gym. The things Elle had said consumed me.
Hale didn’t have anything comparable to my relationship with Elle in his life, so he didn’t get what this fissure in our relationship was doing to me. Everything was riding on tonight going well.
He kissed my head. “This guy’s the one who has to worry about impressing you.”
“I know.”
Whenever anyone hurt my feelings, Hale took a protective stance. While he’d always liked Elle and enjoyed having her around, he was not happy about the things she’d said to me. Hale hated when I cried and her words had left me weepy for days.
“You sure you don’t want some wine?”
Maybe I was a little anxious. I pinched my fingers in the air. “I guess I could have a smidge before dinner.”
He kissed my cheek then drifted into the kitchen. “Do not let this guy intimidate you.”
“I’m more worried about Elle.”
His silence spoke volumes.
He wasn’t happy with my friend, but he respected our relationship enough to hold his negative commentary until we worked through this little tiff. He handed me a stemmed glass.
“Thanks.”
Lingering by the steps, he studied me. I could tell he wanted to protect me from getting hurt, but also respected that I needed to do this.
I couldn’t just let our friendship die on a do-not-resuscitate. If it was going to die, it was going down in flames and screams. That was the only possible way I would ever accept that our relationship of more than twenty-five years was over. Hopefully, that wasn’t the case.
But it felt like the case.
The things she said to me the other day… Not only did I feel like I didn’t know her, she seemed to completely forget who I was. I didn’t know or recognize the Rayne she saw. And I hated the needy part of me that couldn’t bear to be misunderstood or disliked.
Maybe Paul wasn’t the solution, but he seemed like the only life-raft within reach. “I just want tonight to go well.”
“He’s just a guy, Rayne. There will probably be many more we have to meet.”
That was a terrible dating attitude. Didn’t he understand women wanted accuracy when hunting for a mate.
Women rarely dated by chance or picked a man all willy-nilly. We observed our prey, stalked, collected data, mounted, and tagged. We had standards, and would never simply sample a random penis-toting male that passed by. There was skill involved. Goals! Very rarely did a woman spend time on a man for simple shits and giggles.