“Work with her? She’s my boss’s daughter,” I remind her. “It’s bad enough she’s Owen’s ex, but she made up a prowler, Dylan, and I’m pretty sure she’s the one who messed with my car.”
“Wait,” Dylan interrupts me, “what? What happened with your car? I feel like we haven’t talked in weeks.”
“We haven’t,” I agree with her. “I’ve been a sucky friend.”
“Shut up, that’s not what I meant. I’ve been busy too. I just meant I didn’t know something had happened to your car.”
“Someone doused it in red paint and wrote ‘whore’ on it.”
“What?” Dylan screeches, and I wince as I pull the car into the small parking lot, maneuvering around to park in the back of the building. I’m the first one here, which gives me a few more minutes to talk to my friend. I pick the phone up out of the cup holder, taking it off speakerphone and pressing it to my ear. “What the hell kind of town did you move to, Tristan?” Dylan asks me. “This girl sounds certifiable.”
“Owen doesn’t think Lesa is the one who messed with my car.”
“That’s because he’s male and he’s thinking with his dick. No guy wants to think they’re stupid enough to sleep with a crazy chick.” I can’t hold in the laughter at her snappy reply, but before I can say anything else, she starts talking again. “Do you think she messed with your car?”
“I don’t know.” I worry my lower lip with my teeth. “I wouldn’t have thought so before, but she obviously doesn’t want Owen and me to be dating.” I groan. “I don’t know. She’s so nice to me when it’s just the two of us, or whenever Owen isn’t around. I honestly didn’t think she was an issue. And now I have to go into work with her.”
“Ouch.” Dylan agrees. “Okay, so there’s the crazy ex. What else did you tell me happened? Oh, yes, you slept with him and something about a sorceress? I’m not sure which one I want to hear about more.” Dylan pauses briefly. “Never mind, I want to hear about the sex. You haven’t slept with anyone since Trevor.”
My brow wrinkles. “How do you know that?”
“Because I’m your best friend and I’ve been there for you practically every second since Trevor died. I know you haven’t been getting any. So, how was it?”
“Oh, God.”
Dylan snorts. “That good, huh?”
“Yes, I mean, I knew it would be after everything else we’ve done.” I wince as Dylan lets out a shriek. I haven’t told her about any of the sexual encounters I had with Owen so far. It really has been forever since we talked. I am such a sucky best friend. I know there’s something going on with her that she doesn’t want to talk about, and I don’t want to push her, but I’d let myself get wrapped up in my own life and I’d practically ignored her. “Dylan, I’m sorry.”
“Girl, please.” Dylan waves off my guilt with those two words. “My life isn’t nearly as exciting at yours.” I can still hear the undertone in her voice. Something is off, but until she’s ready to tell me what it is, I know Dylan won’t talk about it. Pushing will only make it worse. “Now, how many times have you slept with him?”
“Um, full sex? Just twice.”
“Just twice,” Dylan mimics me. “I’m assuming when you say full sex you mean actual penetration. Because we’re suddenly thirteen-year-old girls again talking about sex for the first time.”
“That’s the second time you’ve accused me of being a thirteen-year-old girl during this conversation.”
“If the shoe fits, sweetheart. Now, how many times without actual fucking?”
“Twice.” I can feel my cheeks heating once again. “Once was in a car.”
Dylan gives an exaggerated gasp. “You slut!” She laughs. “I’m so jealous.”
“It was amazing.”
“So Owen Gallahanger knows what he’s doing then?”
“Oh, yeah.” I sigh, feeling like the thirteen-year-old girl she’s accused me of being.
“Right. You can give me more details in a minute, because now I have to hear all about this sorceress, because I have no idea how in the hell that plays into this little story and I’m dying to know.”
I tell her the story as it was told to me, including how stupid Owen had obviously felt when he told me. Then I tell her how I had let the story fester in my head all day yesterday, and which turn my thoughts had taken. “Am I crazy?” I ask her when I’ve finally detailed everything to her.
“Nothing you’re feeling is crazy, Tristan. You have to own your feelings, whatever they are, because they’re yours. And that’s a lot to take in, T. It’s been you and Stella against the world almost since the moment you conceived her, and now this guy you just met is coming in and saying he’s your destiny, based on some crazy-ass story about spells and sorceresses, and if you didn’t question it, I would worry about you, but let me ask you a question…” Dylan pauses for a moment before continuing on, “How do you feel when you’re with him?”
“Happy,” I whisper the word almost instantly. “And terrified.”
“I’m no expert, but that about sums up what it’s like to fall in love with someone if you ask me. You’re happy because you’ve found someone you want to be with, and terrified because you’ve found someone you want to be with. Life can suck, Tristan. You and I know that better than anyone. So my vote is that you grab the happy while you can.”
Grab the happy while I can. It sounds like a great idea from someone watching from the outside, but being on the inside, it’s a little harder to accept.
“You’re overthinking.” Dylan’s voice interrupts my thoughts.
“Now you sound like Owen. He told me not to overthink.”
I can hear the city in the background of the phone. People laughing and talking, as Dylan passes them on her way to work, I assume. Dylan is one of the lead ballerinas in the Washington Ballet Company, and I couldn’t be more proud of my friend. Throughout our years in the foster system, she wasn’t always able to attend dance class, and definitely not at some of the nicer dance schools in the area, so for her to make it at far as she has, is simply amazing.
“Listen,” Dylan interrupts my thoughts. “You know I don’t believe in all that destined to be together crap. I don’t believe in marriage or monogamy or any of it. But”—Dylan’s voice softens—“I know you do. You thought you had it with Trevor and life had other ideas. You didn’t let losing Trevor break you, and if whatever this is with this guy doesn’t work out, you won’t let that break you either. You’re one of the strongest people I know, Tristan, so I think you should enjoy the freaking happy while you can. Because one day it may not be there anymore. At least if you enjoy it now you’ll have the memories of it later.”
“That’s both cynical and encouraging all at the same time.”
“Well, that’s what I think. If nothing else, you can get some really great orgasms out of it. And that is something to be happy about,” Dylan says with a laugh. “Now, let’s talk about the really important stuff. Like when I can come to visit you.”