Or something? What did that mean? “I’m good with water. Early day tomorrow.”
“At the cabin?”
I nodded. “I’m going to start gutting it before it gets too hot that being inside is uncomfortable.”
“That’s good. I’d love to go out and see it before you start ripping it apart. I’m guessing you’ll have the new drywall up and mudded so it’s ready for paint soon.”
“Probably. Come tomorrow, while the girls are at school.”
“I can’t.”
I waited for her to explain further, but she didn’t. Something was going on, but she wasn’t willing to talk about it. But because I was an asshole, I pushed a little. “Work?”
“No. The store opens late on Mondays.”
I knew that, but I’d asked to see if she’d explain. Things had been weird since yesterday morning and as she curled up on the couch, her hair disheveled and the blanket pulled up to her chin, I had a sudden flash of her in my bed, looking just like that. But with fewer clothes.
“Sure you don’t want to talk, Navy?” I’d just promised myself I wouldn’t press her, and here I was minutes later—pressing her. Jade was right, I was such a dick.
“Huh?” she asked, looking at me as if she forgot I was even here. This wasn’t like my best friend.
“Something’s going on. What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Her eyes looked a little more awake with that comment. “It’s not bullshit.” She stared down at the blanket, picking at its threads to avoid eye contact.
“Yeah, it is. What is it?” I crossed the room to sit beside her on the couch. “Something’s going on.” Why did I feel panicky? It was like I was the girl in this relationship. This purely platonic relationship.
“I’m not lying to you.”
“You’re just not telling me things.”
“Yeah,” she said, lifting her face. We were so close on the couch that I could see my shadow in her eyes. “Kind of like how you didn’t tell me you and what’s-her-name had broken up until I asked.”
“I forgot.”
She snorted, and I saw her arms move under the blanket. I knew her well enough to sense she was defensive.
“So, this is about yesterday morning.”
“No.” This time she met my eyes. “It’s not. I just don’t want to talk about it. Like I told you upstairs.” Her head fell to the back of the couch. “Can we just watch this movie? I don’t have the energy to argue with anyone else.”
Things felt so awkward between us. We’d had this Sunday movie date since high school and never had things been this strained. “Yeah, we can watch it.” I picked up the remote and situated myself more comfortably on the couch, hitting the play button when the menu screen came up. “You know you can talk to me, about anything.”
“I know,” she said quietly beside me.
“Anything, Navy.”
“Okay.”
She sounded so far away. I scooted across the couch until our sides touched and put my arm around her shoulders. We’d spent hundreds of Sundays in this exact position, but it felt strange in that moment. I found myself second-guessing every movement of my hand. Should I touch her shoulder or let my arm lay across her shoulders like it was dead weight? What did I normally do?
Being this close to her meant I could smell the subtle perfume she wore. A smell that had lived on my pillowcases since two nights ago. When I’d rolled over in bed this morning, face pressed to the pillows, that smell had jumpstarted my brain, flooding it with memories.
Her head leaned so that it was against my chest, bringing the smell of her perfume directly under my nose.
Fuck.
In an effort to move her hair from my face, I used my hand to brush it away but even that felt intimate in a this is not strictly platonic way. Every act of physical touch somehow felt more romantic than platonic, but that didn’t make sense. Surely, one night couldn’t completely erase the line between friendly and more than, but that’s exactly how it felt. With her soft weight pressed against me and my around around her, the feelings growing in me were certainly not strictly friendly.
I snagged a pillow from the other end of the couch and covered my lap as subtly as possible, feeling like a total jackass. This was not the time and place for an erection, but unfortunately my penis didn’t possess a brain.
“You okay?” she asked. She adjusted so that she was practically laying across my lap now, her head cushioned on the pillow as she looked up at me.
“I’m great. This movie, I’ve heard good stuff about it.”
“You say that about every random movie you pick up.”
“This isn’t random. It was in theaters.”
“For how long?” There was a teasing smile on the edge of her lips. My Navy was slowly coming back to herself.
I lifted a shoulder. “It might’ve taken only one showing for them to realize purchasing this movie was a mistake.”
She laughed, her eyes closing and her mouth wide. The movement shook us both. My gaze was drawn to the way her thick, dark eyelashes fanned over her cheekbones; the curve of her rosy pink lips and the tiny freckle right at her cupid’s bow. Had I noticed these little details about her before? It was as if all of a sudden, I was noticing the spattering of freckles that dotted her tanned cheeks and the small, dark birthmark under her left eye. When her eyes opened again, it was like looking at her specific color of brown eyes for the very first time. Gold streaks, like a sunburst, spread from her pupil outward, making her eyes less chocolate and more honey.
“And you still picked it?”
I stared at her, wanting to keep staring at her while also confused. “What?”
“The movie.” She turned her head toward the television, sending her long dark hair over my thighs. “Did the movie store pay you to rent it?”
I swallowed, reminding myself that this was my friend. My best friend. “No… But it was only a dollar rental.”
She laughed again and seemed much more relaxed than she had been all night. “From the grocery store?”
“Yeah. Harry’s.”
“Where Megan works?”
Why did I suddenly feel like I was in trouble? Her tone didn’t make me feel that way, so why did I feel like I just got caught doing something wrong? Her eyes were kind, friendly even. So what the fuck?
“She does work there, but I didn’t see her.”
“Oh.”
“It’s by the Chinese place,” I reminded her. “I got movies after I placed the takeout order.”
“You don’t have to explain.”
“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I forgot she worked there, to be honest.” Megan was a nice enough girl, but I wasn’t as interested in her as I should’ve been.
Navy glanced at her phone and set an alarm for midnight.
“Early wake-up,” I remarked.
“Well, if this movie is not as exciting as I expect it to be—”
“Hey!” I acted offended. “The cover says it’s an ‘instant classic’.”
“The director probably said that.”