I stood up and cleared off the coffee table so she could set the tray down. Nessa gave me a grateful smile and placed it in front of us. The large wood board was filled with four types of cheese, two kinds of meat, various nuts, peppers, olives, pepperoncinis, and a few other yummy things. My mouth watered, and I knew I was about to chow down on one of my favorite meals. I’d grown up on cheese and crackers, and now I got to play with the seemingly grown-up version.
“Ladies, she is texting with Dillon and not telling us about it,” Corinne said, pouting again.
“For shame,” Natalie said with a laugh.
“You know the rules,” Nessa added. “You like a boy, you fuck the boy. You text the boy afterward. Then, you tell your friends. It’s one of the commandments of living with us.”
“I wasn’t aware there were commandments for this situation,” I said dryly.
“Now you know,” Nessa said. “And if I ever have sex again, you can make sure I’ll follow them, too.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know why you said it like that. Besides, I’m never having sex again with Dillon, so it’s a moot point.”
Corinne sighed. “Is it? Or are you just planning to pretend that you’re never going to sleep with him again? Because you’re texting him, even after you said you wouldn’t see him anymore.”
“I haven’t seen him,” I said, wincing.
“Well, texting is close enough. Unless he sent you dick pics. That would count as seeing him.” Nessa paused. “Has he sent you dick pics?”
“I want to know, too. And if he has, why haven’t you shared?” Corinne said with a laugh.
“First, no, ew. And if Dillon were sending me dick pics, I wouldn’t share them with you.”
“Spoilsport,” Corinne said, shaking her head. “But I’m glad you didn’t. He wouldn’t have consented to that, and that would be rude.”
“More than rude. But no, no dick pics. Thank God.”
“Oh, is there something wrong with his dick?” Nessa asked, her eyes filled with laughter.
I flipped her off and took a cracker with cheese and a little mustard. “There is nothing wrong with Dillon’s dick, and I’m not talking about this anymore.”
Corinne grinned. “You say that, and yet I have a feeling I can get you to speak. In detail.”
“Anyway, what did he text you if it wasn’t a pic of his dick?” Natalie asked, leaning forward to look at my phone on the table.
“It went back to a blank screen,” I said dryly. They couldn’t see what was on my cell. My three friends looked at me, and I sighed.
“All it was, was a stupid meme. It was funny and reminded him of a conversation we had, I guess.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet. You guys are sharing memes and having conversations. And not sleeping together. Everything you’re doing can be part of a relationship,” Natalie added. “A true one based on the foundation of trust.”
“Or it could just be that we’re texting because we’re bored, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to when we’re thinking about coffee,” I stated.
The three girls laughed. “Sure, whatever you say. However, we all know that you don’t text randomly. There’s got to be something there.”
I cringed. “There can’t be. I’m focusing on school. Dillon has school and work and a huge family. There’s no time for things like a relationship or anything we could have together on top of that for him. Or me. He’s a nice guy, and maybe we can be friends. But that’s it.”
“You know, those are famous last words,” Corinne said dryly.
I grimaced. “Maybe, but they won’t be my last words.”
“You totally just jinxed yourself,” Nessa added, taking a bite of a pepperoncini. She scrunched her eyes and winced. “Oh, those are spicier than I remember,” she said.
Natalie shrugged. “We accidentally bought the hot kind rather than the medium or mild. I didn’t even know there were different heat variances with a jar of pepperoncini.”
“Well, now my mouth is on fire,” Nessa said, drinking a glass of water. Her eyes watered, and she cursed. “Now I need milk. Or bread or something.”
“We have little crostinis here. Try that.”
I handed her the breadbasket, and she took a big bite of a crostini and sighed. “I am such a wimp.”
“Maybe, but we love you.”
“You’re a jerk,” she said, and I smiled.
“I could be, but it’s fun to tease you after you’ve been teasing me for most of this conversation.”
“We love you, and you seem happy when you’re texting Dillon. We just want to know what’s going on.”
“Nothing is going on. We’re just texting. Like friends. People do that.”
“Maybe, but you’ve never done it before.”
“It’s just that’s not what Dillon and I agreed to. It may be construed as flirting, but we’re busy. It’s only texting. I text all of you guys, and none of you expect me to sleep with you.”
“And it’s a great shame that we haven’t yet,” Natalie said dryly, and I laughed, surprised.
“You are gorgeous. I’m just saying,” Corinne said, batting her eyelashes. “I do find it odd that we haven’t slept together. I mean, we’ve known each other forever. It’s only natural that we would turn from friends to lovers.”
I scrunched up my nose and filled my plate with cheese and other goodies. “You guys are such jerks,” I said.
Natalie smiled softly. “Maybe, but we’re your jerks. You love us.”
My phone buzzed, and everyone looked down at it. I let out a breath and read the name on the screen. “It’s just my mom. Not Dillon.” They all leaned back in their chairs, disappointment on their faces. “I love my mom. She’s allowed to call and text me. Don’t look so sad.”
Corinne pouted. “We just wanted it to be Dillon.”
“I was just texting Dillon, and he’s working. He’s not going to want to text me at all hours of the night.”
Natalie gave a dreamy sigh. “He should. You guys are so cute together.”
“You haven’t even seen me with him,” I said dryly.
“Maybe not, but Corinne said you guys were adorable. I don’t see what the problem is.”
“The problem is, we are just texting. Like people do. It doesn’t mean we’re going to sleep together again.” For some reason, voicing that annoyed me, urging me to the edge of sadness. I hated that feeling, so I ignored it. I simply looked down at my phone and read the text message.
Mom: Will you be coming over for dinner this weekend? We have a few things to talk about. And your father and I would like to discuss your grades.
I crossed my eyes and groaned.
“Your parents wanting to talk about your grades with you like you’re in middle school again?” Corinne asked, taking a sip of her soda.
“Yes. I don’t know when they’re going to realize that they don’t need to know everything I’m doing.”
“They will never get that. Not if you keep letting them butt in.”