“The pact is to not fall in love,” Bex said. “And I’m as dedicated to it now as I was then. I can date all I want without falling in love.”
Addison stabbed a bite of the pasta dish, getting pasta, mushroom, and spinach all together in one bite, and put it in her mouth. It was so creamy without being heavy, the flavors all perfectly combining. “Oh my, Peyton. No wonder you’re so successful at your business!”
“Truth,” Bex said. “I would hire you to be my personal chef any day, Pey.”
Peyton seemed both annoyed at the name Bex had been calling her since the day she moved in and pleased at the compliments. “How about your business, Addison? You’ve been pretty busy this past week!”
Addison swallowed the bite she was relishing. “I am already booked out for the next few weeks! I tell you, my sister is a genius at websites and branding and marketing.” It was a relief, really. She hadn’t ever really pictured herself running her own business, and hadn’t been able to understand why people would really want to turn down a steady paycheck from a good employer. Starting the business took almost as big of a leap of faith as moving across the country by herself did. She still couldn’t believe that Chloe managed to talk her into chasing a dream so big and so uncertain, especially when she wasn’t going to be in the country to help her run it.
“Speaking of branding,” Timini said, pointing her fork at each of them, “who decided to brand themselves as the Post-it Queen?”
Addison chuckled. She had run into more than a few in the past five days.
Bex pointed her fork at Timini, with a bite of Florentine already on it. “We only have these dinners once a week. Sticky notes are a good way to communicate issues in between. Like to let someone know it’s annoying when people leave stacks of fabric and sewing machines on the tables in here.”
“This room has half a dozen small tables. We only need this big one to eat on.”
Maybe Addison should’ve weighed in on the conversation, since they were working out things that pertained to all of them, but she just heard the faint sound of the text tone she had set for only one person—her ex. She wished she would’ve put her phone on the check-in counter in the lobby, like she had her purse and bag from the drugstore. But since it was right here in her pocket and she therefore knew the text came in, she couldn’t not read it. It was the first time he had texted since they broke up six weeks ago.
So she pulled the phone out of her pocket and stared at it, not being able to process the words.
“Addison!” Peyton and Bex both yelled her name at the same time, and as she looked up, she realized that they must’ve said her name several times. She didn’t know what look was on her face right then, but she didn’t know how to explain it other than to just tell the truth.
“My ex, Matthew, just texted.”
“Oh, no,” Bex said, shaking her head.
Timini leaned forward. “Does he text often?”
“What did he say?” Peyton asked.
Addison shook her head. “He doesn’t. Not since we broke up.” She looked back down at the text, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard. “He said he heard that I moved here, and asked how I’m liking it. How should I respond?”
All three women shouted that she shouldn’t and just as she looked back up, a question on her face, Bex leaned forward and yanked the phone out of her hands.
“Don’t do it!” Peyton yelled. “It’s a trap.”
Addison looked at where Bex was setting her phone down on the table, screen side down, and then looked at each woman’s face, confused. “How is saying something like ‘I’m doing great. Thank you for asking’ a trap?”
“Because, honey,” Bex said, “then you’ll start thinking about him again.”
Peyton nodded. “And wondering how he’s doing.”
“Before you know it,” Timini said, throwing her arms up in the air, “you’re wondering if you made a mistake and if you should try to work things out.”
“I’m not going to—”
“Do you know what she needs?” Bex asked. “A rebound guy.”
“Definitely,” Timini said, and then turned to Addison. “Our neighbor would be perfect for it. You’re clearly attracted to him.”
“No.” She figured they got that her response was about him being the perfect rebound, because she was clearly attracted to him. She hadn’t realized they had noticed, but it wasn’t like she could deny it. Ian was also sweet and fun and so totally, absolutely not what she needed right now. Even if the thought of dating him caused a happy fluttering in her stomach and spontaneous daydreams of what it would be like to be wrapped in his arms.
Yeah. Rebound dating him was the worst idea ever.
“You should!” Peyton said. “Maybe just choose some random guy. Did you know that rebound relationships are actually healthy?”
Addison rolled her eyes.
“No, it’s true!” Peyton ticked off the items on her fingers as she said them. “They help you to move on and recover faster, they improve self-esteem and well-being, and they combat loneliness.”
Bex put her hand on Addison’s phone. “And they prevent unhealthy reunions with exes.”
“Plus,” Timini said, “they help you figure out what kind of guy complements you. Super helpful.”
Addison stabbed a mushroom with her fork. “You all forgot to mention that rebound dating can keep you from properly dealing with the breakup. That’s why rebound relationships almost never work out.” And Matthew still crossed her mind much too much for her to believe she was ready for a new relationship.
All three women opened their mouths, like they were going to say something to counter it, so she headed them off with a hand like a stop sign held by a very insistent crossing guard. “Rebound relationships tend to be short. My interactions with Ian have been awkward and embarrassing enough—do you really think it’s a good idea to get into a short relationship with a guy who is our next door neighbor, who I’ll still have to see practically every day?”
Thoughts of dating Ian were just as exciting now as they were at age eleven. Not that it was any more possible now than it was then—sure, she was old enough to date now, but dating took a desire to date from both people. Just the thoughts of how awful it would be to have a quick relationship with Ian, and then to bump into him everywhere, made the tingling at the back of her neck and the tightening in her chest even stronger than when she kissed his cheek and ran off after putting the painted stone in his hand as a kid.
“You’re right,” Peyton said. “Not our neighbor then. How about some random guy?”
Addison cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out why Peyton was being weird. “What aren’t you saying?”
“I just think she should fall for anyone else. Just not Ian.”
“Why?” Timini asked. “We already know she’s attracted to him.”
Peyton set her fork down and let out huff of a breath. “Okay. I’ll say this and then nothing more, because I don’t even know enough to tell anything more. At the restaurant I used to work at, one of my coworkers was roommates with this girl Zoe, and Zoe dated Ian. They were pretty serious. I think they might have even been talking about getting married. I saw my friend at the gym a couple of weeks ago and asked how her roommate was doing, and she said they just broke up. Anyway, it sounds like he took the breakup pretty much a thousand times harder than you are taking your breakup with Matthew, and I am pretty sure that two people both having rebound relationships with each other isn’t the best idea ever. Especially when one of them probably isn’t even close to being ready.”