James: First of all, you broke up with me.
Oscar: Biggest mistake of my life.
James: No it wasn’t and you know it. I am WAAAY too boring and normal for you.
Oscar: Hmmm. You have a point.
James: Second of all, you never once tried to get me back. If I recall, you jetted off to the Maldives afterward and spent a month living in an above water villa with Hugo or Fabian.
Oscar: Wait, this is starting to come back to me…. I believe it was both of them.
James: That sounds about right.
Oscar: But it was only to soothe my poor broken heart, darling!
James: I’m sure.
Oscar: So you and Richard aren’t back together? Does that mean you’re available and mine for the taking?
James: Richard and I aren’t back together.
Oscar: I notice you didn’t answer the second half of that question…
I paused, squeezing my eyes closed for a moment before answering.
James: There’s no one.
Oscar: You’re lying. You hesitated too long before replying.
I ground my teeth.
James: Okay, maybe there’s someone but it’s not going to work so it doesn’t matter.
Oscar: Why isn’t it going to work?
James: It’s complicated.
Oscar: Then uncomplicate it.
James: It’s not that easy.
Oscar: As you know, I’ve been in several relationships that have not worked out…
I resisted the urge to respond that that was an understatement. Oscar was the king of ex-boyfriends.
Oscar: and I’ve learned one very important lesson that held true in each and every one: it’s never easy if both sides don’t want the same thing. But if you both want the same thing — if you both want to be together — you’ll find a way to make it happen.
James: I’m not sure that’s possible here.
Oscar: Then you don’t want it enough.
I started to type a response, but before I could hit Send, he messaged again.
Oscar: Don’t argue with me. I’m right, as always.
James: You’re a good friend, Oscar.
Oscar: I know. Now go fix your love life before it gets as fucked up as mine is. That’s an order!
Bracing myself, I switched over to my Instagram app and scrolled to Richard’s account. There were half a dozen new photos in the last two days. One was a picture of us from a trip to Maine with a caption that read, “Can’t wait to go back here with you!” Richard was laughing and I was leaning over to kiss his cheek. The deep-green trees behind us brought back memories of the luxury cabin we’d rented. I’d loved the seclusion and peaceful breezes while Richard had spent most of the weekend complaining about the Wi-Fi not working and cell reception being too spotty to check his email.
He’d also posted a photo of me asleep on the sofa with a caption saying I’d fallen asleep a few nights ago while we were watching the latest season of one of his favorite reality shows. Again, a complete lie. I’d had the flu two winters ago when this photo was taken. Richard had been pissed his father had still hounded me about work even while I had a high temperature. He’d taken the photo to send to his parents along with a plea to leave me alone and let me recover.
I rolled my eyes, aggravation burning my chest. What the hell was he doing? Was this another one of his games to get me back? I had enough going on in my life right now, I didn’t need this complication as well.
I flipped back to the messages app and forced myself to take a deep breath to calm down before texting.
James: Did we get back together while I was sleeping?
Richard: Can I call?
I sighed. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with Richard right now.
James: Now’s not the best time.
Richard: It’s about my dad.
Fuck. I pushed the button to call him.
“Babe, don’t hang up,” he said the moment he picked up. We hadn’t spoken in long while, and I was surprised how instantly familiar and sweet his voice sounded. It made my chest ache in a similar way to how I imagined Sawyer felt when going through old family pictures.
Some of the tension left my shoulders. “How are you?” I couldn’t resist asking. I cared about him still, and I always would.
He paused, as if surprised I’d ask. “I’m okay. I miss you like crazy, but that’s hardly news. Listen… I don’t really know what’s going on, but Dad said something at the club earlier about pulling his business from the firm. I asked why and he said you’re not getting the job done on this Cape Cod deal.”
I felt the tension headache from before tightening around my temples. “I talked to him less than an hour ago about that. It’s taken care of.”
Richard hesitated. “It wasn’t just that, James. He also made the usual claims of being disappointed that we’re not still together…” He trailed off, clearly leaving an opening he hoped I’d dive into.
I didn’t take the bait. “We’re not getting back together, Richard,” I told him, trying to keep my voice as gentle as possible.
“Oh, I know,” he said a little too quickly. “And I told Dad that, but he wouldn’t leave it alone. I think he might be looking for an excuse to take his business elsewhere, and I know how important of a client he is, so I thought if I made it look like we were back together, it might at least stall him a bit and give you more time to do whatever it is you’re doing.”
I ran a hand down my face. Richard’s heart was in the right place, but lying to Dick Sr. was never a good idea. The man was too smart to fall for much bullshit, especially his son’s. He didn’t give Richard very much credit in the first place, so he always seemed to be looking for ways that Richard was letting him down. I thought it was probably one of the reasons I always tried so hard to impress Dick Sr. Maybe if he thought Richard kept company with good people, he’d see his own son as good by association. I knew it was silly, but parental relationships were fucked-up in the first place. I was no exception.
“Thank you, but you really don’t need to do that. I have everything under control.”
He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Well, you should also know that I kind of told him that you’d be at the Museum Foundation Gala on Tuesday night. As my date.”
“Richard—” I started, exasperated, but he cut me off.