“Think of it this way. The bro-gods must be looking out for you. It has to be in your best interest that you have no way of getting a hold of her. She might have ended up pregnant and ruining your life or something. It might not be fate, but you should be thanking the gods anyway.”
“Stop being so dramatic.” I polished off the last of my beer and got to my feet. “Let’s just get to the game, shall we? The alcohol is making you believe in those imaginary bro-gods again.”
“Don’t say that,” he said in a stage whisper, glancing up and clutching both hands to his chest with the corners of his mouth inching up. “I’m sorry, you guys. Please don’t punish him tonight. If he knocks this woman up, do you have any idea how much harder I’m going to have to work in the future?”
“I’m not knocking anyone up, Drew. Let’s just go.” I rolled my eyes at him again.
He just flashed me a smirk. “Fine, but when you do, don’t expect me to fill in for you when you have to attend doctor’s appointments and kindergarten plays, okay?”
“Deal.” As if I’d ever be that goddamn stupid. I laughed it off, though, because it wasn’t happening.
The day I either knocked someone up or asked Andrew to fill in for me was the day I’d start drinking heavily in the morning and calling my father every hour on the hour because even listening to him berating me for half of every day would be better than having to deal with the consequences of either one of those two things.
Chapter 9
Elsie
“What are your plans for tonight?” Beth asked, lazily turning her head to face me as we lay on the lounge chairs in her backyard. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the bright rays of the sun behind me. “I hope you’ve got something more exciting planned than me.”
“Unless working on ideas for my thesis qualifies as exciting, count me out.” I adjusted the top of my bikini, which was barely containing the girls, even though I was lying still. “This is the most fun I’m planning on having today. You?”
“I’m taking the food truck out tonight. There’s a basketball game and I’m going to park outside it. People don’t want to spend that money at the arena on a hotdog, but I’m cornering the market.”
“Good thinking. They’ve got to eat, right?” I smiled at my friend. “I’m sure you’re going to do great. Your hot dogs are the best, and the truck is starting to make a name for itself.”
“Thanks.” She sighed when she caught sight of the time. “Shit. I’ve got to get going soon and I need to shower off all the sunscreen before I do.”
“That’s my cue then.” I turned my face up toward the sun for one last minute, then swung my legs to the side and sat up. “Good luck tonight.”
We collected the towels we’d laid out on the lounge chairs and walked toward the door leading into her kitchen. As I deposited my empty water glass in her sink, she turned from the door to face me with a slight frown marring her forehead. “I thought you had your thesis topic locked in.”
“So did I.” I lifted one shoulder in a shrug and pushed my sunglasses into my hair. “But my adviser wants me to revise a few things before classes start back up. It’s a constant process until it gets approved by the committee.”
She scrunched up her nose. “I still don’t get why you wanted to keep studying.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I get it anymore either.” I laughed. “But I started the program. Might as well finish it.”
“Good point, but is the work you have to do tonight essential?”
I shook my head. “Honestly? No. Chances are, I’m just going to end up sitting in front of my computer, staring at the screen and not actually getting anything done. Or you know, I’ll do research into something totally random instead. Last time, I spent two hours reading up on the different arguments surrounding whether unicorn horns have glitter in them or not.”
“The internet sure is a rabbit hole.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed as I reached up and redid my ponytail. “Why’d you ask?”
“Do you want to come ride along with me instead? I know it’s not nearly as interesting as unicorn horns, but at least we’ll get to spend our Saturday night together.”
“Yeah, that could be fun. I’m just going to have to go home to grab some clean clothes first.”
She waved a hand at me. “We’re the same size, and I have a spare shirt with the truck’s logo on it for you. You came here in jeans before we changed, right?”
“Right.”
“Then that’s perfect.” She smiled and jerked her head to indicate her hallway. “There’s shampoo and stuff in the guest bathroom and towels under the sink if you want to get cleaned up.”
“I know. Thanks.” I followed her out of the kitchen and walked straight to her bathroom. She always left toiletries in there for me in case I ended up staying over, but she never mentioned it. I’d even found a brand-new toothbrush in the cabinet last time.
I used to carry a small bag of toiletries in my car, but they had run out after a few nights spent at Beth’s shortly after… Well, they’d run out, and replenishing my supplies just hadn’t seemed important. It did now, though.
As my brain had slowly started processing the absolutely terrible shock it had gotten and working through the grief, I noticed a lot of things I’d slacked on over the last month or so. But as I came back to myself, I was noticing silly things like toiletries and feeling proud of myself for the progress that meant I was making.
After my shower, Beth and I met in the living room and took off. The truck was a surprisingly smooth ride, and thanks to Beth’s obsessive cleaning, it smelled like the pleasant Ocean Fresh freshener she used in the cab rather than a food truck.
“You going to look at more houses this weekend?” She glanced at me when we stopped at a traffic light.
“I don’t know.”
Red light spilled into the cab, causing shadows to fall over her face as she frowned. “Why not? You’re not backing out of the decision you made, are you?”
“No, I just…” I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Yesterday was just a little overwhelming, you know? The reality hit me kind of hard when I was on my way home last night. I only have the money to move because of Mom, and I’d much rather have her. But I don’t and I’m never going to again, and now, even my own body seems to be ready to move on, and I’m just… not.”
“Finding a guy attractive isn’t moving on,” she said. “It’s called living and being alive. You are allowed to keep doing both those things, even while you miss your mother. As for the money, you know she would have been thrilled with what you’re planning on doing with it.”
“I know. It all just got a bit much last night, but I’ll be fine. I might take the rest of this weekend off and search again next week.”
Her lips moved to the side and the dent in her cheek told me she was biting the inside of it. When the light finally changed, she shot me another look. “Okay, but just don’t wait too long. You’ve only got a few weeks to find a place before the semester starts up for you. Again, if you need help, I’m here for you. Otherwise, just call Taydom.”