“I never want to see your feet,” Everly commented with a grin. “They’re nasty.”
“Well, it’s a miracle I can walk some days.”
“Don’t you have an understudy?” I asked. Both women looked at me like I’d said a bad word.
“What?”
“Sarah hates her understudy—with a passion, and has sworn she’ll never take the stage in her place.”
“Is there a reason? Or is it beyond my realm of understanding as a dude?” I asked, pulling apart a garlic knot to gather up some of the incredible marinara sauce from the lasagna.
“Yes, but it’s complicated. It’s an old rivalry. Just dance drama.” She shrugged as she pushed around a bit of leftover pasta on her plate.
“Even I don’t understand it,” Everly chimed in.
“But you support the hatred, because—”
“That’s what best friends do,” they said in union .
“Got it.” I held my hands up in surrender.
“Whatever happened to the mystery man you were dating?” Everly asked as she began to gather plates from our feast.
“He’s around,” Sarah answered vaguely, a smug smile pulling at her lips.
“Why are you being so secretive?”
“I just don’t want to screw it up,” she confessed. Her fingers played at the rim of her empty wine glass. “He’s kind of perfect and I’ve never felt like this.”
“And you think by telling me, that it will end?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I just like having him to myself. When we start involving friends and”—she made a gagging sound, before continuing—“family, I want to know this is real. And good.”
“Take it from me, Sarah. It will never be real until you stop hiding.”
She looked up at us, taking a big breath, but just shook her head.
“It’s different. I can’t explain how—it just is.”
“Okay, well—I’ll be here for you—whenever you’re ready to show this man off. He is real, right? I mean, it is a real live person?” Everly joked, and laughter followed. Sarah stuck out her tongue, which only made the laughter boom louder.
“Very funny,” Sarah said. “Yes, he’s real. Wait. Blow-up dolls count, right?” she giggled.
I collected the plates for everyone and headed for the kitchen. The sound of their happy reunion followed me and I felt overwhelming joy for Everly.
It was good to see her relaxed and carefree with her best friend. I never wanted her to feel apart from any aspect of her life because she’d chosen me.
I never wanted her to regret me.
Because I know I’d never regret her.
“I’ve got a couple more dishes for you,” Sarah said as she entered the kitchen behind me.
“Thanks. You can just put them there,” I said, pointing at the countertop next to the sink, “And I’ll take care of them in a minute.”
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you alone, if you had a chance.”
“Sure,” I answered, placing the empty wine glass I was washing in the sink to give her my full attention.
“I came here tonight prepared to drag Everly out of here by my fists if needed.”
“You know I’d fight you for her,” I smiled.
“I realize that. I’m willing to give you a trial period,” she explained, her arms curved tightly across her chest.
“A trial period?” I repeated. I shifted to one side and leaned against the counter, hoping to gauge where this conversation might take me. I understood her fierceness—her need to protect her friend. But I wouldn’t back down.
“I’ve been Everly’s friend for two years. I was with her when she picked her life off the damned concrete and put it back together. To this day, there is still shit she won’t tell me about what went on in this house. All I know is you were one fucked up son of a bitch.”
Flinching at her harsh words, I interrupted her. Each word could have been branded to my chest from the sincerity I put behind each one of them. “I’m not him.”
“I’m beginning to see that. But I still don’t trust you completely.”
“That’s fair,” I answered, appreciating her honesty.
Taking her time, she slowly dried her hands on a kitchen towel before looking up at me, her expression resolute. “So, take this second chance, August. Make her happy. Give her the best damn life you can, because if anyone deserves it—Everly does. But I swear, if you hurt her—again, I will make sure you never see her again. Do you understand?”
Nodding my head in understanding, I said, “If I hurt her again, I wouldn’t expect anything less.”