But, as with most things in my life that hurt…I never wanted to rehash them.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s ancient history,” I muttered.
“All right,” Emery said, not pushing even though it was clear that Heidi wanted to. “Then, yeah…maybe give him another chance.”
I ground my teeth together. This was not how I’d thought this conversation would go either.
“Is this what it’s like to have girlfriends?” I groaned.
“We give you sage advice, and you listen to us wise women who have been where you stand?” Heidi asked with a giggle. “Yes, yes, it is.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Emery said. “Girlfriends are here to cheer you on and commiserate when shit goes down. Also, for Buffy marathons, ice cream dates, and shopping.”
“You mean, force-feeding all my friends colors in their wardrobes?” Heidi said.
My eyes met Emery’s, and we both started laughing. Neither of us had a speck of color on us. We were both addicted to black, as if it were the only color choice. Heidi, as per usual, was in some bright pink color.
The girls veered the conversation away from Austin and my decision about what to do about him. They somehow managed to convince me to stay and hang out with them longer. I even danced. It really wasn’t my thing, but Heidi and Emery were the two best friends a girl could ask for, and when they said dance, I danced.
I had so much to think about that the dancing helped to clear my head. I didn’t need to decide what to do about Austin yet. He irritated me to no end…yet I felt drawn to him. And I’d felt an unwelcome stab of jealousy at the thought that he might actually try to date someone else.
Jealousy was an ugly emotion. I hated it.
One of my promises to myself when I’d moved to Lubbock was to be happy. It seemed like such a small thing to ask for, but from what I’d left behind…I’d thought it would be impossible. Then, I’d met Heidi, and for the first time in my life, I had a girlfriend. For the first time, I really was happy. I had a good job that paid well and a great friendship, and all my skeletons were happily buried in my closet.
But that gut-wrenching feeling I’d gotten when Austin so flippantly said he was going after someone else cut deep.
I didn’t want to listen to my friends’ suggestions. I wanted to tell him he could go fuck himself for all I cared. But I did care. And I didn’t know what that meant or how to handle it. When Austin was involved, I was all topsy-turvy.
By the time we all piled back into Emery’s Forester, my mind was more messed up than ever. I had no idea what to do and the extra shot or two I’d had with Heidi didn’t really help. Luckily, Emery was the designated driver, so we wouldn’t have to Uber back.
Heidi had picked me up from my apartment after work earlier today, so Emery drove straight there first. I lived the closest anyway. Both girls had moved in with their Wright men and now lived in sprawling mansions on the developing ritzy south side of town.
My apartment wasn’t as fancy as Morgan’s place by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good enough for me.
Heidi laughed as we pulled up. “I still can’t get over the fact that Landon used to live here in a tiny one bedroom.”
“That does seem crazy, considering where he lives now and the place he had in Clearwater,” Emery said.
“I’m glad I opted for the two bedroom,” I told them as we pulled up to my apartment building. “I took one look at the one bedroom and decided I couldn’t live in a shoebox.”
“Hey, did you leave your car door open?” Heidi asked in confusion.
“My what? No, why would I leave my door open?”
“I don’t know, but it’s open.”
“Fuck!” I cried, jumping out of the car as soon as it stopped.
Heidi followed. We had both sobered almost instantly at the possibility that someone had broken into my car.
“Is the window broken or anything?” she asked.
My hands were shaking as I approached the car door. I shook my head. “All the windows are fine.”
I ran my hand down the side of the door that was left ajar. There were no visible marks or anything that showed that someone had broken into it. Not that it necessarily would if they hadn’t smashed any of the windows. I’d broken into my own car a time or two when I left the keys in it. It wasn’t exactly rocket science.
I scrambled across the front seat and searched around. I’d grown up outside of Akron, Ohio, in a not-exactly-safe side of town. Old habits died hard, and I never kept shit in my car because there was never a guarantee it’d still be there. But I knew that I’d left my Bose headphones sitting out. Stupid of me, but I hadn’t grabbed them when I got home today.