Page 44 of Allured By Her

“It’s okay,” I said, touching her foot.

“It’s not. It’s absolutely not okay right now. Fuck.”

I handed her more tissues as she sniffled. I finished my breakfast and she cried softly. I just gave her time and didn’t try to offer too many words of comfort. I could tell she didn’t want them. All she needed right now was a few minutes to get herself together.

I took the dishes to the kitchen and Tenley slowly got up from the couch and went to the bathroom.

When she came back out, her face was freshly washed, and she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Sorry for wrecking your Sunday,” she said, sitting back on the couch.

“You didn’t wreck my Sunday,” I said, closing the dishwasher and rejoining her on the couch.

“What did you have planned?” she asked.

My original plan was to go over to Ingrid’s and do some work, but I wasn’t going to mention the work part.

“Going over to see my sister,” I said. “But it’s fine. I see her all the time. I have to pick up my niece from daycare at least once a week anyway, so I’ll see her a lot.” I could also squeeze in a few hours of work time, if I had enough energy.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I feel like all I do is apologize to you. I hate it.”

“The next time I have a messy breakdown, I’ll call you,” I said. “You can come over and play with my hair and bring me ice cream.”

“Is that what you do when you have a breakdown?” she asked.

“I mean, under ideal circumstances. Oh, and cupcakes. I definitely need breakdown cupcakes.”

Tenley laughed. “I kind of like the idea of breakdown cupcakes. What flavor would they be?”

“Oh, I think most breakdowns require chocolate,” I said.

Tenley nodded. “That makes complete sense. Shit, now I want a cupcake for later.”

“Hold that thought,” I said, getting up and going to the kitchen cabinets.“Tenley, you’re in luck. We can make some breakdown cupcakes,” I said, holding up a box of cake mix I’d been saving for PMS baking.

“Fuck yes, I’m in,” she said. “Once I’m sure that I won’t throw up.”

“Yeah, let’s give it a little while,” I said, shuddering.

* * *

Tenley didn’t seem to want to talk about the previous night, so I turned on the TV and let her put on whatever she wanted. She picked a silly reality show that both of us had seen before, but she started back at the beginning.

“I am trash for this show,” she said. “I love seeing other people having drama that doesn’t involve me.”

“Truth,” I said. My regular life was pretty drama-free, thankfully. It sounded like Tenley’s wasn’t, between everything with Shane and then her family stuff.

We laughed together and talked about our theories on the motivations of the people and Tenley seemed like she was perking up.

“Okay, I think I’m good to make breakdown cupcakes now,” she said, standing up.

She wore my pajamas, and while they didn’t fit (they were a little baggy), she looked good in them.

Tenley went right into the kitchen and started pulling things out of the fridge and asking me where the large bowls were and if I had a mixer. I didn’t bake a ton, but I did have enough supplies to make cupcakes. I even had a can of strawberry frosting that we could use.

“We can put fresh strawberries in the center of the cupcakes,” Tenley suggested, and I thought that was a perfect idea.

The kitchen was a small area, so we kept bumping into each other, but I didn’t mind and neither did Tenley. Her eyes were brighter, and she was even humming a little to herself when she mixed the batter together and I sliced strawberries for the center of the cupcakes.

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