Page 79 of Body

“I’m sorry guys; I just keep going over and over the trip in my head.” I shake my head and take a sip of heaven. The vanilla latte is frothed to perfection with the exact amount of syrupy goodness needed to soothe and warm my soul.

“I’d be too, if Tommy tried to replace his ex with me,” Maria drops the bomb everyone, including me, has been thinking since my return a few days ago.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I can’t be Megan’s substitute. We’ve been through so much over the past few months. I’ve told him I love him. He’s shared those words with me. When he was saying them, I believed him.” I cringe and rip at the napkin under my latte. “I can’t be a replacement for “the Bitch” can I?”

“Gigi, you’re not!” Kat plays devil’s advocate. “We’ve all seen the way he looks at you; he’s told you he loves you.” Her small smile is sweet and loving. Exactly what I expect from the positive one in the group. “Even Carson said he’s never seen Chase so happy, and he’s known him all of his life.” Her words make me feel the tiniest bit better. I place my hand on her arm and give it a reassuring squeeze.

“Maybe he just means happy again? Post Megan!” Maria counters. My lip trembles, and I hide behind my latte. Sometimes having a best friend that has gone through the exact hell you have can work against you. That’s why we have Kat and Bree to balance out our damaged experiences.

“That’s not fair, Ria. It could be a coincidence that they look alike. We date men all the time that look similar. Everyone has a type. Hot redheads just happen to be Chase’s,” Bree explains confidently and smiles sympathetically at me. She’s got a solid point.

“Thanks guys, I appreciate your support, so much.” I squeeze Bree and Kat’s outstretched hands on each side of me. Maria sits across the table, her arms crossed over one another in front of her chest. A thick scowl mars her pretty face.

“Don’t thank me; I still want to kick hismaravillosotightculo!” Maria says with venom. “Hisculois mine! Just wait until I get me apieza,” she continues.

“Um, no. Hisculo, his ass, is mine,chiquita!” I say in mock anger.

The girls bust out in laughter at our parrying. Maria cracks a slight grin. She’s pissed off at him and once you’ve messed with the bull, you get the horns. Eventually she will have words with Chase and I’m not looking forward to the aftermath of that discussion. Two hot tempered possessive personalities duking it out. Actually it might be popcorn worthy. I could even sell tickets to the show and make a few bucks.

“Don’t worry about seeing “the Bitch” this weekend,” Kat says. “Remember, I’m going to be there with Carson. I’ll have your back,” she reminds me. Thank God! I can’t imagine going to that event knowing my doppelganger, the woman that came before me is going to be there in all her beautiful glory. I just wish I knew what happened between them. If I did, it might help me believe that there really isn’t anything between them now.

“That’s true. Now I just have to find the most incredible dress. Something that will put “the Bitch” to shame.”

“Oh, hell yeah.” Bree high fives me. “Your body has been looking bangin’.” She scopes out my form and nods her head in approval.

“It’s from all the banging she’s been doing with Chase,” Kat teases and giggles.

I throw my napkin at her. “Shut up, like you haven’t been with Carson every night since I set you up!”

“We need the details,” Maria demands then cracks her neck from side to side. She looks tired, worn out. The show she’s in has been kicking her butt good, although she’ll never complain.

“Well, we’ve been having fun together.” Her face turns red. “A lot of fun together. The man is a stallion in the bedroom. He does things to me that I…” She fans her face. “Let’s just say that he is quite the multi-tasker. Always knows what to do with his hands while other parts of his body are busy!” She blushes crimson.

“Fantástico,” Maria responds. Talking about sex has always put Maria in a good mood. Our little nympho.

“What about you, Bree?” Kat asks. “How’s sexy, Phil?”

I wait patiently for a reply. I don’t really want to know the details about Bree and Phillip’s sex life but in order to be a good friend, I’m going to have to suck it up and just deal with the icky. It’s the same thing as finding out your brother is dating your best friend. Probably not the right analogy seeing as I lost my virginity to Phillip. I banish the disgusting place my mind has gone and force myself to pay attention.

“We haven’t really.” Bree stops as three wide eyed women stare at her in shock. “We’re taking things slowly,” she offers.

“You haven’t had sex with him?” spills from my mouth in a gush of words.

She looks around. “Shh. Jeez, Louise, do you think they heard you in France?” she chastises me then bites her lip and spins a curl of hair around her finger. Oh no, she’s embarrassed. Nervous rather. “We’ve done everything else!” She finally says in defense.

“Is hispene roto?” Ria says truly concerned.

“NO! His penis is not broken, Ria! We’re just taking our time,” Bree explains. “We’ve had very little alone time. I’ve been crazy busy at the studio and on the days that I’m available he has Anabelle. He doesn’t want to have sex with her in the house, okay!” She crosses her arms and blows a puff of air out over her bangs.

“Oh, honey, he needs to have her grandparents watch her for the weekend so you two can have some much needed alone time together. I’ll suggest it to him.” The rest of the girls nod in agreement. “Your birthday is in a couple weeks. That would be an excellent time,” I offer sympathetically. “Also, us girls can trade off some nights here and there to give the two of you some alone time. Okay?”

Kat and Maria both nod their heads and agree to babysit. We all adore Anabelle. She truly is an angel child.

“Thanks guys, I’d really like that.” She looks at her watch. “Shit! I have a class in fifteen minutes. Gotta run!” She jumps up and hugs each of us in turn. “Besos!” she says as she leaves.

Three rounds of “Besos!” call back to her. We each finish up our coffee and head off to meet with our men. I have to buy an amazing dress and then stop at the apartment and pick up some clothes for the weekend before meeting up with Chase. I’m dreading seeing “the Bitch” again but plan to blow her and Chase away with my outfit.

My cellphone pings and I look down, realizing it’s the unknown prankster again.

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