Page 5 of Not A Whisper

I tamp down the urge to point out that she's said the last five guys were 'the one' too.

No need to rain on her parade.

“Eventually we’ll need to start planning of course. If we can get married by summer, maybe by, let’s say, November, we’ll be pregnant with baby number one,” Pianna continues. “I have to call Mom and tell her. Maybe this will get her to fly out and see me. When can you get off work so we can go dress?—”

“I’m sorry, did you just say you wanted to have a babythis year?” I squeak.

“What?” Her face comes back into view so that I can get the full effect of her eye roll. “I’m not getting any younger.”

“But, but…” That should be years away. Notthisyear! “Pianna, are you sure this isn’t happening a little too fas?—”

A knock at the door interrupts me. Pianna doesn’t need tohear the rest though. She sighs loudly as I move toward the door.

“If you know, you know, Bri. Love doesn’t have a time limit.”

“Yeah, but?—”

“Look, you’re in a stage in life where you’ve decided you want to fool around, and luckily for you, you found a few fuckboys that adore you. That’s honestly great, Bri. Youneedto be laid as often as possible to make up for the lack of it these past few years. I swear, before them, you probably had cobwebs down there. But let’s be real, you and I both know that they aren’tendgame.” Pianna shakes her head. “I’ve already gone through that stage. I’ve had my fun, but it’s time to settle down. Iwanta family.”

Immediately, my metaphorical hackles rise. What does she know about endgames? She just now got engaged after countless relationships! How many times have I bailed her out of a bad situation? I can think of one in particular that changed our lives forever.

“Well, I guess now you can start thinking about one.” I try to keep my voice light.

There’s another knock at the door.

“Who’s that? One of your guys?” Pianna asks curiously.

“No, they’re not coming over tonight.”

There’s a suspicious noise that sounds like a derisive hum before Pianna says casually, “They haven’t been around much, have they?”

I haven’t told Pianna about why the guys have been missing in action recently. Whenever she’s asked about them my excuses are always the same. ‘They’re busy’ and ‘oh they’re working today’ can only be said so much, however, before red flags begin to rise. But how can I tell her about Garry? She wouldn’t understand the situation, not in its entirety. Thenagain,Idon’t even get it. Grant, Jason, and Trip don’t tell me anything when it comes to Garry Gipson.

Ignoring Pianna’s question, I open the door with a bit too much force. The man standing on the other side of the threshold has his back to me, as if he’s decided to give up and move on. When he turns around, however, I’m hit with the sense of familiarity.

“Oh, it’s you!” The massive man with a bald head, thick goatee, and friendly smile exclaims before chuckling in surprise. “Briella, right?”

I blink in surprise. “Lance? What are you doing here?”

God he’s huge. I have to stare up, and up, just to look into his face.

“Lance? Who’s Lance? Let me see!” Pianna demands sharply from my hand. Lance looks down at my phone at the same time I do.

“Pianna, let me call you back?—”

She shakes her head dramatically. “No, let me see! Is Lance a murderer? A friend? I haven’t heard you talk about him before. I need to see his face before we hang up.”

“That’s because there was nothing to talk about.” I roll my eyes at Lance who clutches his chest just over his heart.

“I think I should be offended,” he says, fake grimacing.

I turn my camera around quickly to show Pianna his pained expression. “Lance, Pianna. Pianna Lance… Now, I’ll call you right back.”

Before Pianna can say anything else, I hang up on her.

“Look, before I tell you why I’m here, I feel the need to preface this interaction by saying I had no idea you lived here. I swear I didn’t track you down,” Lance shoves his hands into his pockets, flashing me a sheepish smile.

I nod, unable to stop from smiling at his cheery disposition. “Duly noted. Can I askwhyyou’re at my door then?”

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