Page 30 of My Ex-Best Friends

I let her wrap me in a heavy knit blanket that smelled heavily of incense and then accepted the mug of tea she handed me. Only when I took a drink, it was just water. The shock of it made me suck the water down and I choked while glaring at her.

“I didn’t poison you, child.” She took out a stick of sage and lit it before blowing it out and waving it around me. “The spirits need to get rid of all this ugliness in you.”

Gasping, I sat back. “Ugliness?”

She grinned and patted me on the head with her non-sage hand. “The sadness, the shame, and the fact that you let Finn Love come in you.”

“I did not!” I crossed my arms. I’d only ever let three men come inside me none of them were Finn Love.

“Good girl. I’m okay with a surprise baby as long as it isn’t his.” She pulled out a stack of tarot cards. “Think of a question.”

“Why did I come here?”

She flipped a card over. “Huh. The queen of diamonds. You came here because you know I’m the queen of everything and I can make you feel better until you come to your senses and let this silly fear go.”

Sighing, I slowly stood up and folded the blanket. “I love you, Aunt Karlene, but you’re nuts. I’m going to go to the beach and try to get the smell of that sage out of my hair.”

“Oh, yes, the beach is a good spot for you.” She rubbed her hands over the crystal ball that sat in the middle of her table. “I see happiness in your future, Brooklyn. Just don’t crumble.”

I left her house and walked towards the beach. I wouldn’t crumble. Much. It was fine that the guys didn’t want me. I’d go on the date with Billy and maybe we’d hit it off. Maybe he was the happiness that Aunt Karlene was seeing in her crystal ball.

Not that the thing showed her anything…

25

***Brooke

I’d stayed out of the way in the week leading up to the fair. I woke up early and left before the guys were awake and I made sure to stay gone until they were asleep. I was dead tired but at least I’d been able to avoid them. I’d even resorted to hanging out at Aunt Karlene’s house during the lunch time rush in Beaumont. I didn’t want to be accidentally caught by any of them. I was just going to go on the date they’d set up and deal with it.

The night of the fair I got ready at Aunt Karlene’s. She was all smiles and cheeriness as she dressed me in a tight dress with a fringed vest over it. My normal boots worked with it so I kept them on while she took the time to braid my hair, leaving small curls out around my face. I was tired enough that I even let her do my makeup. When it was time for Billy to pick me up I was pretty sure I looked like a western wear sex worker. There was no time to fix it, though, so when I heard the knock on the frontdoor, I didn’t stop to glance in the mirror over Aunt Karlene’s entry table.

I pulled the door open and came face to face with a handsome man with a kind smile and a big bouquet of flowers in his hands. I smiled back at him, determined to have a good time. “You brought me flowers?”

His smile stretched wider. “It was flowers or a bottle of wine and I didn’t want you to think I was trying to get you drunk.”

I laughed, instantly at ease with him. I didn’t feel the spark I felt with Noah, Colt, or Logan, but that was fine. Everything was fine. “Don’t worry. The flowers are perfect. Plus, I think there are enough booths sneaking booze tonight that if we want to get drunk, we can just do it there.”

“Thank god. This is my first blind date ever. If I don’t get a shot of something in me, I’m bound to embarrass myself.” He held the flowers out and when I took them his eyes moved down my body quickly. His cheeks darkened and he looked away. “You look beautiful.”

I saw Aunt Karlene coming and shoved the flowers at her before closing the door and moving down the sidewalk towards his car. “I let my aunt dress me and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen offensive costume packages just like this one at every halloween store.”

He opened the door for me and laughed. “Well, either way, you look beautiful. You have a great smile.”

It was my turn to blush. “Thanks. So do you.”

When he climbed behind the wheel I took a chance to study him. He really was handsome. Curly brown hair, big brown eyes, and taller than me. If I wasn’t feeling emotionally wrecked by my roommates, I’d have to give them props for finding a guy I could’ve imagined taking home to meet my mother in another life. Well. Notmymother. I could imagine taking him home to someone else’s mother.

“Do I pass the inspection?” He smiled softly as he drove towards the fairgrounds.

“God. Sorry. I was just staring at you, wasn’t I?” I groaned. “I’m sorry. I…don’t have a good excuse for it. Wow.”

His laugh filled the car, an easy sound that felt right for him. “It’s fine. If I wasn’t driving, I’d be doing the same thing. It’s a weird thing, meeting new people. You have to catalogue everything without coming off too weird and it’s hard.”

“Yes!” I laughed with him. “You get it. How much eye contact is too much eye contact before you’re a creep?”

He chanced a look at me before turning back to the road. “You get me.”

I relaxed, comfortable enough with him to be friends, at least. He seemed like a nice guy.

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