Page 17 of Taste of Addiction

“Oh, I know. Anyway, how are things with you and Ethan?”

“Good so far. His ex-wife is a piece of work. But his son is super adorable, when he’s not trying to bust down the bedroom door when we are trying to be”—she lowers her voice and leans into her device—“intimate.”

“Is he there now?”

“No.”

“Then why are you whispering?” I laugh.

“Oh, yeah, no idea. Maybe subconsciously I wanted dramatic effect.” She shrugs. “Anyhoo, I have no idea how to fill the role of potential stepmom, but I guess with Ethan being commitment-phobic now after a failed marriage, I won’t have to worry about that for a while.”

I nod my head and just provide a listening ear. It is hard to believe we are reaching the chapter in our lives where settling down is the next natural step. I still feel so young and have a lot of life goals to reach before I would be ready to marry and have kids. Do I even want kids? I mean, I love them and all. But would I even know how to be a good mommy—especially when I went through half my childhood without one?

“Angie?”

“Hmm?”

“Feel like I lost you there.”

“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Care to share?”

I look up at the screen and giggle over Claire eating a stalk of celery. No peanut butter, no ranch. Just plain old-fashioned celery. I might miss her, but I do not miss the weird eating rules that change based on her mood. “Oh, it wasn’t anything worth sharing. Just that it feels weird to be thinking about what will happen after graduation. Seems like I have been in school forever. Ha. In a way I have been.”

She sucks her top lip into her mouth, making it disappear.

“Have you decided what you’ll do if you get offered the internship in Los Angeles?” I ask.

“No. Part of me wishes I don’t get it, just so I don’t have to make a decision—and potentially make the wrong one. I feel like if I don’t go when given the opportunity, I’ll have regrets. But I doubt Ethan’s and my relationship can withstand the long distance. Plus, having partial custody of his son makes life tricky.”

“Have you heard from your parents?”

“Hmmfph…yeah right. Well, if you count the stimulus check they send me monthly, then yeah, I heard from them.”

“At least they are not asking you to bail them out of bad life decisions like my dad is doing to me.”

“Again?”

“Yup. I caved this time and answered his plea.”

She frowns. “I’m sorry.”

“’Tis life. Messy, complicated, wish-there-was-a-handbook life.”

“No truer words have ever been spoken,” Claire agrees.

A notification of another incoming video chat pops up on my screen. “Hey, can we chat tomorrow? Graham is calling me.”

“Yeah, sure.”

I wave goodbye and switch over to Graham. At the sight of his stern face, my heart drops into my stomach.

“Hey you, what’s up?” I give him a half smile. “Why do you look so…angry?”

“You and Sophia have not even been together for nine total hours and you’re already making her feel unwelcome with your attitude and snide comments?”

“What?” I snap. “She told you that?”Oh, the nerve of her. She is something else.

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