Page 89 of Finding London

“Not that kind.”

“Right. I know…I’m being stupid.”

“Yeah, you totally are. You’re not acting like the London I know and love. No offense, but this whole week, you’ve been rather whiny and annoying. Just being honest.”

“You’re right.” I sigh. “Please feel free to kick my ass.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Paige laughs.

“Remember back when you were in love with Troy? Did you feel neurotically jealous all the time?”

“Yeah, but that’s because I could sense something wasn’t right. Turned out, he had been cheating on me with every Delta Zeta who would put out. I had reasons. You don’t. Loïc is a man, not an immature douche bag, like Troy was. Totally different.”

“Fine. So, I don’t have any good reasons? I’m just a dumbass?”

Paige chuckles. “Everyone handles love differently. You’ve never truly been in love before. You’ll figure out how to navigate through this without all the jealousy. It’s a learning process. Plus, Loïc isn’t always the most open, so you have some additional obstacles.”

“True. All right, let’s go hang out with the woman Loïc loves.” I grab my purse and head toward the door.

“Like a sister,” Paige says behind me with obvious mirth in her voice.

“Whatever.”

Paige and I are meeting Loïc, Sarah, Maggie, and Cooper at the bowling alley. Loïc’s been hanging out with Sarah the past few days, but he really wanted everyone to do something together before she leaves on Saturday morning.

I see Cooper’s car in the parking lot when Paige and I arrive, so I know they’re already here. We find them sitting at a table in front of a lane, ready to go. They’ve already input the six of our names into the computer, evident by our names being up on the monitor above our lane.

They’re all laughing at something Cooper said.

“Hey,” I cut in, waving to the group.

Loïc stands and pulls me into a hug, a huge smile on his face. “Hey, I’ve missed you,” he says before planting a quick kiss on my lips.

I introduce Paige to Maggie and Sarah. Sarah gives me an awkward hug. All right, maybe it’s just weird on my end.

Why do I make everything so uncomfortable? Ugh, I hate emotions.

“So, Loïc tells me that you want to be a journalist?” Sarah asks with what appears to be sincere interest.

Fine, maybe she is truly a nice person.

“Yeah. I actually got a call yesterday to interview with a local paper. It’s a small writing gig, but if I get it, I’m hoping it will grow into more,” I say to everyone, as they are all listening in on the conversation.

“That’s awesome, babe. Why didn’t you tell me?” Loïc asks, grabbing my hand and squeezing gently.

“I don’t know. I forgot. I guess I just figured I’d tell you the next time I saw you.” I shrug, smiling weakly, before taking a drink of pop that Maggie just poured for me.

“That’s awesome. When’s your interview?” Cooper asks.

“Next Thursday.”

“Make sure to let us know how it goes,” Maggie chimes in.

“I will. Thanks. So, what have you all been up to?” I direct my question to everyone.

I know that Loïc and Cooper had to work the past three days. They usually get home from work around three in the afternoon.

“Well, it’s been great because Maggie has had the last few days off, so I’ve been able to spend time with her during the day while Loïc has been at work,” Sarah says.

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