Page 121 of Flirting Lessons

She should probably say more to Avery. If she were mature and grown-up and all of those things, she would, but she felt neither mature nor grown-up right now.

Avery

Oh, ok

Then the three little dots popped up next to Avery’s name to show that she was typing, and stayed there for a long time before her next text came.

Avery

See you later this week then

Now Taylor felt guilty for blowing off Avery, and then furious for feeling guilty. Why should she feel bad about that? Avery seemed perfectly happy to have their relationship end sevenTuesdays from now! Why would Avery even care that she was blowing her off? Avery didn’t care about her at all!

She stayed at the winery late that day, doing only sort of necessary cleanup and organization, and got bad takeout on the way home.

Late the next afternoon, Erica texted her. Not to the group chat they had with Liz and Callie and that whole crew—Erica had texted that chat for days with photos from the shower and how much she loved them all and then pictures of the nursery set up with presents and blah blah. Everyone else had hearted and awwwed and yayed about that stuff, but Taylor had ignored it all. She wondered what they were saying about her in the group chat she was sure they had without her in it. But no, Erica’s text today was just to her.

Erica

Hey! did you or avery happen to see an extra envelope around when you guys were cleaning up after the shower? I only ask because my aunt apparently gave me a big gift card, and my mom will lose it if I don’t send a thank you note, but I can’t find it anywhere.

Shit. That envelope. Where the fuck was it? Taylor looked in her bag, but it wasn’t there, and then checked her pockets and pulled out a frayed—but still intact—envelope from her back pocket. Right, Avery had stuck it in her back pocket when they’d left the winery that day. It was a miracle that it hadn’t fallen out when she’d washed them. Good thing she was wearing those same pants today.

Taylor

Yeah i’ve got it.

Normally, she would apologize for forgetting something like this and not texting Erica right away, but she wasn’t fucking sorry. Hadn’t she thrown Erica that fucking shower only to have her curse her relationship? Erica was the one who should be sorry.

Erica

Awesome! want to drop it by on the way home from work? sam isn’t home, I could order dinner? I haven’t gotten to see just you in a while.

Oh, she wanted to seejustTaylor?

Taylor

Sure

Taylor had a pit in her stomach when she left the winery that afternoon. She didn’t know what she was going to do when she got to Erica’s, if she was going to chicken out and just drop off the card and go, or stay and talk about everything, or something in between. She hadn’t said she was going to stay for dinner tonight; she could make an excuse and say she had to meet Avery or something. But if she said that, would Erica smirk and then Taylor would know what she was smirking about and then let it all out? Had Erica smirked every time she’d brought up Avery for the past few weeks or months? She couldn’t remember.

Plus, Erica had been distant for months. Taylor had blamedeither Sloane or Erica’s pregnancy for all of that, for the disappearing acts and the ignored texts and the condescending tone from Erica about lots of things, including Taylor’s failed celibacy bet. But had Erica decided that since she was a grown-up married woman who owned a house and had a baby on the way, she was too mature for her mess of a friend who lived in an apartment and had a mediocre credit score and jumped in and out of people’s beds at the drop of a hat? Maybe. Maybe Erica didn’t want to be her friend anymore.

Taylor felt a tear threaten to spill out of her eye. Goddamn it.

Erica had been there for her when she’d lost two jobs in a row and hadn’t been sure how she was going to pay her rent that month. Erica was the only person other than Avery she’d told about her secret dream to own a wine bar, and Erica had cheered her on. Erica had laughed and cried and mourned and celebrated every big moment with her for years. Erica,herErica, wouldn’t smirk when she brought up her girlfriend—if she had, Taylor would have noticed, would have said,What the fuck?

Granted, she wouldn’t think that Erica,herErica, would have made that bet in the first place, but unfortunately, she’d heard it herself. She had to ask Erica what the fuck was going on.

She pulled up in front of Erica’s cute little house, right next door to Sloane’s much bigger one, and squared her shoulders as she walked up to the front door. Erica opened it almost as soon as Taylor rang the bell.

“Hey! I wasn’t sure if the doorbell was you or our pizza, and honestly, I was more excited for it to be our pizza, no offense, I’m starving. I got two of them, since I feel like I could eat an entire pizza myself—even though I have awful heartburn now, sorry, you’ll have to excuse the TMI, but then, I feel like there isn’t really TMI between the two of us, anyway? Sorry that I’m talking nonstop,I haven’t left the house all day, and with Sam gone, I haven’t talked to anyone in person today and I feel like it’s all just exploding to get out. Do you want Diet Coke? It’s in the fridge, I put some in there for you.”

Taylor didn’t even try to get a word in edgewise as they walked into the kitchen. She could tell the chatter was because Erica was nervous; they hadn’t been friends for over ten years for nothing.

When Erica finally stopped talking, Taylor pulled the card out of her bag and handed it to Erica.

“Here’s your aunt’s card,” she said. “I overheard that bet you made that my relationship with Avery wouldn’t last longer than your pregnancy. Avery decided that we should make sure we dated until a few days after you gave birth, just so you would lose the bet, and I suppose that would be nice revenge and all, but I don’t really want revenge, I really just want to know what the fuck, Erica? Why did you do that?”

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