Page 41 of Your Pucking Mom

The next day, I called out of work and decided to treat myself to a day out in the city. After my cryfest with Emma last night, she reassured me I wasn’t the selfish asshole I thought I was for hooking up with Ledger. She was actually super proud of me for stepping out of my mom bubble.

I stretched on the bed and relished the quiet of the day. I needed it before Austin’s home game tomorrow night. It was the first of the season, so the energy would be high. Fortunately, this meant two full days off work.

Eventually, I dragged myself out of bed and surveyed the chaos of my room. With the day off, I might as well start by tidying up and investing in a shelving unit to bring some order to the chaos.

“But first, coffee,” I muttered, shuffling the short distance from my bed to the kitchen in my studio apartment. As I was about to hit the start button on the coffee pod machine gifted to me by Austin last Christmas, there was a sudden knock on the door.

I approached the large wooden door and peered through the small peephole, but the visitor was blocking my view. “Who is it?” I called out, not particularly keen on becoming the protagonist of a crime documentary today.

“Delivery,” replied the voice, attempting to sound deeper than it actually was.

Frowning, I found myself torn between caution and curiosity. Like a character in a horror movie, I mentally screamed,Don’t open the door, but my curiosity won out.

“Not today, murderer,” I said as my better senses somehow kicked in. “Just drop it at the doorstep!”

There was a long pause as I leaned up against the frame to see if anyone would respond.

“Bitch. Open the fucking door, it’s me,” a familiar voice said.

“Holy crap,” I exclaimed as I whipped the door open and pulled Emma into a tight hug. She dropped her bag as I spun her around a few times.

“Your detective skills are seriously lacking,” she teased as I set her down.

“Well, you were lurking out there like a weirdo. I didn’t know who to expect,” I retorted, gesturing for her to come inside.

Once indoors, I took a moment to admire my long-missed friend. She adjusted her blue baseball cap.

“You’re looking good.” I whistled, eyeing her jumpsuit and Ravens sweatshirt combo. Her straight, long brown hair hit right below her shoulders, and she seemed thinner than when I last saw her. Her job was causing her stress, and it made me want to wrap her up and ask her if she needed anything.

I thought we both needed today more than she’d ever let on.

“I woke up at five to beat the city traffic, so that coffee I smell better have my name on it,” she joked.

I grinned and made us each a cup. Emma flopped onto the couch with a sigh, kicking her feet up on the small wooden coffee table.

I brought over our mismatched mugs before snuggling up close to her on the gray couch. She looked around the apartment, then back at me as I kicked my legs across hers.

“Your son is a millionaire, and this is where you’ve decided to post up?” She narrowed her eyes at me.

“You know better than anyone that I am not taking a dime of his money. I saved for this, and it is what I can afford on my salary.”

She closed her mouth and nodded while looking toward my bed. “This was the result of your fight with your period panties the other day?”

My mouth lifted into a smile, and we broke into a fit of laughter before a comfortable silence filled the air. “Thank you for coming. I needed you.”

I grasped my friend’s hand as she rested her head against the back of the couch. “I know.”

We took long sips of our coffees before she turned to me. “How are you?”

It was a loaded question, and one that I wasn’t sure how to answer either. I was…okay?

“I just wanted to feel…?”

“Say it confidently,” Emma encouraged.

“I just wanted to feel like Auburn Hart for a moment, and I wasn’t able to have that for myself. I ended up hooking up with Austin’s captain, twice. I wasn’t even Auburn to him then. I was his rookie’s mom.”

“Good. Keep going.”

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