Page 57 of The One I Want
Simon: And who are you with…
I’ve never once lied to my friends. I’m really considering it right now. Because I know once I say what I’m about to say, I’m opening a box that I’m never going to be able to close.
Wes: I’m at Betsy’s.
For a few seconds, no one types anything. No dot bubbles pop up. Nothing.
Then the flood hits.
Oliver: OMGGGGGGGGGG
Simon: Fuck yeah!
Shane: Do you need me to distract your mom as you do the walk of shame from her tenant’s house?
Wes: I fucking hate you all.
Shane: No you don’t.
Simon: Funny you think that, though.
Oliver: That’s it. Mona’s Diner in an hour. Not optional.
* * *
I walkinto Mona’s Diner, the go-to spot for a greasy spoon breakfast or a patty melt for lunch in Rolling Hills, only to find my three best friends already waiting for me.
“And here I thought being five minutes early would be enough,” I say.
“Sorry, my friend. Not today,” Oliver says as he flags down the waitress. I order coffee and water, and we all order enough pancakes and bacon to feed a football team.
“So, Betsy huh?” Simon says. “Worried I was going to make my move?”
I shoot a look at him. “I will fucking kill you.”
This only makes him smile. “There it is, my friends. The reaction I’ve been trying to get out of him for a month now. Glad to see I still have my touch.”
“You’re an asshole.”
He holds up his cup of coffee to me. “You know it.”
I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, which I quickly take out.
Betsy: Kids secured. We’re going to McDonald’s. If anyone needs a Happy Meal right now, it’s these three.
I smile at her gesture, but know that I’m going to have to find out, either from Betsy or Emerson, how the visit with Cara went. Because that sounds…less than great.
Wes: Sounds good. See you at home later?
Betsy: You know it. <3
I feel myself smiling as I put my phone away. I don’t know why those little hearts get me, but they do. When I look back up, all three are staring at me, each wearing their own shit-eating grin.
I sigh. “Fine, what do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Oliver says. “Every detail. Otherwise I’m never going to forgive you for leaving me outside by myself where I could have been eaten by a bear.”
Shane gives him a look. “You were sleeping in the bed of your truck. You were fine.”
