Page 30 of Christmas Sunrise
Maeve grabs her phone but she doesn’t check the screen. “She’s been amazing. Sent me a ton of messages reassuring me, and she wants to get together tomorrow to hit the sales first thing in the morning.”
“So, your friendship is intact?"
"Looks like it," she says quietly. "Which I'm not sure I really deserve."
"Maeve, it's okay to make mistakes. And thinking you're in love with your best friend is easily one of the better mistakes you could make." Again, I ignore the lull of unease that rises in my stomach.
"I suppose," she mumbles then turns to look at me. "What happened to you anyway? I could have sworn something was going to happen with that Niall fella."
I think momentarily about his shapely thighs and the way the dazzling blue of his eyes contrasted with the copper of his hair and beard. I can't say what I feel is regret, but I also can’t pretend I didn't go to sleep wondering what a night with him would have been like. I rub my temple with one hand.See, sex and even choosing not to have sex, literally gives me headaches.
"He certainly seemed keen," I say hesitantly.
"You say that like him being so isn't possible. Arabella and I were watching you guys for a while. He wasdefinitelykeen."
It's my turn to shrug, but of course I add a pout too. "I mean, I do look good in cashmere."
"You have more to offer than a nice figure and good choice in clothes, Jake," Maeve says decisively, and I turn to look at her again, finding her expression matches her firm tone.
"I think that's actually why I turned him down," I explain on a groaning exhale. "I've had so many quick, random hook-ups recently that I've actually forgotten it's possible for me to like somebody for more than their physical attributes, let alone considertheymay likemefor more than that. I suppose I would rather have tried to get to know him, as impossible or impractical as that may be."
"That's theeasypart for me," Maeve says and her face has turned to stare out of the window where the night sky is finally starting to lighten. "I love learning more about people's personalities, what makes them tick, what makes them laugh, what they love to do and what they're passionate about. That's the thing I crave. I think it's why I do what I do because getting these glimpses into peoples' lives on social media and letting them see the same with me, it makes me happy, I guess."
I'm about to ask her what's the hard part for her but her phone buzzes and she picks it up.
"Another message from Arabella," she says looking at the screen. "It's a photo."
Maeve holds her phone in my direction, and I see a selfie that was taken at the pub last night. The smiles on their faces stretch their features to their limits and I love how their cheeks are squashed together, both pairs of eyes squeezed almost shut.
"Are you sure you don't fancy her? And that she can't be tempted? You do make a beautiful couple," I say with a teasing air in my voice.
Maeve swipes at my side. "We are a beautiful couple. A beautiful coupleof friends."
I nod. "Friends are everything," I say, thinking about Jenna, thinking about Dana and Dove from college who haven't yet managed to shake me, and I even surprise myself by thinking about Sharon, my bolshy assistant whose banter is almost as brilliant as her Excel spreadsheet skills. It only takes a few more seconds for this internal glow I feel for my friends to fade as Lionel returns to my mind's eye.
Friends are indeed everything, which is why it hurts like hell when you lose a good one.
"Hey!" Maeve's surprisingly sharp elbow charges into my side. "Where did you just go, daydreamer?"
I sigh again. "Maeve, you ever do something so stupid you don't really know how to live down the shame of it all?"
"Like snogging your best mate?" She huffs.
"That was an understandable exploration of a confusing situation. What I'm talking about is on a whole other scale." I feel my body become suddenly heavier.
"Are you talking about blowing that fella in a Ryanair plane bathroom yesterday?"
My head whips to look at her. "Which one of them told you? Jenna? Marty? Whoever it is, I'll give their present to the dogs to chew on!" I tut, loudly.
"It was neither, or rather both of them. I overheard them talking about it last night when you went to the gents."
"What were they saying about me?" I ask as an uncomfortable heat climbs up the back of my neck.
Maeve leans over to put her mug down on the bedside table. "Oh, it was more about them than you. They said they were jealous of you joining the Mile High Club and then they started debating whether a blowjob qualified you for it."
"I mean, it is called a "job" for a reason. I certainly feel like I qualify."
I don't miss how Maeve shudders. "But in a toilet..."
