Page 17 of Not Friends

“I retract my question. That sounds awful.” I peeled off a licorice stick from the pack resting on the console between us and took a bite. A bit waxy for my taste, and yet I immediately wanted more. Candy was evil.

“I can’t believe this is one of our last carpool runs.” Dan looked over at me like I’d betrayed him somehow, but I knew he was insanely proud of me. For once, I was the one doing something dumb and impulsive. I just hoped I carried the dumb and impulsive luck gene Dan seemed to have. The guy had practically fallen backwards into love and money through little effort of his own—buying a house at the right time, selling it at just the right time, and getting an obscure scholarship that paid for his schooling. Plus, marrying a girl he’d only known a month and having it work out. My sister-in-law and I didn’t always get along, but she loved Dan with everything she had, and that was all that mattered.

“Have you told Dad about your new job?” Dan asked.

“No. I’ll wait until I have the first day under my belt. More to talk about, you know?”

Dan raised an eyebrow at me before going back to watching the road. “Like he ever runs out of things to say. Or Gina for that matter.”

“True.” But it didn’t change the fact that talking to them as a couple was still awkward for me. For a lot of years, it had just been my dad and I, since I had been in middle school when Dan graduated high school and moved out. The old fart. Seriously, Dan would be a grandpa before I even…. I didn’t like the way I questioned what was at the end of that sentence, so I quickly tried to scrub it from my mind.

Of course, my brain decided that was a great moment to get the eighties song, “Alone,” stuck in my head. It wasn’t even a song about being alone. It was about waiting in the dark to launch yourself at your unrequited crush because you wanted togetthem alone. Which was next-level creepy. I should find a way to change Denver’s ringtone to the chorus. That would definitely give his next girlfriend pause.

Okay, no more thoughts about being alone, or Denver, or eighties ballads.

I took another bite of licorice and glanced back at Jenny and Noah, who had just arrived. I shouldn’t have bothered. They were already cozied up in the back seat with their faces melded together. “Would you guys like some licorice? Or a room?”

Jenny’s face blushed a deep red as she pulled back and leaned her head on Noah’s shoulder instead. “Sorry, I haven’t seen him since lunch.”

“Yeah, it’s been hours.” Noah poked her side and then whispered in her ear, making her laugh.

They were so adorably nauseating.

Dan made a gagging noise that turned into him coughing for real on the licorice in his throat. Ah, carpool. I’d miss this.

Pulling out of the parking lot was like playing chicken these days. Dan backed up the second there was room for him to ask for forgiveness from the other cars. While he was busy navigating us out of there, and Jenny and Noah were busy with whatever, I unlocked my phone and looked up Denver’s Instagram account again. Not that he’d posted anything since the last time I’d checked, but the comments section of his last post had been on fire, and I had this sick need to know if it was still going. Jenny had said GoWithFriends hired him in part because they liked the way he connected with people through social media.

How did he do it? How did he strike up friendships with online strangers and make it sound so genuine? All they were talking about was mattress shopping and how long it took to know if a mattress was right for you. But it wasn’t just him inviting people to comment. He knew them. He remembered details about their lives I didn’t even know about my own relatives.

“Sadie?”

“Hmm?” I slid my phone into my bag. “What, Jen?”

“Nitro’s new owners still on for tonight?”

“Yep.” I shoved all thoughts of Denver away and turned to compare my plans for tonight with Dan, Jen, and Noah.

I’d agreed to FaceTime with the parrot people so they could meet Nitro and talk to him. It was almost anxiety-inducing enough for me to cancel and go out with Jenny and Noah instead, except they were doubling with Makayla and her boyfriend. Hard pass.

I’d be staying out of Makayla’s business from now on. If I met her on-again-off-again boyfriend, she’d want my opinion of him.

No, thank you. Not if it meant having Denver invade my gym again.

It was bad enough that we’d be starting at GoWithFriends on the same day. Another tidbit I knew thanks to Jenny. Why did the guy feel the need to stay friends with all his exes and keep them updated on his life? Not that Jenny was an ex. More like a swing and a miss.

Once home, I got Nitro out of his cage and let him hang out on my shoulder while I cleaned his cage. I’d been trying to teach him to sing along with me to “Eye of the Tiger,” but the best he could do was bob his head along with the beat and screech during his favorite parts. After Jenny and Noah left on their double date, I had free rein of the apartment, and Nitro and I had an all-out dance party.

“Don’t tell anyone we do this, Nitro.” I gave him my sternest look.

“YEAH, GIRL,” he chirped.

Good enough.

I put Nitro away while I got ready, giving my hair and makeup a refresh, and pulling out a flattering cream-colored top I’d been saving for no particular reason other than I never had an excuse to dress up. I paired it with a pair of cute jean shorts and a gold belt. Hopefully Nitro wouldn’t make a mess on me.

I got out my iPad at the appointed time and tried to keep Nitro from pecking at the screen as I set up the meeting. His new owners were a married couple who had turned their large backyard into a bird sanctuary. From their website, I’d seen all the pictures of the various birds, and the overhanging trees that shaded their enclosure, and the bird door leading into the house for the hotter months of the year. But no pictures of the couple or their full names.

Once they came on, I immediately realized why. I was staring at a middle-aged 90s teenage heartthrob and his plastic-surgery-loving wife. Yeah, that was the way my brain computed it. But thankfully, I didn’t open my mouth and say any of that. I had years of practice acting like I didn’t care about anything, and I put it to use as I said hello and introduced Nitro.

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