Page 24 of Trial and Error

Bridget wets her lips with her tongue and looks over my shoulder and shoots my family a shy smile before she ducks out the door. I follow closely behind her and we walk down the steps onto the sidewalk.

“Thank you for coming,” I say. “I really appreciate it.”

She looks up at me and the blush on her cheeks deepens. “Of course.”

“I need to drive you to your car. Give me a second?”

Bridget shakes her head as she clasps her hands together in front of her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll catch the bus.” She pauses. “Maybe we should get a bite to eat?” I feel my lips twitch at her suggestion and her eyes widen. “Not like a date or anything.” She laughs nervously. “I suppose there isn’t really a reason for us to meet up, with this just being a one off. Soon we’ll break the news that it didn’t work out and cut ties.”

I watch as she nods to herself as if working out the technicalities in her head.

“Why don’t we hang out anyway?” I find myself asking. “Even though we’re going to be ending this soon, it doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out.” I pause. “You know, as friends.”

She quickly nods and averts her gaze down to her feet. “Uh, yeah, sounds good! Text me details and I’ll make sure I’m there.”

“You know, I’d really prefer it if you let me take you home,” I tell her. “My mom would kick my ass if I didn’t take you home myself.”

A light blush coats her cheeks as she lifts her eyes to meet mine. “I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now and I think I just need to get my thoughts together.”

“I get it,” I admit. “Today was a lot and I’m sorry for springing it on you like that.”

She shrugs. “It happens…” A pause. “It was really nice, though, meeting your family—they’re wonderful people.”

“You fit right in.”

Bridget’s blush deepens and we stand there for a beat or two longer before she rocks on the heels of her feet and turns with a small wave, leaving a hasty “Goodbye” in her wake as she walks in the direction of the bus stop.

I remain standing on the spot, watching until she turns the corner and is out of view. It’s a shame this is over, because spending time with her really was something I found myself enjoying.

bridget

Natalie walks to my couch and flops down beside me, throwing her long legs over my lap. She nestles into the corner of the sectional and reaches forward to grab the bowl of popcorn. It’s become a biweekly tradition for us to have a movie night, and each time we switch up genres. Tonight is a rom-com that we’ve had our eyes on for a few weeks. We rarely see each other now that she’s in a relationship, and so we’ve continued our movie night tradition to make time for each other.

Isobel gave me her number and insists on having lunch together soon, but we haven’t set a date yet.

Natalie is darting off soon for an all-expenses paid vacation to Nashville, where Katherine is currently based. They plan to travel around some of the Southern states while they’re there, but knowing the two of them, they’ll most likely take each day as it comes and end up doing something completely different.

Mom has been calling nonstop. If the texts from her sitting at the top of my messages are anything to go by, I assume she’s found out about the news of my “engagement.” The last message I received from her was one expressing her disappointment that she didn’t find out from me. She wants me to go over for dinner, but I know that’s just a ploy to get me there so she can tell me how upset she is with me.

Ever since Tom and I broke up three years ago, she’s been desperately trying to set me up with people she knows, the last being her new and recently divorced dentist. Being best friends with Tom’s mother and aunt has almost made her more eager for me to get back out there, but I have a feeling it’s to prove I’ve moved on.

There’s always been some unhealthy competitions between the three of them.

“How was lunch last weekend?” Natalie asks through a mouthful of popcorn. “Was it as juicy as I’m hoping it was?”

I laugh at that as I snatch the bowl from her lap, much to her dismay. “It was actually really nice,” I tell her. “His family is lovely.”

Natalie sighs. “Uh-oh, please don’t tell me you’re attached already?”

I scoff. “Not quite. It was pretty uneventful.” I pause, and Natalie tilts her head as she waits for me to elaborate. “That is, up until his mom called him out for not kissing me goodbye.”

My sister bursts out laughing, choking on her popcorn. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and pushes herself into an upright position. “That’s amazing,” she says, her shoulders shaking softly. “What did you say?”

I shrug nonchalantly. “I didn’t say anything.” I steal a glance at her and smirk at her. “We kissed.”

The gasp that comes from her mouth is almost comical. Natalie grabs the pillow from beside her and whacks it on my arm. “I’ve been here for over an hour and you’re only telling me now that you kissed him?” I nod. “Well, how was it? I bet it was good,” she ponders. “He looks like he’d be a good kisser.”

I hum under my breath, trying to remain callous but the mere thought of kissing Elias has me fidgeting. Is he a good kisser? Abso-freaking-lutely. Not that it means anything, of course, it was all for show.