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Although…at the start of the year, I’d been Kayla’s best friend and I hadn’t even realized how badly I wanted it to become more. Would I really go back to that?
In church this morning, they’d reminded everyone about the Valentine’s Day banquet put on by the youth as a fundraiser. It was this Saturday—Valentine’s Day was next Tuesday—was it too late to ask Kayla to go with me?
I squashed the thought that Luke had probably already beaten me there. I wouldn’t know if I didn’t ask.
I pulled out my phone before I could sit and obsess about it, and tapped out a text.
I realize this is last minute, and also a text which is probably more negative points, but I was hoping you’d go to the Valentine’s day banquet at church with me on Saturday.
I frowned at the message, my finger hovering over the arrow that would send it. Then I quickly added on a final thought.
Not as friends.
There. I hit Send.
Now the ball was in her court.
I really hoped she’d say yes.
15
KAYLA
“Ican’t believe Cody’s looking at townhouses.” Megan was slouched on my sofa with her feet up on my coffee table. Ada had draped herself across Megan’s stomach and was purring contentedly.
“Why not? You had to realize he and Noah wouldn’t live in an apartment together forever.” I looked around my own apartment. I’d love to have the funds to just go look at property in Old Town by the river and buy it. But that wasn’t happening any time soon. Not on a teacher’s salary.
No, if I wanted to own a place, I’d have to head south. Probably into Prince William County at that. Or Stafford. Then I’d be stuck on the road for hours every day. I suppressed a shudder. No, thank you. I’d deal with renting.
“I guess.” Megan shrugged and switched from scratching behind Ada’s ears to gently rubbing from head to tail. The tip of Ada’s tail flicked and her purring quieted, but it didn’t stop. “Did Whitney text you?”
“She did. It’s so sad.”
Megan nodded. “Right? One positive pregnancy test and then her symptoms went away and like five days later her period starts. The doctor wouldn’t even call it a miscarriage. Just a ‘chemical pregnancy,’ like there wasn’t a baby there at all.”
“She seems to be doing okay?” I didn’t talk to Whitney as much as Megan seemed to, so I wasn’t actually sure. But I hadn’t gotten the impression from her texts that she was in deep mourning.
“She’s conflicted. She really wasn’t ready for a baby yet, but she was also starting to get excited. I imagine the two of them will start talking about moving up their baby timeline now.”
“More than likely. That’ll be fun. I like babies when I can give them back.”
Megan grinned and looked around. “Where’s Charles?”
I chuckled. Charles, for whatever reason, was not a big fan of Megan. “He’s probably in the bedroom. You know he gets freaked out when you’re here.”
“Unfair. Ada loves me. Don’t you, baby?” Megan leaned down and nuzzled the top of Ada’s head.
“She does. Take the win. You know how cats are.” I was going to add something about not looking for unconditional love from any animal that wasn’t a dog, when my phone buzzed. I grabbed it from the coffee table and opened my texts.
My eyebrows lifted as I read Austin’s words. I did not, as yet, have a date for the Valentine’s Day banquet. I honestly hadn’t been planning to go. Spaghetti and garlic bread made by grudging teenagers wasn’t really my jam. And also? A date with Austin directly under Luke’s nose seemed overly complicated.
I set my phone down on the coffee table, prepared to ignore it until I could figure out how I was feeling.
“Anything important?” Megan was watching me.
I wanted to blow it off and tell her no. But I wasn’t going to lie to her. And maybe she’d have some insight. I hadn’t actually told her about the conversation Austin and I had while she was out getting Thai food. It had been easy enough to avoid over the last two weeks.
Or maybe it hadn’t.
