Keeping My Best Friend (Fated #5) (7 page)

I looked away from the toaster in case it was in cahoots with
the kettle which refused to work when being watched.

“Who was that on the phone?” Fiona asked, walking into the room
with her laptop in front of her.

The two of us had taken to walking around the apartment this way
constantly, looking as if we were sunning ourselves with our screens.

“Aiden,” I said, glancing back at the toaster.

“Oh.” She set her laptop on the counter. “I thought maybe it was
a callback from one of your applications.”

“No,” I said, turning around and leaning against the counter.
“I’m starting to think applying to jobs online isn’t going to work.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. “I’ve been at it for weeks.”

“What else can we do though?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Drop
our resume into every salon within a twenty mile radius?”

“Maybe start with five?”

“There has to be a better way.”

“Peter suggested I look on Linkedin.”

“And?”

“I looked,” she said. “But I don’t’ really know what I’m
supposed to do.”

“Reach out? Network?”

“I’m familiar with the buzzwords, but what exactly does that
mean?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Like who am I supposed to be linking to, and how am I supposed
to do it without looking desperate?”

“I know what you mean.”

“Did Aiden have any bright ideas?”

“Not really,” I said. “He was supportive and everything, but he
basically just told me to keep my chin up.”

“Did you mention the wedding thing to him?”

“Yeah. I think he’ll put in a good word, but it’s not like he
can guarantee anything.”

“Right,” she said, opening the fridge and staring into it. “Is
something burning?”

“Damn it,” I said, turning around and pulling my toast out with
two fingers. It was so hot I released it instantly, watching as it bounced across
the counter, shedding black crumbs everywhere.

Fiona closed the fridge door and turned towards me. “I take it
that’s more overdone than you were going for?”

“Significantly.”

“Maybe throw it out the window so it doesn’t stink up the
apartment.”

“I’ll just scrape off the burnt bits.”

“Normally I would suggest that, but it’s all burnt bits.”

I sighed and rested my palms on the counter. “I can’t afford to
be burning toast right now.”

“That’s one argument,” she said, picking up my black toast and
walking to the window.

“You have a better one?”

“Yeah, life’s too short,” she said, dropping it on the ledge
outside.

I shook my head and pulled another slice of bread from the bag.

“The world could end tomorrow in which case it would be a shame
for that to be your last piece of toast.”

“True. I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it,” I said, adjusting
the setting on the toaster and lowering the slice down into it.

“Plus, the birds will appreciate it.”

“They might not. Do they even eat burnt toast?”

Fiona shrugged. “Even if they don’t, it’s the thought that
counts.”

“I know!” I said, clapping my hands together. “What if we just
get rid of all of the furniture in the front room and turn our apartment into a
temporary salon?”

Fiona crinkled her face.

“What?”

“That sounds horrible.”

“Why?”

“Cause we’d have hair all over our floor and everyone would have
to use our bathroom.”

“So?”

“So where would we sit at the end of the day?”

“It would be temporary,” I said. “Just so we don’t lose all our
clients.”

“What about the taxman?”

“What about him?”

“I think he might have a problem with it,” she said. “As would
the neighbors.”

“It was just an idea.”

“It’s not my first choice.”

I pursed my lips.

“What?”

“Aiden signed the lease for his new office today.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I know. He’s really excited.”

“He should be. Aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I know how bad he’s wanted this and for how
long.”

“You just wish it were you?”

I sighed and turned around to check the toast. “It’s not that I
wish it were me instead of him, I just wish I was in that position, too.”

“I know, Luce, but you’ll get there.”

I pushed my hair out of my face. “I just thought it would happen
sooner rather than later, ya know?”

Fiona nodded.

“I was on track, too. Before all this shit happened with the
salon.”

“It’s only a temporary setback,” she said. “As soon as we’re
working again, we’ll start saving for our own place.”

I turned around and popped my toast, deciding to settle on
slightly underdone to avoid more waste. Then I screwed the lid off the jar of
peanut butter.

“Besides, Aiden doesn’t have the same challenges you do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that he’s got the cash in hand,” she said.

I dipped the knife into the jar, reaching for the extra crunchy
bits that were visible at the bottom.

“If he had to save up for his own place like you do, he probably
wouldn’t be signing a lease yet.”

“I know.”

“That looks nice,” Fiona said, eyeing my peanut butter toast.
“Will you chuck a slice in for me?”

“Sure.” I untwisted the bread. “One or two?”

“One, thanks.”

I dropped the toast in behind me and sat up on the counter.
“Anyway, don’t get me wrong. I’m thrilled for him. It’s just that when he told
me, I felt a little sad, too.”

“Understandable,” she said, jumping up to sit on the counter
across from me.

“Maybe even a tad jealous.”

“That’s normal,” she said. “It doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“I hope I can hide it though, ya know? When he shows me his new
office this weekend, I just want to put all of that stuff out of my mind and be
happy for him because he deserves my support.”

“It’ll be fine.”

I took a bite of my toast, feeling lifted as soon as the sugar
hit my tongue.

“Plus,” she said. “Someday when it’s time for you to open your
own place, he’ll be there to support you.”

“I hope so.”

“He will be.”

“If we’re still together.”

“What do you mean if? You guys are great together. You’re like-
you’re like the ‘you guys’ I always knew you could be.”

“Yeah.”

“So why would you even say that?”

“I don’t know. I think I still feel depressed from our vodka
night the other day.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it’ll take a few days to get that out of your
system.”

“And I don’t want to get my hopes up. I feel like if I get my
hopes up, my defenses will go down and two seconds later my heart will get
dragged through the mud.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“But it could.”

“You shouldn’t think like that though. It can’t be healthy.”

“I’m just trying to be realistic,” I said. “The truth of the
matter is the guy’s got a short attention span when it comes to women, and
while I’m delighted to be in his good graces at the minute, it would be foolish
to think his feelings will last forever.”

“And what about your feelings?”

“What about them?”

“Do you feel like they’re going to change?”

“Of course not. But I’ve always cared about him in a totally
unhealthy, all in sort of way.”

“So why would you think he’d feel any different?”

“I guess-”

“Maybe check that toast.”

“Oh yeah.” I turned towards the toaster and pressed the button
to eject her slice. “Good call.”

Fiona slid off the counter and walked over to me. “Anyway,” she
said, sticking the knife in the jar. “You were saying…”

“What was the question?”

“Why would you think his feelings would change if you don’t
think yours will?”

“Cause he hasn’t always felt this way like I have so I can
imagine him not feeling this way again, whereas I don’t know any other way to
feel. If that makes sense.”

“It makes sense,” she said, leaving the knife in the jar and
biting into her toast. “It’s stupid, but it makes sense.”

“You really think it’s stupid?”

She nodded while she chewed. “I do.”

I wondered if she was right. Maybe I was totally overthinking
the whole thing.

“How can you eat this without milk?” she asked, setting her
slice down on the counter and walking to the fridge.

“I think you might be right.”

“About Aiden or the milk?”

“Both.”

“Want a glass?”

“Please,” I said.

Fiona grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet and set them on the
counter.

“I guess I just need a sign,” I said.

“A sign?” she asked, pouring two glasses of milk. “Like what?”

“I don’t know. Just something that proves he’s as serious about
me as I am about him.”

“And then you could relax and enjoy yourself?”

I nodded.

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” she said. “But I know
what the Rolling Stones would say.”

I may have overdone it on the aftershave,
but I just wanted everything to be perfect. Including the way I smelled. And I don’t
think I’d ever spent so long trying to figure out what to wear but it was an
important day.

Eventually, I decided to go with my
dark gray button down shirt. It was casual enough that I didn’t look like I was
trying too hard, but it looked professional, which is what I was going for.

Frankly, I think I was trying to
overcompensate for the fact that the office space I’d bought was still a bit of
a mess, but I figured if I at least looked the part of a business owner, maybe
the vision would be easier to sell.

Not that I had to sell it.

Lucy would’ve been happy for me
if I brought her to an abandoned van and said I was taking my business on the
road. Well, hopefully not too happy because we wouldn’t get to see much of each
other in that case, but that wasn’t the point.

The point was that I was so
excited that absolutely nothing could bring me down. And even though I wished
the place would’ve been more finished before I showed it to her, I figured she would
welcome the distraction all things considered.

I just hoped she liked it. Not only
because I was going to be spending so much time there in the future, but
because her approval was an integral part of the vision.

After all, without her, my future
success would only ever be bittersweet. I wanted someone to share my dreams
with, and I wanted that someone to be her more than I’d wanted anything in a
long time.

I wasn’t planning on saying all
that to her. It wasn’t necessary, and while she knew I was crazy about her at
this point, I hadn’t completely blown my cover. I wanted to play it cool so she
would be inspired by my confidence.

But inside I was freaking my shit
out because there was a lot riding on today.

I slid my car into a wide space
along the curb and made my way to the door, pressing the buzzer as soon as I
reached it.

“Hello?”

“I’m here.”

“You could’ve honked,” she said.

“You ready?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right down.”

Half a minute later, she opened
the door to her apartment building. “Hi.” She was my height standing in the
raised entryway as she leaned forward to give me a peck on the lips.

“You look nice,” I said, drinking
her in.

She was in a short black dress
and a thin, light yellow cardigan.

“Thanks,” she said.

“You’re liking the yellow, huh?”

She shrugged. “Leaving my comfort
zone has been working for me lately.”

I smiled. “Funny you should
mention that. I have a list in the car of other ways you could leave it.”

“No you don’t,” she said,
stepping onto the sidewalk in her signature black boots.

“But I could,” I said. “It
wouldn’t take thirty seconds.”

“The yellow jacket is enough
excitement for me right now.”

“Well, things are about to get a
lot more exciting.”

“I know,” she said, walking
around the front of the car. “I’m dying to see your new place.”

I sat in the car, looking
shamelessly at her legs while she tucked them in the passenger side.

She caught me and her lips curled
up into a half smile. “You smell nice.”

“It’s too much, isn’t it?”

“Not if you were trying to do the
whole week’s worth in one go.”

I turned on the ignition. “I was
a little excitable this morning.”

She pulled her sunglasses out of
her purse and slipped them on. “Well, I hope you’ll try and carry that through
the day.”

“That can be arranged,” I said,
pulling out into traffic.

Lucy put on her seatbelt and then
turned the radio up just a little until Simon & Garfunkel’s voices trickled
through my speakers. “I love this song,” she said, leaning back.

“What’s it called?”

She let her head roll towards me
from its place on her headrest and smiled. “America.”

“Any luck on the job front?” I
asked.

“Not really,” she said. “A few
cold leads, but mostly a lot of dead ends.”

“Dead ends?”

“Ya know- the
we’re good now
but we’ll keep your resume on file
kind of thing.”

“Oh right.”

“Not very inspiring.”

“I’m sure something good is in
the pipeline.”

“I hope so,” she said. “Because
if I murder Fiona, it will be even harder to get hired.”

“Is she driving you up the
walls?” I asked, changing lanes.

“I’m sure I’m doing the same to
her.” She smoothed her dress down over her thighs. “I mean, we were never
supposed to spend this much time together.”

“Yeah.”

“I love her to death, of course,
but I’m afraid I might actually love her to death if we don’t start spending
some time apart.”

“Is it just cause she’s manic?”

“No, she’s no crazier than I am.
I think she’s only grating on me cause we’re in each other’s pockets.”

“It’s only been a week.”

“I know.” Lucy sat straighter in
her seat. “And I already feel positively murderous.”

“You can always stay at my
place.”

“Thanks, Aiden. I might start
taking you up on that more, at least for a while.”

“That’s fine. I’d much rather you
take out your frustration on me.”

“I bet,” she said. “The only
thing is that I think my presence helps Fiona stay focused.”

“Why do you say that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I
get the feeling a lot more vodka and soap operas would be happening if I
weren’t home looking for a job, too.”

“That must be frustrating.”

“It’s not the worst. There are
good things about it.”

“Oh?” I sunk my foot on the break
and came to a gentle stop at the light.

“Yeah. Like she knows how to have
a good time and keep things light so I don’t get all moody and despondent.”

I laughed. “Despondent?! You?!
Despondent?!”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but
I’m not all sunshine and cotton candy all the time.”

I unlocked the car doors so they
made a loud crunching sound. “Get out. Get out right now.”

“I’m being serious.”

“I know you are, Luce. I’m just
teasing you. Of course you get down. Everybody does.”

“I suppose.”

“But I’m still convinced that
you’re made entirely of sunshine and gummy bears.”

She shook her head.

“I’ve tasted you enough times to
know.”

“That’s what I taste like, is
it?”

“That and one more thing.”

“What?”

“Ya know when you get chocolate
chip pancakes at Smith’s Brothers and you always ask for an extra bowl of that
white stuff?”

“Powdered sugar?”

“Yeah, that. You taste like
that.”

“Well, I guess Fiona’s not the
only person I’m annoyed with then.”

“What? What did I say?”

“You’re obviously smoking some
kind of wacky crack and you haven’t even offered me a puff.”

I laughed.

“Is it a puff of crack?” she
asked. “Is that right? Or is it a drag? A huff?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh yes you do. You’ve blown your
cover with your ridiculous claim that I taste like powdered sugar. Now I know
you’ve got something good, and I demand that you tell me what it is.”

I smiled.

“Come on. Spill it.”

“You really want to know what’s
got me so high?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I do.”

“It’s this girl I’m seeing
lately.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Me neither,” I said.

“She sounds too good to be true.”

“She is,” I said. “She is.”