Page 42 of The Boyfriend Effect (Frisky Business 1)
“I’m really feeling like pizza. Can I take you out for pizza?” I ask.
Sitting down has made me antsy. I immediately want to stand back up, to get out of this apartment. I need to move, to do something to keep me from thinking about what just happened. I doubt I could eat, but Rosie is always easy company.
“I’d love to get a slice from Pauly’s.” The smile on Rosie’s face is casual enough, but I can tell in her eyes that she knows something is up. Lucky for me, she doesn’t ask any further questions.
We drive in almost complete silence, nothing but the radio playing between us. I can sense Rosie scanning my face, but I ignore it and keep my eyes on the road. I’m not ready to talk to her about what happened. It’s too fresh. Too raw. Hell, I barely know what I’d even say about it.
When we get to Pauly’s, I’ve just placed our order and gotten Rosie seated at a table when my phone starts buzzing in my pocket.
I pull it out to find Wolfie’s name on the screen. “Hello?”
Rosie furrows her brow. I mouth Wolfie’s name to her, and she nods and waves her hand in understanding. “Tell him I said hi,” she whispers.
I nod and try to focus on what the hell Wolfie wants.
“Maren’s not answering her phone. I need you to go check on her.”
Hello to you too, Wolfie. “Why can’t you?” I ask.
Rosie waves a hand in front of my face. “Is it Maren again?”
Since when is Rosie so damn perceptive?
“Because I’m on a date,” Wolfie says gruffly.
Wolfie? A date? What the fuck is happening right now?
“Of course we’ll go check on Maren. Don’t you worry, Wolfie,” Rosie says loudly, leaning in to speak into my phone.
Fuck. I can’t even be mad at Rosie. She has no idea that I just broke Maren’s heart. But that doesn’t change the situation.
“Thanks, Rosie. And thank you, Hayes. You’re a good friend,” Wolfie says.
“Wolfie says thank you,” I repeat to my grandma, and she nods and reaches over to pat my knee. But inside, I feel hollow and numb.
Wolfie shouldn’t be thanking me; he should be beating the ever-loving shit out of me. But instead, I get to keep running around playing knight in shining armor. And this time, I’m taking my grandma with me. Yay. Nothing awkward about that.
We take our pizza to go and head to Maren’s. Rosie waits in the car while I walk up to the door. My heart pounds with every step closer I take. I knock, but no one answers. I knock again. Still nothing. When I get back in the car, Rosie gives me a confused look.
“No answer?” she asks.
I grip the steering wheel and watch my fingers go white. “I know where she is.”
I take us east. Maren’s always had the same place she goes when things get hard. The same place she’s retreated to when some asshole hurt her, when she needs somewhere to be alone. I never would have thought that I’d be the one to send her there.
We pass a sign that reads MONTROSE BEACH, and I park and tell Rosie to wait in the car.
She places her soft, warm hand over mine and gives me a small smile. “Go get your girl.”
I smile back at her weakly. If only she knew what those words really meant.
A cool breeze greets me as I make my way to the beach. Waves crash gently in the distance, and it doesn’t take long until I spot Maren huddled into a tiny little ball a few yards away on the sand.
When I get closer, she hears me coming and shoots a curious look over one shoulder. Her eyes are swollen from crying, and she gives me a blank look as I approach.
Ouch. I deserve that.
“I have nothing to say to you,” she says, curling her arms tighter around her knees and facing the waves again.
“Wolfie’s worried. He asked me to check on you.”
She scoffs. “That’s why you’re here? Fuck off, Hayes. We have nothing to talk about. Call my brother and tell him I’m fine.”
She rises and begins brushing sand off her pants, ready to walk away, when we both hear the sound of another set of footsteps approaching from behind me.
“Is my grandson the reason you’re upset?” It’s Rosie, wrapped in her cream-colored knit cardigan, the breeze lifting her thin gray hair.
Maren looks at me in surprise, then to Rosie. “I’m sorry, Rosie. I didn’t know you were here.”
Rosie clucks her tongue and slides her arm around Maren’s shoulders. “Get in the car, little one. We can sort this out without everyone catching a cold.”
“She’s right,” I say. “I think it’s starting to rain.” The breeze has picked up, and I’ve definitely felt a few drops fall.
