Page 14 of Tenderfoot

I grabbed a cotton pad and my eye makeup remover and went to town on the damage.

Once I sorted that, I exited the bathroom, went to my bedroom, got rid of the dress and heels, put on a lounge outfit, nabbed my phone and walked to my living room.

Willow shoved a glass of wine in my hand before I’d cleared the galley kitchen area.

I could have kissed her.

The sight that met my eyes when I made my living area helped lighten my mood a little bit.

My girls were sprawled all over my furniture like they paid the rent.

I loved that.

I loved it that when I was in their spaces, I felt comfortable doing the same.

This was a home.

This was family.

Not worrying about finding a coaster before you put your drink down or taking your shoes off so you didn’t mess up the hardwood with your spiked heels or not curling your legs under you on the sofa so you could be comfortable because “feet don’t belong on furniture” (Hi, Mom!).

This was real.

And even though I’d scrimped and saved and sold a few designer pieces on online resale sites (presents from Mom that were worth money, but they were so not me or any girl in her 20s, or 30s, or even 40s) to afford my cute-girl décor, I loved it that Luna and Shanti had their feet curled under them on my couch.

“Okay, so we think you should reach out to Kev,” Luna launched in after I fell to my behind on a pale-pink velvet pouf on the floor. “If he hasn’t unmatched you, tell him that Javi is your ex. The breakup was messy. He isn’t big on letting you go. He was lying about the girlfriend business, and definitely the pregnant part, in order to send your date packing. See how he responds to that.”

“This might be a new in, him thinking you’re vulnerable and he can take advantage of that,” Jessie added.

“On it,” I said and looked down at my phone.

When I woke up my screen, my heart skipped a beat when I saw another first, as it came from Javi.

I had a message from him.

He’d never texted me directly. It was always in our group chat (which Jessie had named The Valley Valkyries and Vikings, that said, she changed the name all the time, it used to be The Mighty Sunburns).

Though, I was wrong.

I didn’t have a text from him.

I had three.

“What’s up?” Jess asked.

My head snapped up. “Nothing.”

“You were looking at your phone like it grew teeth,” Shanti observed.

Ugh.

They weren’t going to let this go.

“Javi texted,” I shared.

“Ooo, what’d he say?” Raye asked.

I was not going to look.

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