My body heats and I wipe my brow. “Can’t wait.”
Cade leans in to give me a hug, and then I turn to sit next to Rad right before Jackson and Marlow walk in. Or maybe I should say, arriving at the same time. She looks at him behind her in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t see you there.” She acts all awkward. “Hey.”
He nods . . .awkwardly. “Hey.”
I notice a few people around our table staring. We never much cared if we made a scene. We’re loud. We’re a family.
With Rad holding my hand on one side of me, Marlow says, “We should hang out soon.”
“We should.” We’ve communicated through text several times and had a call after Rad and I made up, but it’s been relatively quiet after that. I ask, “Are you doing okay?”
“I am.”
Getting a good look at her, I start to see the subtle changes in her hair—less styled and more natural. Her makeup is lighter,and her clothes are casual. Casual for Marlow anyhow. “You look pretty.”
She smiles sheepishly. “Thanks. You always look pretty, Teals, but you look especially happy.”
“I am.” I hug her. She’s my best friend. I know she would never hurt me, not on purpose. I think we’ve all learned a hard lesson that’s made us take inventory of ourselves. “Thanks.”
When we pull back, we exchange smiles, and then she hands me a present. I ask, “What is this?”
“I thought it was time for a change. Seems to be the season.”
I discard the tissue and pull a T-shirt from the bag. Holding it in front of me, I read, “I’m a Rachel.” TheFriendstee makes me smile and feels a lot like I just got a promotion. “You didn’t have to do this. I’m happy to be Phoebe to your Rachel.”
She squeezes my hand. “I love you, Teals.”
I embrace her again, rubbing her back. “Thank you.”
Cammie asks me, “Have the calls stopped?”
The only downside to dating the Big Apple’s most eligible bachelor—for three years running, he likes to add—is our relationship became public very fast. The news that Radcliffe Wellington was “taken” hit hard and fast, and then we were old news. I ask, “From the gossip columnists or Rad’s lady friends? Yes, to the former. No, to the latter. I guess the news of us dating hasn’t landed in Europe yet.” I nudge Rad with my elbow and laugh. He rolls his eyes.Why is it so cute when he does that?
After we catch up on the past few weeks in each of my friends’ lives, we eat, and then Cammie says, “Now for the business at hand.”
Cammie, Cade, Rad, and I turn to the guilty parties—Marlow and Jackson. It helped that we were all in cahoots to figure out exactly what was going on with those two.
Marlow’s gaze dashes from one to the next until she’s staring at Jackson. He shrugs, so she looks at Cammie, and asks, “What?”
Always direct, Cade asks, “Are you two friends with benefits or the real thing?” He grabs a bagel from the basket in the center of the table and starts smearing cream cheese on it like this is everyday conversation. Gotta love him.
While Marlow sputters the mimosa she just drank, Jackson says, “Huh?”
Rad says, “Playing dumb isn’t a defense. For the record, too many things don’t add up.”
Marlow dabs the corners of her mouth, eyeing the door like she’s about to make a break for it. Jackson mutters under his breath, “Let’s just tell them.”
She does the most minute shake of her head. I say, “Just in case you weren’t aware, we can hearandsee you.”
“Fine,” she replies, her palms hitting the Formica table and causing the flatware to jump and then clang against our plates. “We had sex.”
Jackson sits back with a wry smirk, and adds, “Wehavesex.”
Marlow gasps, blinking rapidly. With her mouth hanging open, she scans our faces, but I’m sure we don’t look much different. Jackson’s arm wings out, nudging her. When she looks at him, he winks. I’m not sure if it was the wink or nudge that sets her off when she blurts, “Fine!” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Wehavesex. Sometimes. When we’re lonely. I’m busy with my career, and he’s busy, and I guess it’s easy. He’s easy.”
“Geez, thanks, Marlow,” he replies sarcastically.
Reaching for her leg, he rests his hand there like any of this is normal. She glances at it and then calms. “Comforting. I meant comforting with the familiarity.” She faces us, and the steadinessof her expression makes me believe her. Her chin rises in the air, and she says, “I’m sure a lot like how you and Rad were.”