Page 29 of Just Friends Forever
“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.” Stevie gives Lyla a hug.
“It was really great to meet you.” Lyla pulls back and grabs my hand, threading her fingers through mine. The gesture shoots nervous energy up my arm. Why does this feel so weird? We’ve held hands a couple times before. For some reason, it feels like a bigger deal than kissing.
“Have a good time,” Stevie says as we walk toward the stairs. “And remember who you are.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say in a nasal voice, throwing a smile over my shoulder.
Lyla and I discuss where we should get food and settle on a sandwich and salad place about ten minutes away. She was really running the conversation at my place, but in the car, she turns on music just loud enough to make talking difficult. Maybe she needs some time to recharge. Or maybe she’s feeling a little weird like I am.
“Want to do take out and eat at the park across the street?” she asks as we wait in line.
“Yeah, that sounds nice.”
We get our food and head to the park, finding an open bench and settling in with our to-go containers. It’s quiet as we start eating, and I get the distinct sense that not everything is hunky-dory.
“Are you okay?” I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Yeah,” she says in a completely unconvincing tone. It’s quiet for a few seconds, then her fork pauses in her salad, and she looks up at me. “Is there something between you and Stevie?”
My heart rockets into my ribcage. “What? No. She just got divorced, Lyla.”
“Exactly.”
I shake my head and stab a few leaves of salad. “We’ve known each other a really long time. That’s it.”
She nods, but I don’t think she believes me. It irritates me. Not with her. With myself. Am I giving those kinds of vibes? Because I don’t want to be. In fact, just the thought is humiliating.
“Were you with her last night when I called?” Lyla asks, focusing on her food again.
“Yeah. She didn’t have anywhere to go before the press got wind of the divorce, so I offered Austin’s apartment.”
She nods, still not looking at me. “And I assume she was the friend you visited after your open house?”
“Yeah, she was.” Her questions are making it seem like I intentionally misled her, even though that’s not at all what I was trying to do.
She looks at me, hurt in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I set down my fork and shift toward her. “I couldn’t, Lyla. The whole point of having Stevie come stay was to keep her whereabouts a secret so that she was out of the limelight when her divorce became public knowledge.”
She nods, pushing her salad around with her fork. “You guys seem really close.”
“We are. Or at least we were.”
“Did you ever date?”
“No,” I say, glad to be able to reassure her on that topic, at least.
“Why not?”
I shrug and load up a big bite of salad. “She was always into Austin.”
“But you were intoher?”
I pause before responding. I wish I could lie and say I wasn’t, but I’m not going to do that. “I was at one time. But that was a long time ago.” I meet her gaze. I won’t allow myself to feel that for Stevie. It’s the first commandment of my life: Thou shalt not love Stevie like that again. I promised myself I’d never put myself out for rejection by her a second time.
Besides, her divorce changes nothing. She was never into me like that.
Lyla lets out a big breath and offers a feeble smile. “Sorry for grilling you. It’s just… she’s really amazing, you know?”
