Page 43 of Not For Keeps
I raise a brow. “And yet we all agree Billy was the moment.”
“Unhinged,” Anna says, pouring wine. “But in a sexy way.”
“I stand by what I said,” I add, grabbing my glass. “He could ghost me and stab me in the same breath and I’d say thank you.”
Mariana throws her head back laughing. “Therapy. Immediately.”
“Whatever,” I say, curling into the corner of the couch. “It’s movie night. Let me be delusional in peace.”
We’re about halfway through the movie, and the popcorn’s long gone. Anna’s stretched across the floor, dramatically clutching a throw pillow every time Ghostface shows up. Mariana’s wrapped in my favorite fuzzy blanket, the one that technically belongs to Maya but we all pretend is communal.
Tatum is in the garage, tossing beers around and low-key flirting with Ghostface like she’s not about to freaking die.
“She’s literally flirting with him,” Mariana says, horrified. “Girl, what are you doing?”
“She thinks it’s Randy,” I say. “To be fair, if I thought some dude was trying to prank me in a Ghostface mask, I’d flirt, too.”
“Oh, we know you would,” Anna says, reaching for more wine. “You’d be like, ‘Nice knife. But are you emotionally available?’”
Anna snorts so hard she chokes on her drink. I hand her a napkin, and we dissolve into laughter. That big belly laughter that only happens with the people that you most care about, the people the truly get you—down to your twisted sense of humor and your lifelong fear of attic murders.
As the credits roll, we all slump into the couch, quiet for the first time in hours.
Anna yawns and stretches. “Okay, but real talk…Mateo.”
I blink. “What about him?”
She sits up. “He’s really into you.”
Mariana hums in agreement. “Deeply. Like, ‘I’ll build a house with you in the woods’ into you.”
I roll my eyes, but my face warms anyway. “You guys are making stuff up again.”
“No, we’re not,” Anna says. “We’re observant. You’re just scared.”
I don’t answer right away. I run my finger along the rim of my glass, watching the way the candle flickers on the coffee table.
“We’re having a really good time together,” I finally say. “There’s so much more to him than meets the eye. He surprised me. He’s…a good man.”
Mariana’s smile softens. “I love that. He is a good man. And that’s exactly what you deserve.”
Anna raises her glass. “To good sex, good men, and the hope that they’re both with the same person!”
We laugh and clink our glasses one last time.
They head out a little after midnight, both of them swearing they’re going to text me the second they get home, even though I know they’ll forget. And this is why I make them share their locations with me…gotta make sure my girls are safe.
I lock the door behind them, turn off the lights, and sink back into the couch. It’s quiet now. Still warm from their laughter and presence. My heart beats a little louder in the silence.
I check my phone. No new messages. I sigh and start to set it down—when it buzzes.
Mateo
I hope the ghost with the knife didn’t get you.
Another buzz.
Mateo
