Page 92 of Grease Monkey
“I knew you missed me.” She laughs, awkwardly patting my lower back as my arms trap hers to her sides. I grip her tighter, my hold almost punishing, as the irrational fear of waking up to find I’m dreaming makes me want to never let go.
Burying my head in her shoulder, I inhale her expensive perfume as she giggles. “Okay, Morgs, let me breathe.”
I slacken my arms, and she wraps hers fully around me.
“What are you doing here?” My voice is muffled in her brown hair, and her palms slide up and down my back soothingly.
“Do I need an excuse?” she asks, and I finally dislodge myself from her and wipe my eyes. “I’m here because I am the bestest friend ever, and when your girl calls you having a mid-life crisis, you drop everything and make sure she’s okay. Plus, I’m going to make sure you don’t make any more mistakes with that man. I’m worried about you, babe.” She pulls away from me completely, holding me at arm’s length, her face hard. “One month. You’re here for one month, and you’ve made multiple poor life choices. Not that Richard is an amazing one…”
“I’m so fucked, Shay. I’m the worst person in the world,” I whisper, my bottom lip quivering, and in an instant, her stern look melts into sympathy. “I’m horrible and deserve to be alone.”
“Hey. Hey now. Stop that…” she says, running her thumb under my eye and catching a wayward tear. “I will not have this self-deprecating bullshit. You’re confused. Hurt. Terrified of marrying the wrong guy.”
“Richard is nice, Shay. He’s intelligent, strong-minded, nice.”
“That’s nice twice, Morgs.”
I grimace. “But he’s not Teddy.”
Shay clicks her tongue, kicks her suitcase through the door, and closes it behind her. I’m so much up my own butt that I forgot to invite her in. She links her arm in mine and tugs me toward the couch, dropping to one side and pulling me after her. She shifts, moving toward the edge and narrows her gaze.
“What am I going to do?”
“Morgana, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Cheating is fucking awful. Like the worst thing anyone could ever do to someone that they are meant to love. What were you thinking? What the hell wasTeddythinking? He knows about Richard, right?” I nod and sag into the sofa, hating every word she says because it’s exactly how I feel. She sighs, sounding exasperated. “Well, how could he not? That thing on your finger is fucking huge.” She cuts her hand through the air. “Not the point. Teddy is just as bad as you are. So, what now? Break up with Richard and get back with Teddy?”
“He hates me.”
She laughs. “Girl, that boy has been head over heels in love with you for years. There is no way he hates you.”
“You didn’t see him the other week, Shay.”
“Well, apologize. Tell him you’ve ended it with fuck-face and want him back.”
“It’s not that simple. I made a promise to Richard.”
“Pretty sure that promise wasn’t to go screw your ex the first chance you get,” she chastises.
I drop my eyes to my hands, picking at the edge of my nail until it bleeds.
“I can’t be with Teddy.”
“What?” she shrieks, throwing her hands up, and I wince. “Why the fuck not? Morgana, what was the point of all of this? Fuck Teddy until it was time to head home and live the rest of your life feeling guilty and miserable that went behind your husband’s back for months or because you’re not with the guy you’re meant to be with?” She grips my hands, pulling them onto her lap. I lift my gaze to look into her soft blue eyes. “Honey, any idiot can see you two are soulmates. Even back then. Richard is an asshole who is not good enough for you.”
“You can’t say that, Shay.”
I should be mad she said that, but somehow her admission makes me feel… free?
“I said I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it. Morgana, since Teddy left, you’ve been a shell of yourself. Youlovedhim. You were so madly in love with him, and it sorta made me want to settle down.” I raise my eyebrows, and she laughs. “Yeah, for like two seconds until I remembered I’m a total hoebag for the D.”
“Aren’t you seeing someone?”
“It’s not exclusive, so we can do whatever we want.” She shrugs. “Stop trying to change the subject. My point is that one day you were happy, and the next, you weren’t. And now you’re both in the same city, clearly just as dumb as you were years ago. You’ve been given a second chance and you’re doing nothing about it.”
“I’m engaged.”
“And yet you conveniently forgot about that fact while bouncing on someone whoisn’tyour fiancé’s dick.” She levels me with a stare. “Do you love him?”
“Of course, I agreed to marry him, didn’t I?”
