Page 72 of Bad Crush
Reagan
You may find yourself acting as a mediator between two people you care about. Don’t feel obligated to take sides, and do remember that words said in the heat of the moment can have an impact far beyond the immediate disagreement. In short, watch your damn mouth!
Numbly,I walk downstairs to find the girls in the kitchen. We went a little overboard at the grocery store on the way to Ginny’s mom’s house, and the counter is littered with bags of chips and candy, booze, and other things that we randomly threw into the cart.
“Red or white?” Ginny asks as she holds up two bottles of wine.
“I don’t care.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Dakota asks as she opens a bag of chips.
“I think Adam and I just had our first fight.”
“Oh, honey, what happened?” Ginny asks. She sets the wine on the counter and then proceeds to open both. She must read on my face that it’s going to be a two-bottle night.
I slump onto a barstool. “We were talking about Rhett and Carrie. Carrie went to their game tonight so she and Rhett could talk.”
“She did?” Dakota’s eyes widen.
I nod. “Yeah. Adam is totally against them talking or reconciling in any way. I don’t get it. It’s like he thinks everyone should be able to break up with someone they love and move right on to the next. He said Rhett didn’t know what a good relationship looked like, and I kind of threw that statement back in his face.” I bury my face in my hands. “It just slipped out. I didn’t even realize I was thinking it until the words left my mouth.”
“That is sort of his thing.” Ginny gives me a small smile.
“How did Adam react?” Dakota asks.
“I apologized immediately, and he acted like it was fine, but then he said he needed to get off the phone.” Me and my big mouth. “I feel like such an ass.”
“You two will work it out,” Ginny says, sounding so sure, but she didn’t hear the hurt in his voice.
“Words said in the heat of the moment have an impact far beyond the immediate disagreement,” I grumble.
“What?” Dakota asks with a laugh. “You sound like a fortune cookie.”
I wave her off. “It was in my horoscope this morning.” I look between them. “What do I do? Do I call him back now? Wait, and hope he forgets?” If only I could be so lucky.
“Give him the night,” Ginny says. “They’ll be back tomorrow night. I’m sure by then all will be forgotten, and if not, you make it up to him.”
“You realize you’re talking about your brother, right?” Dakota grins.
“Gross. That isn’t what I meant.” Her face scrunches up, and she tosses a chip at Dakota.
I know that waiting is the right call, but tomorrow sounds so far away. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the night worrying about it. “Okay. Yeah, that sounds practical.”
“Unless…” Dakota starts.
“Yeah?” I ask, hopeful she has a genius idea. Screw practical.
“We could go to the game.”
Ginny and I share a confused look, and Dakota shrugs.
“You want to go to the hockey game?” Ginny narrows her gaze at our friend.
“I thought you wanted to spend time just us girls.” I study her closely. This feels very unlike Dakota.
“And I do, but we can do that in Tempe. I love a good road trip.” She avoids eye contact completely. Her phone buzzes on the counter, and she jumps for it, and then she smiles.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
