Instead of getting upset at my question, laughter sounds on the other end of the phone. “Sounds like she’s got some explaining to do.”
“Mav!” I hear Dakota shout in playful annoyance. It’s the first time in years I’ve heard her sound like this. Too happy to actually be annoyed at the other person, so you’re mock-aggravated instead.
“Settle down, babe,” Mav says to her in a soothing voice and to my surprise it actually works. Instead of telling him off, I can hear her sigh on the other end of the line.
I can’t help the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, too happy to hear Dakota has found someone who seems to make her happy. “As cute as you guys are, I’m still on the line here.”
“Right,” Mav says in a voice that seems distracted. “I’ll let you talk to Dakota, but I’m looking forward to meeting you soon.”
“Uh, sure,” I say, and I can hear him hand the phone over while he tells her, “I’ll give you two some privacy. Seems like you got a lot to talk about.” The reprimand isn’t lost on either of us that he’s slightly miffed she hasn’t told me about him yet.
“Hey,” Dakota’s voice is slightly hesitant when she answers the phone, like she’s unsure of my reaction.
“Are you happy?” I ask the one question that matters most.
“Yes.” Her voice is a whisper, like she’s afraid if she says it too loudly it’ll go away.
“I’m glad, babe. You deserve to be happy.”
“You’re not mad I haven’t told you about him?”
“No, of course not. I understand. Sometimes you need to keep certain things for yourself a little while before you share them with others. I get that.”
“Thank you.” I roll my eyes heavenward, knowing the only reason she didn’t say anything was because she was afraid to hurt me with her happiness. Something she’s done since I spilled most of my secrets to her after a night filled with too much vodka.
“Kota—”
“I know,” she interrupts me from saying anything more. “I need to stop worrying about your feelings whenever I’m happy.”
“At least you know better.” Growing uncomfortable lying on the bed, I get up and move to the chair overlooking the valley, a place I have found solace in since I arrived. “So tell me all about Mav. How did you meet?”
“Uhm,” she hesitates, like she doesn’t want to tell me how they met for some reason. “Remember the guy I met last summer in Seattle at the bar and went home with him?”
“The one who cooked you breakfast and made you coffee, promising to call, only for you to never hear from him again?” I can’t help the disapproval entering my voice, mainly because Dakota was so incredibly hurt when he never called her like he promised. “Don’t tell me Mav’s that guy?”
“Well, he is. But,” she rushes out, making sure I can’t get started on a lecture she knows would be coming, “it was my fault.”
“What?” my voice sharpens, unsure how to take the comment since I can’t imagine she did anything wrong back then.
“Well, I feel really stupid, but I gave him a wrong number by accident.”
“How—” I have to fight to hold back the laughter, after how angry we were, me on her behalf, it’s ultimately all her fault, but my voice is still shaking when I continue, “How the hell did that happen?”
“I don’t know.” I can hear the exasperation in her voice. “And it’s not even a variation of the fake number I usually give out. Seriously, I have no clue how this happened.”
“Jesus, Kota.”
“I know,” she replies. “It’s like I sabotaged myself subconsciously.”
“Sounds like it. How did you meet again then?”
“Well, he found me while I was in Florida.”
I press her for more details when she doesn’t continue. It’s like pulling teeth with her sometimes. “Found you how?”
“Ugh,” she groans. “This is embarrassing. He found me on Instagram and messaged me. You know I usually never check those messages, but that day it was like something told me to.”
“So he slid into your DMs is what you’re saying, all smooth and shit.”
At my comment she bursts out laughing so hard it takes her a full minute to catch her breath. “You know, he even used one of GIFs about sliding into someone’s DM.”
I can’t help but join in on her laughter when I picture the man with the deep sexy voice and body that probably comes with a voice like that using a GIF to appear smooth while sliding into someone’s DM.
“I know,” her voice is still shaking with suppressed laughter. “I couldn’t believe it either.”
“Okay, so he messaged you four weeks ago. How come it took him like six months to get in touch? You didn’t give him a wrong name after all.”
“Well, no, but he thought I gave him the wrong number on purpose, obviously. He didn’t think I’d wanted to see him again, but, in his words, he couldn’t get me out of his head, no matter how much he tried.”
And he probably tried with a lot of different females, I think derisively, but don’t voice it. Just because I have a hard time remembering some men are decent doesn’t mean I need to ruin my friend’s happiness.
Dakota’s voice pulls me out of my reverie. “So he decided to try and find me, only to learn it was all a big misunderstanding.”
“Well, at least he put in the effort to find you.”
“Yeah, he’s been visiting whenever he isn’t traveling or training. He’s from Texas.”
“Good. What does he do?”
“He’s a… well…” she hesitates.
“Just spit it out already.”
“He’s a bull rider.”
There’s a long pause when I don’t know what to
