Flick rounded the pathway behind the group, strutting in her sensible heels with her head held high. I admired her self-possessed attitude. She swept past them before suddenly coming to a halt. Twit was eyeing her with a creepy grin. She turned to him, raised her right hand and wiggled her little finger before flipping him the bird, and marching off. His face was priceless. A caricature of shock and anger. His mates all looked away, hiding their snickers behind their palms.
“What’s so funny?” My head snapped towards the voice.
“Andrea?” I probably shouldn’t greet her with a frown.
Luckily, she laughed at my question. “You don’t get out much do you? You’re supposed to say, “Hi Andrea, it’s great to see you again. How are you?” and then, I’ll reply and ask you what you were laughing at, again.” She took a seat beside me, plonking one elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand.
“Uh. Hi Andrea. How are you?” She twirled her finger in the air, urging me to continue. “Um … It’s great to see you again,” I added, twisting my mouth to stop a smirk.
She nodded in approval. “I’m great, thanks for asking. Hello backatcha. I just finished lunch with my other half when I saw you cackling to yourself. So, what’s so funny?”
I tossed my head towards Twit and company. “Big man on campus just got knocked off the podium.”
“Tall. Blonde. Polo wearer?”
“Mm hmm.” I swigged some water from my bottle.
“That guy. He’s a law student. His name’s Matt. He tried to make a pass at me at a club last weekend. Ben was at the bar getting us drinks. Matt pawed me from behind while I was dancing. I elbowed him in the gut, then stilettoed him on the foot.” She jumped up to demonstrate the motions, as I sat in horror. Sit the fuck down! “Had it sorted out before Ben got back,” she finished in a bored tone before sitting down again, much to my relief. “Ben gave him the look.” She glared at me.
“The look?”
“Yeah, you know?” She aimed her finger at the example she was showing on her face. “Get-the-hell-away-from-my-woman-or-I’ll-break-your-face. That look.” She scoffed.
“Right.” I tugged my chin down, wanting this conversation over already, and for Andrea to stay seated.
“Lee would do the same thing if that happened to you. He’s not as intense as Ben, but he’s still a guy.”
“No, he wouldn’t. I’m not his girlfriend.”
She burst out laughing. “Ah, yeah … you are. You want each other something bad.”
I could feel the heat rising up my chest all the way to my forehead. I distracted myself by checking to see if Beverly had finished ordering. No such luck. I silently begged her to hurry so we could run away.
Andrea tapped my shoulder. “What’s your deal? I don’t mean to be rude, but Bradlee means a lot to Ben and me. He’s been through hell. If you don’t like him that way, tell him now. Don’t play games. He doesn’t deserve it.”
My eyelids fluttered. “I do like him that way.” I whispered the words, too scared to speak and bring them into reality, and too annoyed that I was admitting it to Andrea and not Brad. “I’m not playing games. I don’t know—” I pulled in a breath and bit my cheek, using the pain to aid my truth. “He confuses me. I was happy ignoring everyone, and now … I’ve been thrust into living, and participating in friendships, and I don’t even know what to call what Brad and I have. He told me about Tish and his parents. I understand what he had to go through more than you’d imagine. I don’t want to cause either one of us any more pain. That’s why I’m reluctant to progress things any further than … whatever. Part of me still thinks it’d be better to back off. I’m just … confused as fuck, to be honest.”
“You better figure things out. I like you. You make him happy. Please don’t hurt him.” She gave me a tight smile, and tapped the table before she trotted off.
I sighed with relief, feeling rung out and slightly nauseous from the interrogation. Andrea was right. I was fooling myself if I thought I could get close to him without exposing myself completely. I watched her wave at someone as she walked, an eternal spring in her step. I couldn’t imagine her ever hiding anything from anyone. She was as clear as glass. I was envious of her freedom to be herself. She might be quirky and perky, but no one would ever accuse her of being a fruit cake.
“What’s the frown for?” A plate with a slab of cheesecake landed on the table with a thunk, before Beverly sat down. She was either not aware that she’d been gone for ten minutes, or she didn’t care.
“Never mind … Two forks?”
She picked one of the utensils and carved a chunk of creamy delight, holding it up for inspection. “You like cheesecake, don’t you? Dig in.” She demonstrated by shovelling the cake into her mouth. I shrugged my shoulders and followed her lead, already feeling better, or maybe I just needed the sugar fix.
Watching my boss as she scooped another piece onto her fork, I realised that she was my friend. Although she didn’t really know me, I’d known her for five years. She knew my secret now, and I knew hers, but I didn’t feel vulnerable. I was even relieved and thankful to be given the chance to make a positive difference to someone’s life. Someone I deeply respect.
