“What thing with my nose?”
She taps hers. “You scrunch it.”
“I do not!” Hand flying to my nose, I realize it’s doing exactly what she says. “Oh my God. How long have I had that tell?”
Moffie snorts. “Since forever. How do you think your parents always knew when you lied to them about something?”
“I just thought I was a terrible liar.”
She shrugs. “That too.”
I frown. “We’re getting off topic here.”
She sighs heavily. “You’re right. We’re supposed to be talking how you somehow got tangled up with Garrick-frigging-Matthews. Are his eyes really that blue? Have you seen him naked? Have you slept with him? Oh my God! If you did, you need to tell me every single detail. I need to live vicariously through you because I’ve read he’s a total freak in bed.”
I’m so glad I’m the only one here, because there’s no way Yasmin couldn’t hear this if she were still cleaning.
“Does he know you love The Wild more than his band? Has he seen your screenname before? I mean, your username is literally CannonIsMine. Not Garrick. You had posters of Cannon Rhodes on your bedroom wall for years.”
The Wild is a band that started a little before Violet Wonders formed and has killed it from day one. I still listen to them religiously and run to the app store every time a new song drops to download it. Moffie teases me for following some of the band members on social media, but she’s no different with her favorite celebrities. Including the man I’m staying with.
And as for Garrick… “We haven’t really sat down to talk about that sort of thing. And, no, we didn’t sleep together. You know I’m not like that, I can’t believe you’d ask.”
“Okay, first, you’re the one who was dead set on losing your virginity before you graduated high school. And then you were determined to make it happen before 21, and we both know how that turned out. Don’t get all prude-like on me now that you’ve found the exact guy you’ve been looking for who can teach you a thing or two.”
How does she even hold that over my head knowing we have the same body count when it comes to sex? “Can you not bring that up? I was young and stupid. Everyone made sex seem like such a big deal back then.”
“It is a big deal. I’ve told you that a billion times and you still went to some random dude to get the job done like you were paying a contractor to do reno work for a day.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. “Let’s not talk about that.”
“Fine. I’ll move on to my second point. How come you haven’t told the man who asked you to marry him that you’re obsessed with his competition?”
I groan. “It’s not like it’s a big deal. And I’m not as obsessed as I used to be. Working here and writings stories on people has made me realize that celebrities are people too.”
She gapes. “You mean the people you write bad stories about? The ones who have human feelings that you rip into for a quick buck?”
“Not you too. You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“Oh, so Garrick knows about that?”
“Yes.”
“And how does he feel?”
“How do you think?” I quip.
She hums. “You want my honest opinion? Are you sure, Rylee?”
This can’t be good.
“For as long as I can remember, we’ve talked about our future husbands. Who they’d be, what they’d do, where we’d live together with them. You and I always dreamed of being neighbors and raising our families next door to each other. You never wanted this.” I go to speak, but she cuts me off. “Let me finish. You need to hear this. All these years, you’ve closed yourself off from dating or being near a guy because of your health or your job or some other excuse, and I’ve seen what it’s done to you. You’re lonely, Ry. You’re not happy. You’re being drained by trying to make ends meet, so you’ll never get the dream life you’ve wanted if you keep running yourself ragged.”
I blink. She’s not really suggesting…?
My best friend offers me a soft smile. “I think you should do it.”
I must have heard her wrong. “What?”
Her chin dips once in confirmation. “I think you should take him up on his offer. If he can help you out, then say yes. You deserve to let someone take the pressure off your shoulders.”
“But we’ve always talked about finding true love. You have Eli and you’re happy—”
“I’m not saying you have to fall in love with Garrick,” she says plainly. “But maybe he’ll be good practice for the real deal. He can take the edge off and help you live a little because you’ve spent years only existing. Living paycheck to paycheck, stressing out over if you can afford this or that. He’s rich. He’s willing to help. It seems kind of like a no brainer. You’re not me and Garrick certainly isn’t Eli, you can do whatever you want, Ry.”
I can’t believe this. “I thought you’d talk me out of it.”
“I know. You always seek me out when you want me to shoot you down because you need somebody to agree that you’re making stupid choices. If you really wanted to be talked out of it you would have called your mom. But Garrick Matthews is…Garrick Matthews. I mean if Grandma Birdie were around she’d be cheering you on with pom-poms. It’s not like he’s some 90-year-old you have to bathe and push around in a wheelchair. This could be fun for you. You’re not your parents, you’ve never believed in the same things they did, so live your life the way you want to and
