Chapter 35 Wesley
WESLEY
Jeanie made notes over her pick as Rosie spoke about her date.
Megan and Carol were also there, so I was severely outnumbered. I all but shouted, “No,” at Jeanie’s suggestion that we hear about Rosie’s night. I sat there and listened about the meet-cute, as Jeanie called it, with him giving her a handkerchief.
Snot napkin, I had called it out loud, and Evelyn told me they weren’t taking advice from the men in the room at that point in time.
Rosie continued and told us about the banter and her calling him out for being a prick.
How the date flowed easily after that. He demanded she order the wagyu steak because she’d always wanted to but could never rationalize the cost. I rolled my eyes when we got to that point of the night.
They split desert as Rosie impressed him over her knowledge of the stock market, and I gripped my thighs so hard when Megan asked if she took him home.
Which led me to where I was now, pacing around her kitchen, seeing if I could see any signs of a visitor from the night before.
I felt my jaw drop when I considered the fact that he might still be there. I swayed with the thought and clamped on to the counter, forcing myself to listen to focus on what Rosie was saying, “Er, no. He didn’t spend the night, but…”
“But?” Megan leaned forward in her seat, giddiness radiating from her.
“We made out a bit.”
Cheers and giggles broke out around us, and I had to cling on to the counter for dear life as the ache in my chest intensified.
I’d spent the past week going over our friendship, rotating between various states of how could I have been so stupid and what the fuck were you thinking?
I had rotated between giving her space and banging on her door, demanding that she hear me out.
But I wasn’t exactly sure how to explain it all.
How I thought I had started to realize I was in love with her months earlier.
When I met Caitlin at the concert, I was super bummed that Rosie had to cancel.
It’s why we started talking in the first place.
She said it was too good a night for someone to look as sad as I did.
That I was an asshole who didn’t want to believe that I was falling for my best friend, so I rushed into a relationship with someone who matched me on paper.
That I felt myself unravel when she tried to untangle herself from my life.
She was woven into parts of my being that I didn’t even understand.
I had spent a lot of time wondering why it hadn’t felt like that before, and I didn’t have an answer—only that it felt like someone had started to carve out the most important part of me, and I unraveled in her absence.
She unraveled me before I even noticed.
“Is that all, dear?” Maggie asked, bringing her drink to her lips, like she was embarrassed to be asking, but needed to know the answer.
“Yes, tell us, was that all?” Carol asked, and I didn’t think I had taken a breath since she said they made out.
“He might have felt me up. Above the shirt, though. We were on my porch.”
“You hussy!”
More cheers, and I needed to sit down. I was sitting down, I realized, and grabbed onto the first thing I could.
“That’s a library book,” Meredith’s voice said from beside me. I didn’t even realize she had snuck into the space next to me, which I could have sworn was empty just a few seconds before.
“Huh?” I managed to say.
“The book in your hands that you’re about to tear in two. That’s a library book.”
I looked down, and it was the book she gave me last time—the feelings one. The irony was not lost on me.
“I’ll buy the library a new one.”
“Or you could apply some of the lessons in that book you’re about to ruin,” she scolded me, and pried the book from my clenched hands.
She was right. I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try.
I relaxed my hand and released the book, and Meredith started to smooth out the cover with her hands when she got full possession of it.
“Hang out with me?” I all but yelled over the gossiping of everyone.
“Not exactly what I meant,” Meredith said, just loud enough for me to hear. But I didn’t care. I was looking right at Rosie.
A ghost of a smile played on her lips. “Wes”—I shot her a look—“ley,” she added while everyone looked on in rapt attention, like we were their favorite show. “We should talk about this later.”
“Or we could talk about it now,” I offered. I wasn’t above playing dirty to get her to spend time with me.
“I agree. You could talk about it now,” Orla said, her eyes shifting between us.
“My calendar is full between work, Lionel, and the diner.”
“Not to mention you still have prior engagements for the next three Fridays,” Meredith chimed in from next to me. Traitor.
“She’s free Sundays after Orla’s,” Maggie said, as Rosie shot her a dirty look. “Oh, sorry. I was just trying to be helpful, dear.” She started cleaning up some plates around her.
“That’s Lionel’s day,” she argued.
“Let me worry about that.”
“It’s really not a good idea.”
“I can’t think of a better one,” I said, arguing and deciding it was time for me to leave. She wasn’t exactly agreeing, but I could play it in my favor.
“I forgot I have a work thing.” I started to grab my coat off the back of my chair. “Ladies, it’s been lovely, as always. Rosie, see you tomorrow,”
“I didn’t agree to that.” She tried to protest, but I was already running out the front door. “We—” was cut off as I closed the door.
Not ideal, but I’d take it.