CHAPTER 13
“Do you want to drive with us?” Arlowe asked Sarai.
“We’re not already driving together? There’s only four of us.”
“I was just checking if maybe you and Gabi wanted to drive separately so that you can leave earlier or something.”
“Gabi and me?”
“You weren’t exactly excited about going tonight, and I got the impression that Gabi was tagging along.”
Sarai slipped on her shoes, stood up from the sofa, and said, “We’ve had, like, five parties in nine years, but now that Vi lives somewhere else, we’re having one or two a week. It’s excessive. And Gabi isn’t tagging along. She was invited.”
“Enya and I are leaving.” Arlowe turned to the hallway. “As soon as she gets her ass out here!” she yelled. “So, if you want to drive with us, you should grab Gabi and get out to the car. This offer expires in three minutes.”
“The environment be damned? We’re driving two cars to the same place that’s, like, twenty minutes away.”
“Yes, that’s what’s happening unless you grab Gabi and get outside now. Enya, we’re leaving! They’re going to have the fancy food platters. You know how Vi is. I want that roast beef that costs more than my arm per pound, and I don’t want them to run out before I get there.”
“We’re leaving already?” Enya asked.
“Already? You’re late.”
“Oh,” Enya said. “Well, I’m here now.”
“Enya, shoes,” Sarai noted, pointing down at her bare feet. “I’m going to check on Gabi. You two just go.”
She walked down the hall and knocked on Gabi’s closed door. A second later, it opened, and Gabi stood there in an adorable red-and-white sundress with a thin white belt around her waist and white flats with gold buckles.
“Oh,” Sarai said.
“Oh, what?” Gabi asked, taking her in. “I wasn’t supposed to dress up, was I?”
“Huh?”
“You’re in jeans and a sweater. She said it was a come-as-you-are thing, but I thought it was Violet, so she probably expects people to come in business suits, and I–”
“How do you know her so well already?” Sarai asked, laughing.
“She was wearing black slacks and a silk blouse to run errands this morning, so…”
Sarai laughed again and said, “You look nice. You’re not too dressed up. I just don’t care that much, so I went with a comfy crew neck. Should I change?”
“No, you look great,” Gabi said with a smile, and Sarai was only somewhat embarrassed by the blush that crept up her neck at that compliment.
“We’re leaving!” Arlowe yelled from the living room.
“Oh. Sorry, we’re late. I just need to grab my–”
“Don’t worry. They’re driving separately because Arlowe wants to steal the fancy food from Violet before anyone else does.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Take your time. I will be in the living room when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready. I just need to grab my purse.”
Sarai heard the front door open and close.
She didn’t want to drive with Enya and Arlowe.
Arlowe had been right about that. Arlowe liked to stay longer at parties.
Enya usually liked to leave early, but because she could just go outside or into another room and do something on her phone, she was typically fine waiting until everyone else wanted to leave.
Sarai didn’t want to stay long. She was only going there because Violet would’ve been pissed if she hadn’t, but she’d had an eventful week, with all the parties, going out the previous night with Gabi, and well, Gabi herself moving in, on top of work, so she would much rather have grabbed a bowl of ice cream, eaten it in bed, and fallen asleep early.
Her attitude on the party had changed, though, the moment Gabi had opened her bedroom door looking how she did in that dress.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Gabi said, walking out of her room. “And, hey, if you want to stay longer, I’ll take an Uber back or something. I don’t know how long I’ll want to be there. I have to work tomorrow, and it’s only my third week there, so I don’t want to piss off my new boss just yet.”
“Yeah, save that for a real party, not one of Violet’s,” she joked.
Gabi chuckled and asked, “Is it going to be boring?”
“I don’t know,” she said as they walked into the living room and headed toward the front door. “Stella has been a pretty good influence on her, so Vi has been taking things a little less seriously instead of having a stick up her ass all the time.”
“So, it’s only up there some of the time?”
“Yes, exactly.” She laughed and pulled open the door.
“It might be fun. I don’t know who else is going to be there.
I imagine Jen and her girlfriend, Haley.
I’ve met Jen a few times, but Haley only once.
They both seem fine, but Stella has probably invited more people I don’t know, so we’ll have to see. ”
“Can we work out a code word?” Gabi asked.
“A code word?”
Sarai locked the door and turned around to see Gabi walking toward her car.
“If one of us wants to go home, we say the word, and the other one can make up some excuse so that we can leave. If it’s really lame, we can grab burritos and bring them back, watch something, and just chill.”
“Burritos?”
“The place we got tacos from the other night was really good. I want to try their burritos, and I’m guessing Violet and Stella will not be serving those.”
Sarai laughed and unlocked her car with her key fob.
“I don’t even think I’ve ever seen Violet eat a burrito. Whenever we’ve gotten tacos, she always gets a soft taco and tries to roll it like a burrito and then eats it with a fork so it’s not as messy. She was very rich before we started our company. Please forgive her.”
Gabi got into the car, and Sarai got behind the wheel.
“No forgiveness necessary. And I’m thinking burritos.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“No, I meant as the code word. I can say that I had a great burrito the other day or something, and that’s me telling you that I’m ready to leave.”
Sarai laughed and pulled them out of the driveway.
“And if I say it, we go, too?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Deal.”
They talked more as they drove, mainly about the music choices on Sarai’s playlists, and when they arrived at Violet and Stella’s house, the trip felt like it took no time at all.
“Hey, about time,” Arlowe said as they walked through the unlocked door.
“We left, like, thirty seconds after you,” Gabi told her.
“And they’re almost out of roast beef sandwiches. You should grab one before they go.”
“I don’t like roast beef,” Gabi replied.
“They have other stuff, too,” Enya added. “Vi’s in the kitchen. Stella is in the backyard. She’s actually grilling stuff.”
“They went all out, huh?” Sarai asked, nodding to the table they’d set up in the living room with just about every kind of alcohol and mixer on it.
“There’s beer in the fridge, too. It’s like a real grown-up party.”
“Arlowe, what are you talking about? We did the same thing for that football game.”
“We don’t have a grill,” Arlowe argued. “She’s making burgers and veggie burgers, Sarai.”
“Oh, that’s how you define a grown-up party? Not one being hosted by grown-ups?”
“Shut up and go eat something,” Arlowe replied before she bit into a roast beef sandwich in her hand and walked off to join the party, which was only about ten people in the living room.
“Want something to drink?” Sarai asked.
“Not really. Well, water maybe,” Gabi said.
“Food?” Sarai asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
They headed into the kitchen, where they found a very nice spread because Violet, as usual, had thought of pretty much everything. They filled their plates, grabbed bottles of water, and went out back when they didn’t find Violet in the kitchen after all.
“Hey, you made it,” Violet said when they got outside.
“I was obligatory, remember?”
“I meant Gabi,” Violet replied. “You got food. Did you not get anything to drink?”
Sarai held up her bottle of water.
“That’s all you want?”
“For now.”
“Okay. Well, Stella is making burgers and stuff if you’d rather have that. I marinated some chicken earlier, and that’s going on the grill next.”
“How much food did you two make or buy for this thing?” Sarai asked.
“A lot,” Stella said as she walked over. “Haley’s on the grill right now, so I can mingle.” She wrapped an arm around Violet’s waist and pulled her against herself. “We invited, like, twenty people, but we bought enough food for fifty.”
“I hate parties where they run out of food,” Violet said.
“You have never been to a party where they ran out of food,” Sarai said with a laugh. “Hey, Stella.”
“Hey, did you two–”
“We got food, yeah.” Gabi held up her plate. “We’re going to go sit down at that table over there and eat it.”
“Did you rent tables for this, Vi?” Sarai asked.
“Yes, we didn’t have enough seating.”
“We could’ve brought you stuff or–”
“Okay… Violet has that cute little vein in her forehead,” Stella said, pressing her finger to Violet’s forehead. “So, you two should go eat something before it pops.”
Sarai laughed. Then, she looked down because Gabi’s hand was on her forearm.
“On it,” Gabi replied. “Let’s go, Sarai.”
Sarai walked with her over to one of the tables that Violet had, apparently, rented and laid white tablecloths over. She sat down next to Gabi and tried to decide where to start on her food.
“Hey, Sarai,” Jen said when she sat down across from them. “Have you seen my girlfriend?”
“Stella put her to work,” she replied and nodded to the grill.
“Oh. I’ll never see her again, then.”
“She likes to cook?” Sarai asked.
“She loves to grill. It’s a weird thing, but she’s an extravert who loves to cook, so the grill is perfect for her: people come to her, and she can talk to them while she cooks.”
“Everyone’s got their thing, I guess.” Sarai chuckled.
“Are you going to introduce me?” Jen asked.
“Shit. Sorry. Yeah. Gabi, this is Jen, Stella’s best friend. Jen, this is Gabi.”
“Stella didn’t tell me you were dating anyone.”
“Oh, we’re not. I mean, we’re not dating. I… Gabi’s my roommate. She’s our roommate, I mean. When Violet moved out, we had the extra room, so she… took it.”
“Oh. I thought Arlowe took Violet’s room. She was just bragging to me about it a minute ago.”
“She did. But her room was empty then, and Gabi…”
“Took it?” Gabi asked.
Sarai looked over at her, and Gabi’s expression was not a happy one.
“So, you replied to an ad or something?” Jen asked.
“I knew Sarai a while ago. Well, not really knew her. We hung out once, and I saw her again at a bar recently. I needed a place to live. They had a room. So, she got a new roommate.”
Sarai sensed that she had messed up. No, she knew that she had.
Gabi wasn’t exactly being subtle. At minimum, they were friends, and Sarai should have called Gabi that, but she couldn’t help but think that maybe there had been something else there, too.
The way Gabi was looking off at the rest of the people in the backyard and not at her or even at Jen, though, confirmed that she was pretty pissed off about being called just Sarai’s roommate.
“That’s cool. It’s always nice, having someone to share the rent with. I love Haley, but I won’t lie to you, splitting the rent is another big reason to move in together. It gives us a chance to save more for a wedding.”
“You’re engaged?” Sarai asked.
“No, not yet, but that’s the plan. We’re typical lesbians.
We have been talking about getting married since our fourth date.
” Jen laughed. “We’re taking our time to get there, but we know what we want, so we’re already saving.
I’m, personally, hoping that our parents chip in so that we can take some of that money we save and use it on a kick-ass honeymoon. ”
“Isn’t that what your wedding gift registry is for?” Gabi asked, rejoining the conversation.
“Yeah, but I’d really love two weeks away in a private villa on a private beach, where Haley and I could be naked, rent a boat for sunset cruises, eat the expensive seafood, and have butler service. I know it’s a pipe dream, but you haven’t seen my girlfriend naked. It’s worth it.”
“Babe, why are you talking about me naked?”
Haley walked over to the table and sat down next to Jen.
“Because I love when you’re naked.”
“You two know her, right? I don’t have to explain why she’s like this?” Haley teased.
Sarai laughed and said, “I know her, but Gabi just met her. Haley, this is Gabi. Gabi, this is–”
“Jen’s girlfriend, Haley. Yeah, I got it,” Gabi stated, and yes, Sarai had definitely messed up.
“And Gabi is…” Haley said, looking between the two of them expectantly.
“The new roommate,” Jen replied right when Sarai had opened her mouth, preparing to remedy her mess from earlier, but missing her shot.
“Oh, you’re living with Enya, Arlowe, and Sarai now?”
“Yes, I am. Just moved in yesterday,” Gabi said.
“That’s cool,” Haley replied. “Now, back to me being naked…”
“Yes, please,” Jen agreed, making Haley laugh.
“I’m going to get something to drink,” Gabi told Sarai.
“Okay. I’ll go with you.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll… be back.”
Sarai wasn’t so sure of that, though, because Gabi picked up her plate before she walked off.
“What did you do?” Jen asked Sarai.
“What? Nothing.”
“Sarai, I saw that woman’s face when you said that she was your roommate.”
“She is my roommate.”
“Sure, she is,” Jen replied with lifted and very much accusing eyebrows.
“We knew each other in Amsterdam, okay?”
“Where Stella met Violet originally?” Haley asked.
“Yes. But it was only a weekend.”
“You had a fling with her?” Jen asked.
“No, we were friends, sort of. Well, not even that, really. Anyway, I ran into her at the bar, and now, she lives with us, and it’s a little weird, okay?”
“Why is it weird?” Haley asked.
“Because she’s…” Sarai looked around and found Gabi talking to Enya now, over by Stella and Violet, who were at the grill. “She’s just…”
“Oh, I get it,” Jen said.
“Can you let it go?” she requested when she turned her head back. “Please?”
Jen nodded and said, “Of course. Can I say good luck?”
“I guess.”
“Good luck.”