25. Friendships are precious.
25
"Friendships are precious. "
Marissa Martin
Aaron has been gone for a few days already, and I’m currently surviving on pastries, takeout, and books, which is not such a bad diet when you think about it. I’m still chatting with Art every day, although he’s not ready to meet in person yet. His breakup is still fresh, and he wants to take things slow, which works perfectly for me. He’s nice enough, and he did distract me from Aaron for a bit, but I’m definitely not ready to move forward with him. Aaron is still the only one I see every time I close my eyes, and I can’t shake the fact that he was about to kiss me the other night. That’s how you know how delusional I am. As the hours pass, I feel more and more anxious about him coming back. Part of me can’t wait to see him, but the other knows that the moment I do, I’ll be back to pining over him like a schoolgirl with a crush.
During my lunch break, I strut across the street to No Shelf Control for some TLC. Books are my happy place. A few new titles will definitely help calm my nerves.
“Hey,” Hayley calls down from where she’s perched on one of the rolling ladders. “Don’t tell me you’ve already read everything you bought? Or I’m going to be extremely jealous.”
I chuckle, grabbing Mr. Darcy for a cuddle. “Nope. I’ve read two so far, but I just wanted to be around books for a while.”
“I get it. Make yourself at home,” she says, returning to shelving books. I sit on the leather couch in the middle of the store, Mr. Darcy curled on my lap.
“You miss him, huh?” Hayley asks after a while.
“Who?” I frown, petting Mr. Darcy behind the ears.
“Aaron, of course.”
I tug on the sleeve of my coat. “No. Why would I miss him?”
Mr. Darcy fumbles in my arms and jumps off my lap.
Hayley shakes her short pink hair . “He’s your best friend and roommate. Must be hard being alone.”
I shrug. “I’m used to it. But you must miss Maxime. It’s still kind of new for you, and he’s your boyfriend.”
“Yeah. Forty-one away games per season is a lot,” she says with a chuckle.
“But we’re lucky we live in New York,” I say. “With another team here and one in New Jersey, some of those games are pretty much home games.”
“That’s true. But it’s going to be weird staying in his apartment alone. Well, soon to be ours.”
“So, you’re moving out, then?” She’s been talking about it for a few weeks.
Her brown eyes sparkle. “Yes, we finally decided.”
“They’re both leaving me,” Alice laments, coming from the back room, her arms full of books. “ C’est si triste.”
“Oh, come on,” Hayley says, giving her a pointed look. “We’re not leaving you. We’ll still work here every single day. We love this place, and we love you. You’re our best friend. Plus, we’ll have girls’ nights and even some girls’ trips.”
“I’m just kidding,” Alice says, flashing a bright grin. “I love teasing them,” she says to me. “Every time I mention them abandoning me, they come up with new compliments and ideas for us to hang out. Last t ime, it was the girls’ night out, and now I just scored a girls’ trip.”
Hayley’s jaw drops. “You little manipulating—”
“Bundle of joy?” Alice quirks an eyebrow, and we all laugh.
“No, but seriously,” she says. “I’m happy for you two moving in with your men. I know it won’t change anything between us.”
“So, no plans to move in with Deacon?” I ask.
“Not yet,” she says with a smile. “But with him being next door, it’s less of a problem for us. I spend a lot of time at his place already. We talked about connecting our apartments again, but probably not for a while.”
“Again?” I ask.
“Didn’t you know? The bookstore, the bar, and the upstairs unit were originally one building before they separated it. Deacon’s bedroom and mine actually only share an indoor wall, so it shouldn’t be too hard to reconnect.”
“Well, that’s pretty cool. If you need a roommate in the meantime, I’m available.”
“What do you mean?” She frowns. “Don’t you already have a roommate?”
My entire body warms. “Um, I do, but it’d be nice to live with another girl, you know? Plus, I haven’t really been on my own yet.”
“It wouldn’t change that fact , though. You’d still have a roommate,” Hayley says, arching an eyebrow.
I press my lips together, the warmth spreading to my face. “I know, but it’s not the same. Aaron and I have been friends forever; he’s practically family. In a way, it’s like I’m living with my brother, you know?”
I almost snort out loud at my own excuse. Because there’s nothing sisterly about my feelings for him.
Alice’s forehead wrinkles. “It kind of makes sense, I guess. If you’re really serious about it, we can talk about it, for sure. It’d be nice to have you around.”
“Thank you,” I breathe out, glad my reasons for moving out are not up for discussion anymore.
“So, have you found your match on that dating app yet? Beth told us you were putting yourself out there. How’s it going?”
My lips pull into a smile. “Not bad, actually.”
“Ohh!” Alice exclaims.
“Don’t get me wrong,” I say, grabbing my phone from my pocket. “It was a mess at first, with a bunch of pervs and weirdos, but then I met this guy who’s actually really nice.”
“Show us!” Alice squeals, taking a step forward.
I chuckle and find the app on my phone. “His name is Art—yes, it’s his real name. He’s twenty-nine and he lives near Prospect Park. He works as a jo urnalist and is recently single.”
I show them his profile picture, and Alice nods eagerly. “Very cute.”
“Hold on,” Hayley says. “Can I see that again?”
I draw my eyebrows together, handing her my phone, and she pinches the screen with her fingers to zoom in.
I wrap an arm around my chest. “What’s wrong?”
She raises a finger, telling us to wait a second, then walks to the register to grab her phone. She stares at the screen for what seems like an eternity. Finally, her face breaks into a grimace. “I knew I’d seen that picture somewhere before. I used it for a moodboard post on Instagram.”
“Uh-oh,” Alice mumbles.
Hayley extends her arm, showing us Art’s photo with a myriad of others representing the vibe of a book she was recommending.
I blink, confused. “What does that mean? Did you use his photo?”
She winces. “I think he used a photo he found online.”
“Oh no,” I groan.
She types on her phone until she finds the original picture—an ad for a brand of skateboard.
My arms fall, and I trudge to the armchair, collapsing into it. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I’m sorry,” Hayley says, s huffling toward me. “I’m so sorry.”
I sit in silence for a second, my eyes closed. Finally, I open them. “It’s not your fault. Thanks for telling me.” I scoff, shaking my head. “Of course I’d score the creepiest, weirdest guy out there. He’s probably some kind of deranged psycho who enjoys catfishing girls.”
“This sucks,” Alice says. “People like him are why dating has become so complicated. I’m sorry.”
“Well, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” I say, grabbing my phone. As I fervently type my message, I don’t go easy on him, telling him I figured out he was catfishing me and that he should be ashamed of himself, that it’s disgusting, and that I hope no other girl falls for his schemes. I’ll also make sure to report him later.
“Feel better?” Hayley asks, smiling warmly.
“A little,” I say with a chuckle. “But also kind of desperate. How will I ever find someone? It seems impossible in this day and age.”
“I know how you feel, but I’m sure you’ll find your match too. Trust me, none of us thought we would.”
“Um, excuse moi . I knew my one true love was out there.”
Hayley rolls her eyes. “That’s true. Alice was the only one who was still giving real men a chance.”
“I mean, tropes are a lot bette r when experienced in real life,” Alice says, her eyes gleaming. “Just give it time. We all found love when we least expected it.”
“Oh, speaking of tropes,” Hayley says, picking up her phone. “Let’s look at the survey.”
I quirk an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued. Or maybe it’s just the prospect of changing the subject. “Survey?”
“We asked our followers on Bookstagram what they thought were the most unrealistic and the most realistic tropes.”
“Oh, fun.”
“No surprise, fake dating and marriage of convenience, while fan favorites, are ranked first in the unrealistic list. And so far topping the realistic list is friends to lovers.”
“Interesting,” Alice says, twirling the ends of her brown hair.
“I guess it makes sense,” Hayley says. “The couple would already know each other well, and it’s a lot easier to develop feelings for someone you already love as a friend.”
I swallow hard. Maybe. But that doesn’t make it any less impossible.
“What do you think, Marissa?”
I gasp, startled to hear my name. “Um, I don’t know. I guess it’s realistic to fall in love with your friend. But the HEA? Not so much. Not many people wo uld risk their friendship and admit their love to the other in real life.”
“I guess.” Alice nods. “Friendships are precious.”
Way too precious to throw away because of some old, lingering feelings. My screen lights up, and I glance at my phone.
It’s a new DM. At first, I think it might be Art trying to justify himself, but it’s from the app support.
“We’re sorry to inform you that your account has been suspended after being reported by another user. The reason invoked is Harassment. If you wish to appeal this decision, you can do so by clicking here in the next forty-eight (48) hours. After that time, your account will be suspended for an initial period of thirty (30) days.”
“This is unbelievable!” I let out, dropping my phone on the counter.
“What’s going on?” Alice asks, grabbing Mr. Darcy for a cuddle.
“The online dating app just suspended me.”
“What!”
Hayley’s jaw drops. “What did you do?”
“Wild guess, but I think it was having the audacity to tell Mr. Catfish that I was onto him.”
“No way! That’s so unfair,” Alice grumbles, hugging Mr. Darcy tight.
I breathe out a low chuckle. “H onestly, it doesn’t really surprise me. Of course I’m the one being punished because I gave that guy a piece of my mind when he’s the real problem.” It was like that at the club. Looks like online dating is no different.
Maybe the girls are right, and I will find love one day. But I think I’m done looking for it for a while.