Ten #2
Lily Park is ruthless. She’s fiercely protective over Tashia and as catty as they come. Tashia and Lily met in their chemistry lab freshman year and, until this moment, I completely spaced on the fact that Lily is doing an Astrophysics master’s program here.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Stacy hisses.
“What do you mean? This is just my face,” I whisper back as Lily gets closer.
“You look horrified, Reece.”
“Just play along,” I beg, glancing down at Stacy.
“Play along? She doesn’t know me.”
“Yes but I told my whole family that I’m bringing my new girlfriend to the party and Lily will be there. She’s the maid of honor. I need you to be girlfriend Stacy,” I plead.
“Right now?” Her voice goes up a touch, her eyebrows at her hairline as Lily closes in on us.
“Shhh, hold my hand, hold my hand.” I grab Stacy’s hand without waiting for her response and raise my voice to a normal level to say, “Lily! What are you doing here?”
Lily reaches us with a sly smile on her lips before pulling me in for the world’s most awkward side hug. “Just getting a coffee fix before my evening class. Grad school isn’t for the weak. How have you been?” She steps back, a sympathetic expression touching her face but I know better.
Lily never thought I was good enough for Tashia. No one’s good enough for Tashia in her eyes. Honestly, godspeed to my brother when it comes to dealing with Lily Park.
“I’ve been good!” I say a bit too enthusiastically. “Real good. Classes are good, cheer is good. It’s all good.” Holy shit. I’ve never said the word “good” so many times in one breath.
Lily’s lips tick up slightly, the fake empathy replaced with the smug smile she wears so well. “Well. Good .”
The three of us stand in what can only be categorized as the most awkward silence ever before Stacy squeezes my hand and clears her throat. “Want to introduce me, honey bear?”
“Right! Right.” I turn to Stace. Honey bear? “Stacy, this is Lily. Lily is an old friend. Lily, this is my gorgeous and wonderful girlfriend, Stacy Dunn.”
Okay, Reece, tone it down.
Stacy sticks out her hand that’s not clasped around mine to shake Lily’s.
The women are sizing each other up, this much I know.
Lily looks Stacy up and down, taking in every inch of her face and body, memorizing all of her details.
I know it’s just so she can call her best friend the second she leaves this cafe, divulge all the information she has about my “gorgeous and wonderful” new girlfriend.
She’s vindictive and I just know in my soul that she’ll make off-handed comments to Tashia about how “Reece’s new girlfriend isn’t even that pretty. ”
It bothers me. It makes me nauseous, like I’m sending Stacy into the lion’s den by bringing her around Tashia and Lily. Suddenly, I want to protect her.
But Stacy can hold her own. It’s incredibly apparent by the brilliant smile she plasters on her face while she finishes shaking hands with Lily. “ So nice to meet you. Old friend?”
Lily nods, her eyes sliding over to me. “Reece used to date my best friend, Tashia.”
Stacy snaps her fingers. “That’s right. The one marrying Evan, right? I think Reece mentioned her in passing one time.”
I have to hide my laugh by coughing into my elbow. The way Stacy just single-handedly undermined my relationship with Tashia to her best friend makes me want to kiss her right on the mouth.
I mean, I want to do that anyway, but this certainly isn’t helping.
Lily stares at Stacy with her mouth slightly ajar like she can’t believe we’ve spoken so casually about Tashia in the past. “That’s right.
” She composes herself, a terse smile spreading across her lips.
“Reece, Evan mentioned you were dating somebody. So, can I expect to see you both at the engagement party Saturday?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Stacy answers before I can, cuddling up against my side.
“Wonderful.” Lily’s smile widens. “I know everyone will be so excited to meet you, Stacy. And Reece, I’m glad you’re coming. Tashia and I have a bet going, and it looks like I’m getting my twenty bucks after all.”
Stacy tenses beside me and I grind my molars together to keep my smile in place.
It’s a low blow, whether or not Tashia and Lily are actually betting on me and my distress.
But it’s just that — a low blow. Something to make me feel bad about myself, and I won’t allow that to happen.
Tashia did enough to make me feel worthless a year ago and I won’t let her reduce me to that again.
“Well, I personally can’t wait,” Stacy speaks for me when I’m still too stunned to do so.
“I just hope we make it on time. Saturday’s are hard for us.
We’ve been spending so much of our weekends recently in bed and sometimes we lose track of time, if you know what I mean.
” She winks at Lily and I almost fall to my knees in the middle of this coffee shop.
Lily looks beside herself, frazzled for only a few seconds before she recovers.
“Yeah. I hear that,” she chuckles, but it’s tight.
“Anyway. Yay! I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other with all of the wedding festivities.
And football parties!” She turns to me. “Me and Troy are back together,” she explains.
“Ah,” I say back, completely disinterested in her on-again-off-again relationship with the Wing Haven linebacker, Troy Holmes.
Lily pulls out her phone to check the time right as the barista at the counter calls her name. “I’ve got to head to class. I’ll see you both Saturday.” She waves goodbye to us both before grabbing her to-go coffee from the counter and heading out the door.
Stacy and I stare after her, both seemingly stunned by the interaction before Stacy speaks. “What a hateful bitch.”
A shocked laugh sputters out of me at Stacy’s words.
“I usually don’t like to call women bitches, but you’ve hit the nail on the head.
” I glance down at Stacy, rolling my lips together as we move up in the line.
“I hate to say it but I think we might have to pretend around campus more than we originally thought.”
Stacy’s head whips up to look at me, her eyes wide. “What? No! We agreed on a few weekends and wedding events, Reece. I can’t be your girlfriend all the time. That’s insane.”
I shrug. “Alright. Have fun at lunch with your parents without me then.”
“Argh,” Stacy grunts, putting her hands on her hips with a scowl on her face. “Are you serious?”
“You get what you give, Stace.”
She huffs again. “You’re the worst, has anyone ever told you that?”
“Only you,” I say with a smirk.
She just shakes her head as we move up another spot in line.
I watch her as she reads over the menu again and I feel my heart swell slightly.
Despite Stacy’s cold exterior, she had my back just now.
She defended me whether or not she even realizes it, and having her in my corner regardless of how she got there is enough.
“Hey.” I bump my shoulder to hers. “Thank you for that. With Lily.”
We walk up to the counter and Stacy waves me off. “Only because my family won’t stop asking about you, Taylor.”
I grin as Stacy begins to order. Maybe it is just because of our families and that’s fine by me.
At her family dinner, I spoke for Stacy when words seemed to escape her.
Today, she did the same thing for me. Maybe our stunts aren’t sticking quite right, maybe our bodies aren’t in tune with one another just yet.
But as much as she might hate it, Stacy and I are on the same wavelength.