Chapter 25
Mila
“So how was your night out with the girls?” Lainey asks, and there’s a tone in it. I do feel bad about that night, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s fair for her to decide who I hang out with.
After my doctor’s appointment, I didn’t feel like being alone. I’m not ready to talk to anyone about it yet. I have the ultrasound picture folded up in my pocket, heavy and present.
We are at Second Chance; a thrift store we have been shopping at together since I met her.
It’s going to sound bad, but before my parents died, I had never even been to a thrift store.
My dad insisted he made enough money for us to wear clothes that someone else hadn’t worn first. My mom and I once went to a yard sale and literally had to lie about where we got the treasures we’d found.
Funny how thrifting turned out to be a rebellion.
Needless to say, after they were gone, and I was living off tips, I couldn’t afford more than second-hand stuff.
Lainey was raised in a family with five kids and two teacher incomes.
She swears up and down that thrifting is a skill.
At first, I didn’t believe her, but I found a pair of Doc Martins in my size for twelve dollars.
From then on, I learned that thrifting wasn’t just a skill but an art.
“It was good,” I say as I sift through a rack of shirts. “They’re not as bad as you think.”
“Brynn and her slut posse? I think they’re wretched! So, what, are they just awful then?”
I smile. I love my friend, but I can’t deny that I had fun. “I don’t know. Girls are girls. Once they loosen up, they’re different.”
“Different than what?” she snorts. “The bitches I’ve known for the better part of three years?
You know, one time they hid my wig from me and replaced it with a fire-truck red one?
I didn’t know what to do, so I wore it. Niko was fuming.
All the men at the bar called me Mary Jane for a week.
It took me another week to figure out it was a Spider Man reference. ”
I bite my lip, and her eyes widen. “Sorry, Lain. It’s not funny. Maybe they just don’t know how to approach you,” I say as I pull a tank top from the rack, look it over, and then put it back.
“Am I not approachable?” She asks with hurt in her voice.
“No, I just mean girls can be so–”
“I’m more approachable than Rachel. She has the warmth of a king cobra...and Amanda’s just stupid.”
“Amanda is sweet,” I tell her. She is dumb though. “She’s just a little…na?ve.”
“Why are you defending them?” she asks.
“Because I hung out with them and they weren’t that bad,” I shrug. I really don’t want this to be a big deal.
“It’s almost like…” she starts to say. She shakes her head and keeps rummaging through the racks. “Never mind.”
“Almost like what?” I ask, and Lainey bites her lip before going on.
“It’s almost like ever since you started ‘dating’ your boss, moved into his big mansion, and don’t have to work anymore, you’ve changed. And then you started hanging out with Brynn and going to the Ring and dancing with them. I don’t know. It’s like you’re one of them now.”
“Lainey,” I say, forcing her to look at me. “I’m still the same person I was,” I insist.
“Really? Because I feel like the Mila I know would have never hung out with them. She would have hung out with me and talked about how we are nothing like them,” she says. As bad as it sounds, she’s not wrong.
I frown, feeling rather terrible about it. After we pay for the couple of things we found, we get lunch at a Spanish food truck nearby. She introduced me to it when we first met, and it is a gem!
“Tell me about your life,” I insist.
“There’s not much to tell,” she says, unwrapping an empanada. “I don’t exactly have the exciting life you do.”
“What about Gavin?” I ask, taking a bite of my empanada.
“You mean Gibson?” she asks.
I nod, chewing. “Right. Sorry. I swear someday I’ll get his name right.”
“Don’t bother,” she says, and I stop chewing. “I broke that off.”
“You did?” I ask. “When?”
“Weeks ago.”
“Oh.” I deflate a little as guilt washes over me. “I had no idea.”
“You didn’t ask,” she says, making me feel even worse. Then she waves her hand. “It’s not a big deal. He was kind of a dick.”
My phone buzzes, and I open the text.
Dominic: Hello.
A smile spreads across my face. “Keep going, I’m listening,” I tell her.
Mila: Hello…
“He was just so…needy. Like he always wanted to know where I was and who I was with. That sounds controlling, right?” she asks.
Dominic: How is lunch going?
I didn’t tell him we were thrifting. If I had to guess, he’d have the same reaction as my dad used to.
“I feel like he was probably just wondering,” I say. “Nothing wrong with that.”
“I think he was stalking me,” she goes on. “One time, I swear he was parked right outside my house.”
“For a date?” I ask.
“No. Just sitting there.”
Mila: Good.
Dominic: Good. I like her better than the bitch squad.
I giggle and look up at Lainey. “Sorry. No, that is creepy for sure. Have you thought about dating apps?”
Lainey’s nose crinkles. “Ew. No. I’ve heard they’re a cess pool.”
“More of a cess pool than the Cockpit?” I ask, and she snorts.
“Like I’d ever date a man I met there,” she says, and we both laugh. Then she smiles up at me. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” I tell her, my voice cracking. I really do. Lainey is the only person I feel like I can truly be myself with. She’s seen it all. Knows it all. The good and the bad.
“We should go out,” she says. “It’s been forever since I’ve gone out.”
“Let’s do it,” I tell her, both of us getting excited.
“There’s this new speakeasy downtown. I think it’s called Ursela’s,” she says.
“Ursela’s?” I ask. “Like the sea witch?”
Lainey laughs. “It’s supposed to be a chick bar. Feminist, dark, villain inspired.”
“That sounds amazing,” I tell her. And it does. “Although I don’t think you’re going to meet any men there.”
“So we go dancing after. Club One O’ One!” she says, and I laugh.
“For sure,” I nod, and my phone buzzes again.
“Tonight!” she says. “I don’t work. After tonight, I don’t have a day off for six days! It’s bullshit, but Niko has been skull-dragging us lately.”
I look at my phone and frown. “Tonight?” I ask.
“Yes…what’s wrong with tonight?”
I glance at the text again.
Dominic: We have a dinner to attend tonight. It’s a work thing, so put your game face on. There are lots of people to impress and convince. Also, wear the green dress. It’s stunning.
Stunning.
He thinks the emerald dress is stunning.
I pull myself back into the present and look up at Lainey regretfully. “I can’t go tonight. Dom and I have a date.”
“Mila. This is the only night I can go out,” she pouts. “Can’t you go on a date any night? Or every night, for that matter?”
“It’s a work thing,” I tell her. “But soon. I promise.”
Lainey doesn’t look like she believes me. I feel bad about it, but there’s not really anything I can do.