Chapter 12
Sunday night came , and both girls were sound asleep in bed. Gabriela and Dani lounged on the couch with a glass of wine in hand, when Asia let herself in. I’d left the field trip yesterday confused. Well, confused and frustrated. So much frustration. But I’d spent the day working myself back up about the Paris situation.
“You sneaky bitch,” I said to her as she rounded the corner.
She raised her eyebrows and laughed. “What did I do?”
“You are one of his best friends. There is no way you didn’t know about Paris.”
“Oh shit, did he finally tell you?”
Gabriela busted out laughing. “No, they both showed up to chaperone my field trip. I’d met him at Meet the Teacher back in August, but I didn’t know he was the same Ben you guys always talk about. It was hilarious. I swear, I thought either Juliana’s head would explode or they would go at it in the mud. And I don’t mean fighting.”
I shot Gabriela a glare. “I invited you, so you have to side with me.”
“You invited all of us.” Dani lifted her wineglass in a toast. “And lord knows I’ve never agreed with you about Ben. That boy is fine.”
Gabriela and Asia nodded along, and I tossed up my hands in exasperation.
“Asia, why didn’t you tell me he had a daughter the same age as Sophie?”
“Why am I the only one in trouble?” she laughed. “Dani knew, too!”
“Because she,” I said, jabbing a finger in Dani’s direction, “is a little chaos demon who wouldn’t have told me anyway just for the joy of this moment.” I whirled my hands around me, and Asia laughed again.
“It’s touching how well you know me,” Dani said, taking a long sip of her wine. I threw a pillow at her and she squealed, lifting the glass above her head. “Watch it!”
I turned back to Asia. “You, on the other hand, are not a chaos demon. So why wouldn’t you tell me?”
My amusement faded, and I felt a painful squeeze in my throat. I didn’t know why this felt like a betrayal. Like there was a competition between me and Ben for her affection, and her keeping his secrets from me felt like a statement that he was more important than I was.
She shrugged, unaware of my internal spiral. “He asked me not to. At first, he thought you would think he was trying to weasel out of the asshole comments he made your first week at KMG, and then he waited too long and it got weird. I figured he’d tell you if you ever talked to him instead of just fighting all the time. And if you didn’t, it shouldn’t have mattered to you, anyway.”
She watched me closely, and whatever my face was giving away made her whole demeanor change. Her arms were wrapped around me a second later.
“You good?” she asked, too quietly for Gabriela and Dani to hear.
“No,” I said, dropping my forehead onto her shoulder with a thump. She let out a little laugh. “They’re in class together, Asia. Apparently, they’re best friends now.”
She pulled away from the hug, pushing my hair back as she fought a smile. “It is a complication. I didn’t realize they were at the same school.”
I scowled at her. “You should have told me.”
“How would you feel if I talked to Ben about your personal life?”
“You don’t?” I asked, feeling a wave of self-consciousness, and the words set off a light bulb behind her eyes.
“Juliana,” she said with the patience of a saint. “I love you both so much. You are my best friends in the world.”
“What the fuck?” Dani yelled from the couch, chucking the same pillow I’d thrown at her in Asia’s direction.
“Sisters don’t count,” Asia replied, lobbing the pillow back at her. If that pillow made it through the night without a wine stain, it would be a miracle. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m here for both of you, and you’re both equally important to me. I don’t gossip about the people I love.”
I pulled her in for another hug.
“Thank you,” I whispered to her before turning to our friends. “What’s the point of being best friends with someone if she’s not gonna gossip with you?”
Dani and Gabriela cheered, hollering for the details and drama. Asia waved her hand to quiet them down, and a weight settled in my stomach. I wouldn’t ask—I had more dignity than that—but I could admit to myself that I was, at least a little, tiny, itty-bitty bit curious about Ben’s situation. About Paris’s mother. But Asia was loyal to a fault. I’d benefited from it for the past two years, but it wasn’t working in my favor tonight.
“Until you two can sort your shit, I’m not talking about anything related to one with the other. I’m not here to be in the middle of it. I’m just here to love you both.”
She was answered by a chorus of boos, but she just laughed as she popped into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine.
Gabriela raised her hand like the good little teacher she was. “Um, isn’t it a good thing that he has a daughter? Especially since Sophie and Paris are inseparable. I put them in different groups for an in-class project last week and they cried. I don’t mean that figuratively. They literally cried. They were apart for an hour.”
“It’s not that he has a daughter. I think it’s weird he’s hidden her at work, though.”
“No,” Asia said from her spot leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen. “He hasn’t hidden her at work.”
“I thought you weren’t getting in the middle of it.” I lifted an eyebrow.
“Yeah, but babe, come on, there’s a picture of her on his desk!”
Everyone laughed at that. I tried to picture his desk, but all I saw was everything getting knocked over as he set me on top of it. My entire face flushed, and I headed for the kitchen to hide it from my friends.
“Nuh-uh, friend.” Dani grabbed my arm before I could escape, dragging me back to the group. “Nice try. Why did you turn into a tomato? Did you let him screw you on his desk?”
“There was no screwing involved.” All three women watched me, fingers clasped in their laps, clearly intent on waiting me out. “Fine. There was a kiss. And minor fondling. And the slightest bit of dry-humping.”
The room erupted in cheers and whoops. I shushed them, worried they would wake up the kids. This conversation was the last thing I wanted them to hear.
“Was he a good kisser? I imagine he has the softest lips.” Gabriela’s eyes glazed over.
“Again, engaged,” I reminded my friend.
“I’m engaged, not dead. What happens in my imagination is between me and my conscience.”
“Yes, he was a good kisser, but it won’t happen again. Even if he wasn’t hiding Paris, I still can’t get over the fact he’s a parent but still talked shit about me because of my kids.” I put a hand up to Asia before she could jump in. “Yes, I know it was two years ago, but it says something about how he views family. And it could have hurt my career at KMG if he had said it to the wrong person.”
“Fine. I can respect that.” Asia’s face was somber as she put her arm around me. “But if you feel what I think you feel for him, please consider talking to him before writing him off.”
“I don’t feel anything for him,” I whispered. All three women looked at me sadly. Gabriela was the one to break the moment of quiet.
“You are so full of shit,” she hollered, and all three burst out laughing again.