Dirty Game

“And I love your hair.” She was always the cute petite one. We were yin and yang. And it worked for us.

“Thanks. I thought short summer cut for the summer. You know?”

I led her inside. “Thanks for offering to help me out. I’m so overwhelmed and I have to leave in two days.”

“Two days?” She seemed surprised.

“You sound like Blake.”

“Blake?” Her mouth fell open.

“Shit,” I whispered. I wasn’t going to talk about him.

“You and Blake?”

I sat at the kitchen table. I nodded. “Sort of. Yes.”

“Ok. So I know we haven’t talked in eight years. But you have to tell me what’s going on.”

I laughed. I realized it didn’t matter how many years had passed. We were Emily and Sierra. Best friends for life.

“We ran into each other and one thing led to another and we’ve been seeing each other.” I left out a majority of the story. My eyes went to hers. “And I told him the truth, Emily. I told him I was pregnant.”

“Oh. Wow. How did he take it?”

“Ehh. I think ok. We haven’t really talked about it much. The baby that is. I think he needed the truth. He deserved the truth. But it hurt him about his dad.” I lowered my eyes. “And now I’ve screwed everything up again by not agreeing to move to Florida with him.”

“What? He wants you to move to Florida?”

“Yeah. Don’t you think that’s a little fast? I mean we just reconnected. And it?

?s heavy. Right? Our past is heavy.”

She leaned in toward me and I realized how good it felt to unburden myself to someone. Especially someone who knew who I used to be. Someone who knew Blake before he was an iconic playboy.

“First of all … how did you say no? Second of all …he is sexy as hell. How did you say no?”

“Because.”

“Not really an answer. He is basically the hottest guy on the planet. A guy who used to be very much in love with you. And he wants you to move in with him?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“And it’s too fast, why?”

“I have a career. I have a life in Dallas. I have people.” Although I couldn’t think of any of them at the moment.

“Right. And you’re going to tell me for the past eight years you haven’t thought about Blake Wyatt?”

I shook my head. “Every day.”

“Then go with him.”

“I wish it was that easy.”

“Maybe it is, girl.”

I looked at my friend. From her view it was simple. But from where I was sitting, it was anything but. Life with Blake couldn’t be more complicated.