“Ugh,” I said, plopping down on her couch and dropping my shoes on the floor. “Hell, that is where I’ve been. Straight hell.”
“Let me start some coffee,” she said, almost too excited.
When she came back with two cups of coffee and handed me one I took it from her and breathed in the aroma. I closed my hands around the hot cup and wished I was home, sleeping happily in my own bed. Instead, I was at my best friends, about to reveal all my dirty little secrets.
“Okay,” she said sitting down. “Spill it.”
“I was at Tanner’s last night and ended up staying the night,” I said.
“What? Wait, you’re sleeping with him?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But the bigger problem was that my father showed up at the door this morning before I was even awake. He had come to talk to Tanner.”
“About what?”
“Apparently, my mother cheated on him with the pool boy,” I said shaking my head.
“Miguel?” She scrunched her nose, and I laughed.
“No,” I chuckled. “Miguel was like eighty. I’m assuming it’s the new guy I saw last time I went over. Regardless, my mom is a whore, and I was stuck in Tanner’s apartment sneaking out like you used to at your boyfriend’s in high school.”
“Wow,” she said, shaking her head. “As the world, fucking turns.”
“Tell me about it,” I sighed, leaning back.
I really wanted a pair of pajamas, a pint of ice cream, a fifth of vodka, and some really cheesy chick flicks. I knew, however, that it was not a good idea to go breaking down into full girl mode. I had to get my shit together.
“I don’t know what to do,” I said. “I can’t be with Tanner now. It’s too weird.”
I looked up at her face, which was riddled in confusion. I forgot that I hadn’t talked to her about anything that was going on, keeping everything very close to my chest to keep my father from finding out. Between work and Tanner, I hadn’t really had the time to even call Brianna, much less fill her in on all the craziness that was now my life. I didn’t feel like explaining myself, nor did I have the luxury of giving in to my feelings for Tanner. I had let my guard down the night before, thinking that life was finally going to let me have a break, but I had been setting myself up for another dramatic event. I should have listened to myself and stayed home from our date. I should have just put on some pj’s, told Tanner I was sorry that we couldn’t do this, and stayed at home. Instead, I decided to be a flirty young girl and give in to something I wasn’t even sure Tanner felt the same way about. Sure, he had me spend the night, but that was hardly an open invitation to a relationship. A relationship I didn’t even know if I wanted in the first place.
“What do you mean with him?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Sexually, I guess. I don’t think I can be with him sexually anymore.”
“You have feelings for this guy,” she said with a gasp. “Like real ‘let’s have a relationship’ feelings.”
“No,” I said sternly. “It was lust, not love. We had been attracted to each other since day one, and it was intense. I won’t lie about that, but in the end, that’s all it was.”
“You are lying to me or yourself or someone.” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t be so upset if it weren’t true.”
“I’m upset because of everything,” I said defensively. “Tanner isn’t the kind of guy who falls in love. I don’t have time for a fling, no matter what my feelings are. The reality of it is, I slept with him, I got involved in something I shouldn’t have, and now I am in deep shit. My father is there with him, getting drunk because my mother is a crazy whore, apparently, and I’m here after sneaking out of his apartment like a hooker.”
“At least he got you out.” She laughed. “You could be spending your weekend in the closet, having meals brought to you.”
“True,” I said, trying not to laugh.
“Look, you need to relax,” she said looking at me. “You need to take a deep breath and just take the rest of the weekend to think about everything. Right now, your feelings are really raw.”
“You’re right,” I sighed.
“And to do that, we are going to do some serious drinking,” she said slapping her hands on her legs. “Come on. You can wear some of my clothes.”
I smiled, realizing that Brianna was right, I needed to just have a normal twenty-five-year-old weekend where I started the day with a glass of mimosa and ended it passed out on the bed. Brianna and I hadn’t spent much time together lately, and it would be just as good for me to spend time with her this weekend as it would be for her. I followed her into the bedroom and changed my clothes, listening to her change the subject and start to get super excited for the day she was dreaming up in her head.
After I was dressed, we hit the town, starting with brunch where we ate, drank mimosas, laughed, and started our weekend dive into total annihilation mode. After that, we did some shopping but not without Brianna’s signature move of a water bottle filled with whiskey and diet coke like we were teenagers sneaking alcohol. After brunch, I was already fe
eling good, and I let loose, allowing myself to really enjoy the day with laughter, jokes, and all the things I loved about being best friends with Brianna. We went from bar to bar through the city, having a drink, taking a shot, and then moving on to the next spot like we didn’t have a care in the world.