“I think it’s time I wore my sexcretary cap again,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Oh yeah? Are you going to take his memo?” We both snorted and got looks from the people around us who apparently wanted it quiet while they had brunch. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at everyone.
“As long as he gives me a memo in return,” she said. I loved it when we made dirty office jokes.
We kept that going for a while then ended up going back to her place and having a John Hughes movie marathon with some cookies I’d baked the other day.
“I miss this. We need to do more stuff like this,” Rory said as she pulled her feet up under her blanket.
“We do. I miss having you around.” I was getting better at, you know, respecting her privacy. I used to just let myself in. But now I knocked and waited for someone to open the door. Still had my key though. For emergencies.
“Maybe we should buy adjoining apartments,” I suggested. “Then I wouldn’t even need a key.”
“Yeah, that would be great,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Hey, if we bought a building then we could move Chloe and Marisol in and then it would be like a sleepover every night,” I said. How fun would that be?
“Um, yeah. Sleepovers when you’re in your mid-twenties are totally normal.”
“Hey, we have sleepovers all the time,” I said.
“Those times when we get too drunk to go home and pass out on each other’s couches don’t count.” They so counted. Anything that involved a group of people spending the night at another person’s house and there was sleeping involved counted as a sleepover. I started to argue my point and Rory argued back, and pretty soon we were throwing cookies at each other.
“Whoa, don’t waste perfectly good food,” Lucah said as he came in. Rory hopped off the couch to give him a kiss. They always acted like they hadn’t seen each other in years when they reunited. It was kind of sweet, actually.
“We didn’t waste them,” Rory said, picking up one of the cookies that had fallen onto the blanket and munching on it. “See?”
I definitely wasn’t going to eat the ones on the floor, but the cookies that were lost on the blankets were fair game.
“Still.” He grabbed another cookie and ate it. “What have you lovely ladies been up to today?”
“Brunch and then back here. You up for a John Hughes marathon? We’re starting The Breakfast Club in a few minutes.” We’d just finished Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and were taking a break before starting the next movie.
“Um, I think I’ll pass for now. If I play for a while will that bother you?” Lucah had gotten all the musical talent Ryder supposedly lacked and could play a mean acoustic guitar, which he often exhibited during open mic nights.
“Not at all. Sloane?” Rory asked.
“Nope. Play away.” He usually kept the door nearly all the way closed, but open enough so Rory could hear. We might as well not even bother with the movie. She was going to be too busy listening to him the whole time with a dreamy look on her face.
Lucah headed to the small room off the kitchen where he kept his guitar. He started out with strumming a few chords then played a few of his favorites, including a slow acoustic version of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” It sounded lame but was impressive when you really listened.
Rory sighed in contentment. “I really love him,” she said.
“I know.” It was crazy obvious to anyone with eyeballs.
“I can’t imagine my life without him. I don’t want to.” Well, they were almost engaged now, so she wouldn’t have to.
“It’s scary though. Loving someone that much.”
I could imagine.
“I bet.”
“I mean, what if he decides he doesn’t want to be with me anymore?” She lowered her voice so that even if Lucah was trying to overhear us, he couldn’t above the sound of his guitar.
“He would never. He’s so in love with you, Rory.”
“I know, I know. But still. I wonder how I’d be able to pick up the pieces.”