“This house would be perfect for you,” she says. “I love you. And Josh. It’s great that you guys are such close friends. But you both need some kind of kick in the ass. You’re using each other as a crutch to avoid getting involved with other people. You guys have taken friends with benefits to a bizarre extreme.”
“I don’t know about that….” I say, even though I know she’s right.
“It’s true. And I’m not sure it’s good for Lyric now that she’s getting older. She pretty much views Josh as her father.”
I shake my head and break my sugar cookie into four pieces, dipping one piece into my latte. “No, she doesn’t. She knows Josh isn’t her dad. He’s like an uncle to her.”
“She thinks you two are basically married. She doesn’t understand. I think it’s going to give her a warped idea about relationships.”
I think about that for a moment, and I can understand why Ditra is concerned. I would never want Lyric to be negatively affected by anything I do.
“You’re thirty, Piper. Even though you still look twenty, but I’ll bitch about that later. But as your best friend, I want you to have more in your life. You should be dating. You should be getting over Blue and not living in la-la land with Josh. And Josh is another story. I think he’s afraid to commit because he doesn’t know if he prefers dick or pussy and he’s afraid he’s going to choose the wrong one.”
“Ditra! That’s horrible.” She’s right though. I know it and Josh knows it. Everyone knows it.
“I’m being honest.”
“I know.”
“I just really want to see you happy and I feel like you’re letting so much of your life slip away because you’re not letting yourself move on. You’ve been using Josh as a safety net for too long. As you well know, I dated a lot of guys and I figured out what I liked and didn’t like and I knew what I wanted.”
“And you knew you wanted a guy with a Mohawk and a ring in his nose?”
“No. I knew I wanted a guy who makes me laugh, doesn’t want kids, doesn’t mind that I’m kind of messy, has a good job and isn’t a lazy ass, and looks at me like I’m the only girl in the world. That’s what I found.”
She did find that. Billy really is a great guy that was masked behind some strange decor. I’m glad my night of hunting down Blue turned into a happily ever after for them.
I wish I had been as lucky.
She taps her fingernail on the real estate listing to bring my attention back to it. “Now about the house. I have the details on it.”
I smile at her and take a deep breath. While I planned to tell her I wanted to start looking at houses, I had no idea I’d have one put in front of me so quickly. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“I went over to look at it and it’s beautiful. Everything’s been updated—all the appliances are new, it’s got granite countertops, hardwood floors, all the bathrooms have been redone. The basement is completely finished, too, with another half bath. It’s like a brand-new house. It’s small, but it doesn’t feel small. It’s very open. And, it’s close to your office and Lyric’s school. And me. Did I mention that?”
“It sounds really nice. I’m not even sure if I can afford this, though. I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
“You’ll probably qualify as a first-time home buyer. You make great money. Do you have a bunch of credit card debt?”
“No. I only have one credit card I owe about two hundred dollars on. That’s it.”
Her mouth hangs open. “That’s nothing! You should see mine. If you have a little money for a down payment for a mortgage, I’m sure you can afford this.”
I chew my lip. The house does sound perfect.
“I wasn’t expecting to have to take the next steps so soon.”
“This is fate, Piper. It’s too good to pass up. You’ll be so close to me if you bought it! It would be awesome. You could come over for dinner, or I could walk over and visit you. Wouldn’t you love that?”
“It would be nice. We could go walking together.”
“Yes! I know Josh helps you a lot with Lyric. Billy and I are more than happy to help you. We can babysit, I can pick her up if you have to work late. Just because we don’t want our own kids doesn’t mean we don’t love Lyric and don’t have a blast spending time with her. She’s like our pseudo-kid.”
“You guys are great,” I reply. “I promise you I’ll think about it.”
“Will you look at it tomorrow? I talked to the realtor and she said if we call her, she’ll meet us there. She lives nearby.”