8 Weeks (Time for Love 1)

“Oh, nothing,” Gaby said with a wave of her hand. “He was just asking me out for coffee.”

“Oooh, really?” I said, happy to be talking about something normal. Every guy who came in to contact with Gaby asked her out. But, she usually said the same thing. “So, what’d you say?”

“No, thanks, but maybe another time,” she responded with a smile.

“I wish you’d say yes one of these days,” I admitted.

“I will,” Gaby replied. “When it feels right.”

Gaby seemed to be able to read men better than anyone I’d ever met. She was like the man-whisperer. She always seemed to know if a guy was good for her or not, and she was always very choosy about who she dated. She’d had two boyfriends since I’d known her, and they’d both been relationships that lasted over two years.

Gaby did not do casual relationships, much to every man within a sixty-mile radius’s disappointment.

I heard the heels before the whirlwind hit, and I knew Sasha had made it.

Sasha, on the other hand, loved casual relationships.

Sasha loved to buy expensive things and pamper herself consistently, and was very focused on her career. She didn’t want a man in her life who thought he would get to have a say in what she did and how she did it, so she always kept them at arm’s length. She used them for sex and arm candy, and that was about it.

My friends and I were all completely different, but we loved each other unconditionally. We were lucky that it had always been that way. There had been people that tried to come between us, male and female, but no one was ever able to break that bond.

One of the things I’d loved about Cal was that he’d always gotten it. My friendship with my girls … because he had the same thing with his friends.

Shit … Cal.

I felt the sadness creeping in again, until Sasha grabbed my chin, looked me in the eye, and said, “Nuh-uh, girlfriend. Chin up.”

I smiled shakily at her, and tried to nod. But it was difficult, since she was still holding my chin. She chuckled and released me.

“How are you?” Sasha whispered.

I sighed deeply and said, “Crushed.”

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.”

Sasha pulled me tightly to her and I held on as if I were afraid to let go. She smelled of perfume and hair product, and I found it very soothing.

“Do you want me to put a hit out on him?” Sasha asked seriously.

I chuckled and replied, “Not today.”

Gaby leaned across the table and asked, “Have you talked to him?”

I shook my head.

“I haven’t been able to. I can’t look at him right now. He stopped by the other day, and I saw him long enough to tell him I want a divorce, then I ran back inside.”

Gaby gasped at my statement.

“Are you sure that’s what you want, Shelly? Don’t you want to talk it over with him first, maybe think about it for a while?”

I shook my head and felt tears forming.

“I don’t think it’ll make a difference. He betrayed me in a way that I never believed was possible.” They each took one of my hands in theirs as I spoke. “I think I need a clean break, and I need to start figuring out what to do with my life.”

“Let us know what you need,” Sasha said.

I turned to Sasha and said, “I want to sell the house.”