It All Started With A Baby

17

"So, Blake, Ronnie tells me you have a man," Tabitha said as she waggled her eyebrows. "That's exciting!"

"Yeah, his name is Caiden. We live together now," she said excitedly.

"Living together? Already? Blake this is a new side of you I've never seen before."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I just really love him. There's no point in waiting when we were both ready to take that step."

Tabitha raised her eyebrows as she sipped on her martini. The three of them, Blake, Ronnie, and Tabitha planned a lunch date for the first time since Tabitha returned from Greece with her now ex-boyfriend.

"That could never be me, Blakey. Falling in love with men is a grave waste of time."

"I don't think so. Not for me anyway."

Ronnie laughed as she looked at Blake. "Oh, Blake. You're so cute."

"What?" Blake asked as she looked between her two friends. Was there an inside joke that she wasn't privy to?

"Men don't love women. Men use us for sex and then dispose of us when they are done with us," Ronnie said.

Blake lifted an eyebrow, confusion written on her features. "If I do recall correctly, the only people using others for sex are the two of you. Tabitha, you went on a free vacation to Greece with a man who you convinced you loved, only to break up with him when you got back. And Ronnie, you've never held a stable relationship in your life because you get bored when they want more than sex."

"I play the game because I've been played before, Blakey," Tabitha said. "Do you really believe Caiden loves you? That he won't toss you aside once he gets what he wants from innocent virgin Blake?"

Blake laughed at her words, devoid of all amusement. "It's a shame what the world has done to you, Tabitha. You used to be so full of life and now all I see is a pessimistic, self-righteous, bitch sitting in front of me. And for your information, I'm not an innocent virgin anymore, and miraculously he still loves me. Odd."

With that, Blake handed the approaching waitress the exact change for her bill and the tip and left her two flabbergasted "friends" sitting at the table.

Blake had been tolerating the two of them for far too long because she believed she'd rather force herself to socialize with them than to remain alone. But she didn't need their toxicity in her life. Her life with Caiden and Wesley was amazing. Her mother was beginning to return to her old self. All she needed was them, and she'd be fine.

"How was lunch?" Caiden asked when Blake walked through the front door. Instead of answering, Blake wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, darlin, but what's this about?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I ended things with Ronnie and Tabitha today," she murmured while running her hands through his hair.

"What happened?" His hands moved up and down her back comfortingly.

"They were mocking me for moving in with you. They said that you'd only want me for sex and then get rid of me when you got it. They're fucking stupid."