Falling in Love with my Best Friend

Chapter 26: Nails and Fairytales

Orgasmic Bliss. That is the color of nail polish that the small Asian lady was swiping across my fingernails as I sat propped back in a massage chair in Sunny's Nail Salon. I'd found the rosy pink color on the shelf and quickly chosen without turning the bottle upside down to check the name. But when the Asian lady saw the color I'd chosen she'd exclaimed in a thick accent, "Orgasmic Bliss! I'm sorry,  sweetie, but we don't do fortunes." And then she winked at me while everyone in the shop looked over with poorly hidden curiosity.

Valerie and Rachel were chattering away about the upcoming wedding and tonight's bachelorette party which would consist of back to back Rom-Coms and an endless supply of junk food: hot chocolate, popcorn, red vines, M&M's, you name it.

"Stacey," Valerie spoke up beside me, drawing my attention away from the small piece of lint on my shirt that I couldn't flick off due to the Asian lady's sinister grip on my wrist. "You have to give us the scoop. What's going on between you and Jake?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling secretively. Rachel instantly leaned in, nodding her head eagerly.

I couldn't stop the nervous chuckle that left my lips. "Um..." My cheeks heated with embarrassment. I couldn't help but notice the irony of the situation as the Asian woman dabbed nail polish on my nails, a similar shade to the current color of my cheeks. Both shades seemed to suggest a rather risque topic that I didn't care to discuss.

"He talks about you an awful lot..." Valerie said, grinning cheekily at me.

"He does?" I asked in disbelief, feeling my heart stutter in excitement.

She nodded her head vigorously. "Oh man, if you could see his face when he talks about you."

My cheeks burned furiously and I ducked my head to try and maintain some sense of dignity. I almost choked when my eyes met the sparkling mischievous brown orbs of the woman painting my nails.

She winked at me.

I immediately looked away, feeling very uncomfortable. "Well um... I'm not sure how he feels..."

Valerie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Please, Stacey, you can't be that oblivious. Even I know, and I spend barely half as much time with Jake as you do."

"It's pretty obvious," Rachel agreed. "He's not very good at hiding it," Rachel chuckled, giving Valerie a knowing look.

I felt my brow furrow and I looked at the two girls in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Valerie rose her eyebrows at me, leaning back in her chair slightly. "Have you noticed the way he just seems to gravitate to you? In a crowded room of people? And he looks at you like your the most beautiful, funny, intelligent creature he's ever experienced."

"And the way he says your name," Rachel added. "Stace." Rachel and Valerie both fake swooned.

"And he'll drop everything to hangout with you," Valerie continued. "You have no idea how much homework sits on his desk unfinished because you just texted and asked to hangout. Well, not that he does much homework regardless."

I stared at her in disbelief. "He always tells me he's not busy."

She grinned, shrugging. "Not when you're free."

I shook my head slightly, unsure what to think of all this new information.

"He's liked you for a while Stacey," Valerie said. "I remember one time he brought you roses because you were sick. It was a big step for him. He's very much a romantic. He came back in a very bad mood, and after a while of prying him he finally blurted out: 'She spilled her soup on the roses and while I was cleaning it up she fell asleep.'" Valerie and Rachel both started laughing and I stared at them both in bafflement. I barely remembered the roses and didn't even think anything of them. When I woke up Jake had thrown them in the trash and I'd quickly forgotten about the whole thing.