Aurora

Chapter 10 | Bobby

"Oh girl you're not getting over him any time soon, are you?" Faye jokes. She elbows me to break my stare at the winner of yet another motorcycle race on a Friday night. "You do know that-"

"He's not available, I know," I answer her. "But that doesn't mean he's suddenly not hot anymore." I turn back to look at the man on the stage. I remember her mentioning that he always donates the prize money, so I wonder where he's sending the money now.

"Do you know any of the racers?" I ask Faye. She nods and then looks around, trying to figure out which one she knows.

"I know my brother, obviously," she starts, "And because of that, a few I know by name, but I wouldn't call them friends."

My mind goes back to home in San Francisco. I still haven't talked to my parents that I'm in Chicago, I don't know how I'm supposed to break the news that I am actually married and going through a divorce. That would break them.

I could've called my sister, I don't know if she knows. She has to remember Archer though, a face like his you don't easily forget.

I immediately think about Jared as well. Faye mentioning that her and the other racers are acquainted but not friends reminds me of me and Jared's friends. We never clicked and in the beginning that was difficult for Jared. Eventually he understood that that didn't mean that him and I wouldn't click, and instead we learned to communicate better.

Thinking about him makes me miss him. Which is a new feeling, because I hadn't thought of him in a week. With the experiences I've been through and the people I've met, I haven't had the time to think about Jared at all.

"What are you thinking about?" Faye asks, breaking me from my thoughts.

"My boy-," I stop myself, remembering the awful breakup before me and Sophia arrived in Chicago, "I mean ex-boyfriend." I chew on the inside of my lip. Thinking about Jared didn't make me want to think about him breaking up with me.

"Why did you break up?" She asks. I haven't told Faye about Archer, and I wasn't planning to. My time with Faye was about forgetting Archer and the whole divorce situation. I have Sophia to talk about my struggles, Faye is not that type of friend.

"It just wasn't working," I answer her.

Faye nods and crosses her arms. "So how did you get home the other day?"

The other day when Archer came in and swept me off my feet. Literally. I know he thought I was drunk enough to forget it, but I remember every single word. And embarrassed is an understatement.

"I walked." I answer, it's a half-truth so I don't consider it lying. She hums in response and turns back to the race.

"Do you want to stay for the after party?" Faye asks. I think about the idea for a second, but then decide not to go. I haven't seen Archer since he took me home, but he let me know that he'd pick me up again tomorrow. It wasn't a question, he just announced it to me.

"No thanks," I tell her, "It's already late and I should get back."

Her smile falls and I can tell that I disappointed her. "Come on," she starts, "What could you have going on in the morning that's so important that you'd miss out on partying with some hot racers who are ready to blow off some steam?"

I don't answer her, determined to go home. As much as I'd like to hang out with her some more, this is all just temporary. I'd rather go home and hang out with Archer in the morning and then Sophia right after.

That's something I didn't think I'd say to myself. I'd rather hang out with Archer than here.

"Maybe Ace will make an exception for you," she says. "Maybe he'll be a great rebound for you."