The next morning, I woke up at six, showered, and went through my usual morning routine. I got ready for the day in scrubs, paired with a hoodie, and styled my hair into a neat French braid.
I headed out to the kitchen, where the flowers sitting in the vase instantly brought a smile to my face. As I prepped my lunch—a California roll that Easton had specifically gotten me for my lunch, mixed berries, a pack of nuts, and a few extra snacks for the day—I heard my doorbell ring.
It was barely 6:48, and I never had company this early in the morning. Who am I kidding? I never had company, period.
Curious, I made my way to the door and opened it to find Sophia standing there, looking wide awake and ready for whatever drama she was about to unload.
"Hi, Soph? Why are you here so early?" I asked, letting her in.
"Don't 'Hi, Soph' me. Easton Edwards?!" she demanded, following me as I packed my lunch into a small Lululemon bag.
"Good morning to me. What are you talking about?" I replied, pretending to have no idea what she meant.
"You went on a date with him to that sushi place you like so much," she said, pulling out her phone. I froze for a second, wondering how she knew that. Maybe she'd been there and didn't want to say hi? But no—Sophia wouldn't pass up a chance to say hello to Easton.
"It's on my Twitter," she said, scrolling before turning her phone toward me. Sure enough, there was a picture of us, but only our side profiles were visible.
"That's not me. Are you crazy?" I laughed, playing it off. The photo wasn't clear, and with some of my hair obscuring my face, it could've been anyone.
"Bitch, I know your side profile. That is you," she insisted. "And then I texted Eli, and she told me everything—the lady, the dinner party, everything."
I mentally groaned. Of course, Eli told her. Even though she'd said she wouldn't. "Fine, okay. But that was our first time hanging out," I admitted. "Alone, at least," I added quickly.
Sophia laughed, nodding in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me? Any of it?"
"I just... didn't know how to tell you. I don't know. I thought I could keep this to myself, especially since I'm still trying to figure out my new friendships—this all just happened, like, four days ago. You really didn't miss much," I shrugged.
Internally, I knew I didn't owe her an explanation. It was my life, and if I wanted to keep it private, that was my choice. But I still felt bad, so I told her the truth. Her demeanor softened a bit, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"So, how is he? What's he like?" she asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
I shrugged. "He's sweet, funny... you know, typical guy," I said, keeping most of the details to myself.
"You suck at this. I need details, one by one. Who invited who out? I mean, you were kinda desperately telling him to call you at the game. Maybe he caved," she teased, laughing.
Her words stung, though, making my chest burn in the worst way. Desperately? I'd only done that as a joke, and now it felt like she was making me out to be... pathetic. But this was Sophia. She probably didn't mean it. Surely she knew it was a joke.
"At the party, he asked for my number so we could hang out sometime," I said with a shrug. "Then yesterday, he just showed up at the office."
"Maybe he felt weird if he didn't, since his friend—what's her name? Brooklyn? Brooke?—was there," she said, her tone pointed.
I caught the edge in her voice. She was probably upset.
"Maybe. I don't know. But I have to get going to work," I said in attempts to cut the conversation short.
