LA Baby ♡ Manhattan Dreams Sequel

2. Sharing Secrets

They say the first day back is always hardest. After an entire summer of waking up in the middle of the afternoon and being Josh's roadie until well into the morning hours getting up at seven in the morning was a struggle. Luckily, campus was only a ten minute walk away from the apartment and even closer if I drove so it wasn't like I was going to be late by any stretch but getting motivated was difficult. 

I climb out of bed, untangling myself from Josh's embrace and head into the bathroom to freshen up without taking an actual shower since I was sure that I'd just take another one as soon as I got home tonight. I throw my hair up in a perfect bun and head back into the bedroom where Josh is sitting up on the bed. "Oh" I comment, taken aback. 

He chuckles. "Good morning to you too Penelope" he teases. "Heading off to class already?" he asks as I make my way towards the closet and pull out my duffel bag. I nod, hoisting it onto my shoulder. 

"Another day, another dance to learn" I reply, throwing my slippers into the bag. "What are you up to today?" I ask conversationally. He shrugs. 

"Probably gonna chill around the house for a bit. We have the studio booked for late this afternoon." 

I quirk an eyebrow at him. "Should I be expecting you home when I get back?" I ask. I didn't want to sound like the needy girlfriend but it would be disappointing to come home to an empty house after my first day back. Who would I vent to? The walls?

"I should be home around then" he says dismissively. I purse my lips and nod my head. 

"Okay." I turn on my heels to leave but his voice stops me. 

"Babe-." I spin back around and look at him expectantly. "I'll be home" he says definitively. 

"Okay" I repeat before walking out the door and heading off towards campus. 

***********************************************************************************************

Being on campus without Josh or having the comfort of a dorm to race back to was odd. I felt isolated walking around the campus that I once felt strong in. "Ah." A shrill screech catches my attention forcing me to turn in the direction it came from and a smile tugs at my lips when I see her. 

"Soph" I exclaim, running towards her and throwing my arms around her. It hadn't been that long since we saw each other but it was long enough. After spending the summer together she and I were practically best friends...of course Riley held that title though so she was just a close friend. "I missed you" I gush. 

She laughs. "Same girl" she replies happily. "How was the reunion? Break in that new bed?" she asks teasingly. My cheeks flush and she laughs, shaking her head at me in amusement. "Aw you're still embarrassed about your sex life. That's so cute! As if you didn't spend all summer going at it loud enough for the whole bus to hear."

"What are we talking about?" Riley asks as she approaches. I look at Sophie and hope she remembers that relationships are a touchy subject for my best friend but apparently she doesn't. 

"Maya and Josh's sex life" she replies and Riley's eyes fall on me. 

"Oh. Yea I don't need to hear about that."

I give her a sympathetic smile and wrap my arm around her shoulders. "How're you holding up?" I ask worriedly. She sighs. 

"I miss him. He called me last night to check in but-."

"He's not here" I fill in and she nods. I felt bad for my best friend. Lucas has unfortunately lost his grandfather over the summer so he was roped into staying down south to help settle things there which meant he had to take this semester off. Riley missed him terribly and Lucas was miserable but both of them valued their families too much to do anything to fix their current situation. "It'll be okay" I encourage her.