In-between

chapter 14

I didn’t know how to approach the situation and let him know that he was still talking to me but my voice gets stuck in my throat not able to stutter a word.
“Baby, don’t be mad, I promise I’ll call back just had some important stuff to talk about with…um…a friend.” He struggles at the end of his sentence and my eyes almost budge out at the fact that he doesn’t even know what to call me, us.
How could I let him know that he was still talking with me after the embarrassing second I had to experience.
So I did the only thing that I could actually come up with at the spur of the moment; I hang up.
I let out a long dried out sigh after I placed my phone on the table and slouch over my seat in defeat.
Naomi just stares at me not knowing where to start and how to approach the situation.
I just stare back at her ready for any insults she throws at me, I’ll help her make me feel like shit even more than I do.
But she surprises me by cracking a smile at my distraught face, the corner of her lips raising upwards teasingly.
“Did you just talk to Dylan on the phone without stuttering for over 6 minutes?” she sounded surprised and calm at the same time.
I don’t know why she finds that amusing, I’ve spent over 4 days with him in Hawaii but I guess when I told her I’m in love with him she thought I would just dig a hole and crawl in it whenever he approaches me.
“Why is that so surprising?” I voice my thoughts giving her a perplexed look and she just shrugs.
“Never took you for a coward at the first sign of trouble.” She mimics Dylan’s line from our conversation and my eyes went as big as a dinner plate.
“Don’t tell me everyone has heard that.”I mumble feeling the headache creeping in full force.
“Yes honey, everyone including Harry and Abby.” She reminds me the ugly truth and I groan in annoyance.
I can just picture his face giving me shit about me and Dylan’s conversation.
“Kill me right now.” I mutter as I bury my face in my hands.
“Why did you mention Harry being in Minnesota to Dylan, he specifically warned us not to tell Emma and telling Dylan is pretty much signing the deal?” She shakes her head in disappointment.
“He didn’t tell me anything, in fact he hasn’t been talking to me since he came back.” I inform her; my heart going a hundred miles per second when I heard Naomi’s warning passed down from Harry.
“Whose fault is that?”She raises her eyebrows as if she was accusing me Harry not being interested in me was my doing.
“I’m over this whole Harry thing, I mean he’s been the only thing I’ve been talking about since Hawaii and I don’t know how that makes me feel, I mean I go home, my mum and Bruce are breathing down my neck when he cancels dinner and I go across the street to miss Walberg and her fucking daughter is dating the guy and when I go to hang out with my friend she’s assuming stuff about me and him liking each other.” I huff my hands going up to massage my scalp like I was doing before.
“This friend doesn’t just assume, she sees things.” she points out and I just shake my head completely drained from the topic that’s seems like never ending.
“You know what just forget it; can we talk about something else? We’re traumatizing Paul over this.” I point to him who was just staring back and forth from me to Naomi.
“I’m actually enjoying this, this is better than any soap opera my mum forces me to watch every Wednesday.”  He chuckles as he sits straight.
“I’m glad my misery amuses you.” I dryly comment as his eyes go wide and clears his throat.
“Honey, listen, I’m not trying to make you feel bad or anything but Harry specifically told us not to mention he was back home to Emma or anyone for some unknown reason and you go ahead and tell Dylan especially after they had their fight.” She grabs my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“How do you know all this?” I frown confused as how she picks at the information that were lost on me.
“I have to let you know that he’s my friend too and we talk.”She gave me a surprised look like him not talking to me should stop her from conversing with him.
“Well I’m sorry, looks like I gave him another reason not to talk to me.” I shrug my mind too caught up in the last sentence Dylan said and the name shines in bright neon colors in my brain screaming trouble.
“What surprised me the most is that…” My mind was too busy and crowded to sort out my feelings let alone speak up.
“Yeah?” She encourages eager to hear my next statement.
“When he hanged up, he said Abby, I know there are dozens of Abby’s out there but it just doesn’t sit right in my mind and… I don’t know, maybe I’m just over thinking it or something but the way he was talking to her… um… it felt like… I don’t know it’s crazy.” I shake my head for the thousands time today as my head ache only increased at my new “Discovery.”
“It’s probably nothing, you’re paranoid and hate the girl with passion so…” she trails off like she was telling me I was insane as gently as she can manage.
“Thanks for being a friend; I don’t know what I would do without you.” I roll my eyes when the corner of her lips slightly lifts.
“Okay, you may not be a fan of gossiping but for the love of God have you seen the skirt she was wearing?” She widens her eyes for dramatic effects.
“I’m not doing this with you; again.” I shake my head refusing her opening of the discussion.
“I think it was cute, she’s tiny so she looked adorable.” Paul shrugs as he butts in staring at Naomi who was looking at him like he told her the sky is green.
“Well, that would have been a lovely compliment if she wasn’t going for sexy and hot babe.” Naomi fires back as she threw daggers after daggers at him.
“Really? See I did not see that. In that case, she looked absolutely horrid.” He tries to retaliate as he shifts uncomfortably under her burning gaze.
“You suck at this Paul, stick to your marijuana business.” She chuckles at him as he slouches in his seat in defeat.
“If my best friend is not going to help me talk idly about her I should probably look for a new friend.” She whines as her hands tugs at me as if she just wants to bursts whatever she has been feeling towards Abby.
I know her major reason for hating Abby is because the argument they had previously and I had to learn it the hard way that arguing with Naomi over it means it’s your end of your relationship. She adores the movie and I don’t blame her, they’re pretty funny.
“We should get going, my mum is probably back from her meeting and I have to help her make dinner.” I informed my crazy friend as she pouts over the information.
“I guess I have to call Harry then, I’m not planning on spending tonight alone.” She demands as if it was up to me to bring her him.
“What about me?” Paul’s voice once again butts in and we both whip our heads to look at him.
“What about you?” She asked her brows knitted in confusion and I swear this girl is all beauty and no brains.
“I mean aren’t we going to spend tonight together?” He looked surprised and hurt at most.
She looked back at me her eyes rolling back in her head and the frown on her lips indicate how much she hates having this conversation with the guys she sleeps with. I have encountered too many to know how painful it’s going to be for the guys.
“No.” her answer was short and collected and she doesn’t even bat an eyelash. Years of experience.
“What do you mean no, we had a plan remember?” He voiced out, his hands twitching on the table as if he was on the verge of losing his shit.
“Look, I don’t know what you had in mind when I asked you to sleep with me, and I don’t know if me asking you to come have lunch with me has planted unnecessary ideas in your head but you should know I wasn’t planning on going back home with you tonight or else we would’ve been the ones rushing through those doors and not Harry and Abby.” She calmly explained taking in his truly shocked look.
Mostly this line was saved for the guy and it surprises them when she was the first one to break the news for them.
“I…I mean…” He looked speechless at most, like what she just told him refused to register in his brains.
“Paul, I’m sorry if you had…” “No that’s not it.” He softly declines as if he was too embarrassed to let her go any farther. I look at her who was eyeing Paul as if waiting for him to pounce or cry and in her case which ever popped up first would make her day.
“I hope you have a great evening.” She gave him a seductive wink and he grinned getting trapped in her mischievous plans over screwing this all over again but because she’s pretty the mere idea of hooking up with her again gave him courage to leave with a smile. If only he knew she was just being nice.
Rule number one in Naomi’s hookup book is that she never sleeps with the same person again and she’ll keep bluffing until they get out of her way.
I shake my head turning around to check up on my brother to see him watch the different people getting in and out of this restaurant and from the look in his eyes I gather he is waiting for someone in particular.
“Do you want to go home Bruce?” I ask him softly not to startle him from the trance he seemed to be trapped in.
“Yeah.” he answers turning his attention to me and gave me a small smile.
I returned his gesture and ruffled his hair; happy that he didn’t pull an argument over waiting for Harry or something in that category.
“Okay, we’re about to head out, do you want to wait for Harry here or do you want to come with us, he’s probably still at Abby’s?” I ask my best friend who was scrolling through her phone.
“If he’s at Abby’s now I don’t want to interrupt their time, I’ll just call him and tell him to bring pizza later.” She shrugs her attention taken by her phone which was buzzing repeatedly.
“Well you seem like you have found your entertainment for the night so me and Bruce are heading out, I’ll call you.” I tell her squeezing her hand on the table.
“Sure thing babe, sorry kind of important.”She points to her phone as a smile creeps its way on her flawless face.
Knowing her ways I figured she has found her play toy for tonight so I just shrug it off and pulled my brother to the exit rushing to the parking lot as the rain cascaded down our heated bodies from the heater inside.
I cast one more look to my best friend through the mirror she was seated at and started the car.