Illicit Affairs

The Other Girl

Lara Jean's POV

"Hello?" A naturally beautiful woman stood in front of her with a slight smile.

Lara Jean stood shocked. It was Daisy. She looked identical to her pictures. Her shoulder length dirty blonde bob shined even when it looked messy. LJ knew she had to say something. "Um, hi."

"Hi." Daisy clicked her lips waiting for LJ to say something. "Can I help you with something?" she gave a small genuine smile.

Lara Jean shook her head while examining her. She was taller than expected, definitely a few inches taller than her. A blue t shirt hung over her slim frame. It was one of Lara Jean's favorites of Peter's. She could remember the feel of the sleeves and the smell of Peter's sweat all over it. She snapped out of her haze while she tried to keep her cool. "Yes. Um. I am looking for Peter Kavinsky."

"He's not here right now. He went out on a run. I can take anything you have for him though." She motioned to the box in LJ's hands. Her voice was low but comforting. Lara Jean's body filled with jealousy. Daisy was the cool girl that Lara Jean always wanted to be. Of course Peter loved her.

She looked down trying to keep the tears from streaming down her face. "Oh, yeah. It's some, uh, cookies. It's not a big deal. Yeah."

"Wow. I can already smell them from here. I'm sure he will love them. Thank you so much for delivering them. Shit. I don't have any cash to tip you though. Do you accept Venmo or anything?" she patted her body and sleep shorts for a wallet. "I was just in Europe for 5 months so I have no US cash."

She felt her stomach in her throat and tried to choke it down. "Don't worry about it." She cringed internally. Why was she going along with this? She extended her arms towards her, feeling like if she wasn't out of there soon, she would throw up. Daisy reached out to the box.

Lara Jean almost dropped everything when she saw it. The sparkly ring that sat on her left ring finger. It looked vintage, maybe from his mom's store. It was dainty and beautiful, like Daisy. She was still wearing the ring after Peter's phone call breaking up with her. LJ was in shock. When did she get back? What was happening? Her brain went fuzzy. She felt like she was about to pass out or have a panic attack.

"Oh gosh." Daisy tried to play off their exchange. "Thank you so much. Does he have like a standing order with you? It's kind of weird to get cookies on a Tuesday morning, but Peter's got such a sweet tooth."

Lara Jean nodded and played with the sleeves of her oversized cardigan. "Have a nice day." She tried to fake a smile but immediately sniffled her nose to keep the tears that were already welled up in her eyes from falling.

"Thank you!" Daisy yelled out as Lara Jean high tailed it down the stairs. She got into the car and sat in silence. Tears were falling down like waterfalls over her face. She couldn't wipe them away fast enough. They just kept coming. She felt like her heart had been thrown away in the dumpster out back.

She finally started the car but had to stop before she even got out of the parking lot. Her eyes were too cloudy. She tried to stop her heart from beating a million miles a minute. She remembered what Kitty had done with her. "One, two, three. One, two, three." She said to herself over and over again.

She was startled by a knock on her window. Peter. She stared forward, not knowing what to do with him.

"Lara Jean." He projected with anxiety in his voice. "Please."

She wiped away more of her tears. "I can't." she said through the closed window.

"She came back super last night. This morning really. Unexpectedly. No notice. I wasn't going to tell her she couldn't stay in her own apartment. I slept on the couch."