Page 27 of Perfect Enough
“I amtalkingto him, so that counts.”
She rolled her eyes. “Through text messages. A month of texting a guy…you don’t find that weird, Soph?”
I stopped and looked at her, my hands on my hips. “No, Chloe, I don’t think it’s weird. We’re just friends.”
“And you haven’t wanted to hear his voice? For all you know, he has one of the nasally sounding voices.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I tried not to laugh. I’d already thought the same thing one evening, when I questioned why Josh hadn’t ever pushed me to talk to him over the phone.
Chloe smiled. “You’re trying not to laugh because you thought the same thing.”
“Fine! I did think the same thing.”
Leaning back on the sofa, Chloe said, “Maybe he’s gay.”
Shrugging, I said, “I don’t think he is.”
“That will suck for you if he bats for the other team.”
I shot her a dirty look. “I’m not interested in dating him. I simply like being his friend.”
“Then ask him to go with you as a friend.”
Chewing on my lip, I looked at her. “My mother thinks I’m dating him.”
“And you’re too much of a coward to tell her the truth.”
“No, I just don’t want to hurt her feelings. If she finds out I lied to her, then she’ll thinkshe’sthe one who pushed me into lying.”
Chloe leaned forward. “She did, Soph.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know she did, but she’s still dealing with my father’s death. I don’t want to add stress to her life. It’s better to just explain everything to Josh and hope he understands. Maybe he’ll be working this weekend.”
“The sooner she meets him, the sooner she stops bugging you to meet him. After this weekend, you can tell her things didn’t work out and you broke up with him.”
I nodded. “That’s a good plan.”
Drawing a deep breath, I walked to the coffee table and reached for my phone. “It’s now or never.”
Me: Hi! Are you working tonight?
Josh didn’t respond right away, so I started to pace again. When he didn’t respond after ten minutes, I tossed my cell back on the coffee table, sat down next to Chloe, and started chewing on my thumbnail.
“He might be working and out on a call,” Chloe suggested.
Nodding at my best friend, I said, “That’s true. But my mother will be calling any second, and I don’t know what to say.”
Chloe sighed. “You’ve gotten yourself into a pickle, my friend. If she calls before he does, simply tell her you haven’t had a chance to talk to him because he’s working.”
I slouched down on the couch and groaned. “Why is she on my ass about this? She’s always been up in my business, but it’s gotten way worse.”
“Do you think she and David are platonic?”
Lifting my head, I stared at her. “They’re friends, Chloe.”
“Well, I’m just saying, maybe they’re friends with benefits. Sex is a great stress reliever, after all.”
“Gross. I cannot believe you said that about my mother. I have that image in my head now, and it will never disappear.”