05-29-2016, 01:31 PM
Two weeks had passed, the weekend was upon them and Riane found herself waking up around nine in the morning. She hadn't slept in that late in several years, but she had found herself hiding from Julian. It was nearly impossible during school hours so she had to sneak away from him at the end of the day.
She spent a great deal of time with Emma and Ivy, but upon arriving home she was always met with Julian in some form or another. He was either waiting up for her in the living room, hanging out in her bedroom, or sleeping in her bed.
Part of her was getting used to it and found it somewhat sweet that he wanted to spend time with her. He hadn't mentioned his crush on her once since that night, and she was hopeful that he was getting over it. Especially, when he and the guys went out to some clubs and he didn't come home until almost four in the morning.
Of course, he went straight to her room to wake her up and tell her that he didn't sleep with anyone as a way of reassuring her. Though, she didn't know if she believed, and she knew she shouldn't care anyway.
Stretching out her legs and placing them on the ground, she couldn't help but think about the moment when Julian had done the same thing on her bed. She felt her cheeks heat up and quickly smacked herself on the face.
As if to save her from further thoughts, her phone rang and the caller ID read Blake. She smiled at the thought of him calling her, and asked with as much cheer as she could muster. "Blake, good morning!"
"Good morning." He said flatly.
She had heard rumors that he and Adonia had broken up, but she didn't know why and she thought it might look desperate if she called him to find out any of the details. As much as she wanted to know, she didn't want him to think she was sniffing around to see if there was space for her. After all she was no longer just his friend, but someone who had admitted romantic feelings for him.
"What do I owe the pleasure?" She continued to sit on her bed but swung her legs back and forth.
"I wanted to talk to you... about what we discussed before." He was a little nervous and she could hear it in his voice. The thought that he could be nervous when speaking to her made her slightly giddy.
"Discussed before?" She was barely even listing to the conversation at this point.
"About you coming to live with me. I suppose you heard that I broke up with Adonia, so that is no longer an issue." His voice returned to a calmer state.
Riane's heart sunk. "You broke up with Adonia. Not over this I hope." She didn't want to be another reason that he lost a girlfriend, even though she knew it was hypocritical after their very short attempt to break them up. Julian had made it perfectly clear that she was now on her own with Blake, and he would no longer be part of any subterfuge.
"No, it had nothing to do with you." He lied.
In truth, he had spent the last two weeks thinking about what Adonia had said to him. He questioned every aspect of his life since he met Riane. In the end, he could come to only one conclusion and that was Adonia was right. He obviously loved Riane, but thought there could never be anything more than friendship.
She never dated anyone and she would be forced to marry a man, but he never questioned her sexuality. He thought she might not like men at all, and somehow in his mind had formulated a plan to keep her at his side, but also have a girlfriend.
The girls were smarter than he gave them credit for and they all picked up on it eventually. They may have blamed Riane for her feelings, but there was no doubt that they could sense his as well.
He had been a conniving monster who had hurt a lot of girls before he couldn't admit to himself his own feelings. It was time for him to act upon them whether he was to be rejected or not.
"Oh, well, I am sorry to hear it." Riane said softly. "However, I don't think it is a good idea considering what happened between us. I don't want to confuse myself." That was some of the truth, but really she didn't want to get her hopes up and end up heartbroken after living with him.
"See that's what I wanted to talk to you. Do you still have those feelings for me?" Blake's heart beat uncontrollably as he knew he was about to put his own heart on the line. It terrified him, but he didn't know anything else but honesty.
Riane didn't know how to answer the question. It felt like a trap. If she said yes then he might not want to talk to her for a while, and if she said no then she might be shutting down something she wanted from him.
"Uh, that's an awkward question."
He cleared his throat, "Of course, it is. The reason I ask..."
"Julian, get out of here!" Riane screamed. "You don't know if I am decent you can't just walk in here!"
"You are always decent. You are like a never nude." Julian voice said playfully and he laughed at his own joke afterward.
"I am not a never nude! I am on the phone, get out!" Riane stood from her bed and grabbed the door, although Blake could not see the motions she was making or her face. He could hear some humor in her voice even though she was trying to be serious.
"Hey, I brought waffles. I made them myself and everything." Julian nearly whined and Blake could hear the pouted out bottom lip.
Blake's nervous heart hardened as he felt jealousy over Riane for the first time in his life. This would not be how he would lose his best friend, especially not to that cretin.
"I am in love with you, Riane." Blake said as loudly as he could, but at the same time Julian screamed.
"Ah! My nipple!" He laughed during the pain of Riane's assault, and when she was over he continued to be amused. "If you want to touch me all you have to do is ask."
"Put your shirt on!" Riane screamed obviously she had not heard what Blake had screamed out to her.
"Look my nip is all red. Kiss it." He came towards her and Riane screamed as she jumped on her bed in an effort to get away from him.
"Julian, stop! You're being crazy!" She laughed as she jumped off the bed after Julian followed her onto it.
He jumped down and caught her in his arms with her back to him. Her arms were pinched down underneath his own and he quickly spun her around the room.
"Don't, Julian! You'll make me sick!" She barked though the humor in her voice told him and Blake that she was enjoying it.
"Riane?" Blake tried to gain her attention.
"Say you're sorry or I'll hug you to death!" Julian began to squeeze her tightly which caused Riane to make a grunting noise.
"Sorry!" She spoke the word in a strained manner.
He released her and they both continued to laugh. "Do you want tea or coffee?"
"Tea, please." She continued to chuckle as he left the room and she put the phone back up to her ear. "Um, Blake, are you there?"
"I am. I want you to think about moving in here with me. Your feelings or mine can be figured out when you are in a better locations, alright?" Blake couldn't go through with telling her how he felt just yet.
She sighed, "I'll think about it, but I don't think it's a good idea."
Angela walked beside Seth with his hand in her own. She hadn't been shy about taking it when they first entered the mall. It had been her idea to go on a shopping date, and they had met at the entrance instead of having him come to pick her up. She said she liked the idea of having her own car just in case.
He didn't like how ominous that sounded, but so far the time spent together hadn't been too bad. She, of course, talked incessantly and she turned her nose up to items and people at every turn. However, she had not turned that venom towards him, at least not yet.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, she had tried to kiss him on several occasions. In truth, he didn't find her attractive and her entire personality was off putting. She was a beautiful women by any means to look at, but there was nothing in there that made him want to be with her forever. In fact, he feared showing any intimacy with her for fear she might think he was using her for sex.
It was getting tiresome to come up with reasons not to kiss her, and he knew she would eventually want to know why. There is only so many times that one can say they don't feel well and don't want the other one to catch it.
"Now that we are boyfriend and girlfriend, don't you think you should buy me a piece of jewelry to celebrate?" Angela asked as they walked through the crowded mall.
"Like a ring?" His heart nearly jumped into this throat at the thought of what she might be implying.
"No, silly, like a necklace or earrings. Not a ring, that would be a ridiculous thing to ask for." She chuckled as she stopped in front of a window to a store to look over the clothing. "Who would wear this brand?"
"Someone who can't afford..." He cut himself off when she realized that it was a rhetorical question, and she wasn't listening to him anyway.
"You know what the best thing about being born in April is?" She turned towards him after she eyed another couple that was walking with the man's arm over his lady's shoulder. A tinge of jealousy entered her heart. "They look cozy."
"What?" He responded to her question not her comment.
"I said they looked cozy."
Seth shook his head, "No, what is the best thing about being born in April?"
Angela giggled, "Oh, it's because of my birthstone, do you know what it is?"
He got the distinct feeling that if he got this wrong, she might become a little upset but he also figured he could guess by who she was as a person. "Diamond?"
She clasped her hands together, "Yes! My friends get birthstones and they are garnets or emeralds or rubies... or heaven forbid opals. Not me, I am encrusted with diamonds and it's not pretentious because it's my birthstone."
"I suppose not." Seth sighed when she grabbed his hand and began to walk again.
Somehow, he remembered her being less shallow in the past. He wondered if something had changed her or if he just hadn't been paying attention. Then again, he might have thought it was normal until he met Riane and her female friends. Not that his mother was shallow by any means, but she wasn't someone to date either.
"Oh, samples!" Angela pointed towards a kiosk that was selling seasonal sausage and cheeses for the holidays.
A girl stood in front of it with a tray and offered out samples to those walking by. She smiled at everyone and told them the price before they eventually walked away.
Upon seeing her, Seth's heart began to speed up as Angela pulled him towards her. "What are these?"
"Hey, Emma." Seth smiled at her.
Emma gave a smile of recognition, and completely ignored Angela's question though it wasn't on purpose, but from the surprise of seeing a friend. "Seth! Hi!"
"You two know each other?" Angela didn't care for the look the two gave each other as she grabbed a toothpick and took one of the smoked cheese samples off the tray.
"Yes, Emma goes to school with me. She is friends with Riane." He told her as if she should know any of these people's names. "Emma, this is Angela. My girlfriend slash arranged fiancee."
Angela frowned at her introduction and ignored Emma when she tried to shake her hand. "Who is Riane?"
He nodded and didn't seemed bothered by her sudden jealousy that was obvious even to Emma. "Julian's fiancee. Dalen was dating her friend, Joe. I thought I told you about this."
She slowly shook her head, "I didn't know you had so many female friends. I am sure I would have remembered something like that."
He shrugged, "Well, three female friends is hardly a lot, especially when two of them are dating your friends."
Emma felt uncomfortable and looked towards those passing them by. "Cheese?"
"So, you are working here through the winter break then?" He asked when Angela had nothing to reply.
She nodded, "Until we go on that trip. Riane invited me, she said she didn't want to be the only girl there. I've never been to a Hawaii before and I can't believe she is actually taking me with her. I am so excited."
Riane had even offered to make sure that her bills were paid in order to have her friend tag along. It had taken some time to convince her to let Riane do such a thing for her, but Riane told her she wouldn't offer if she didn't really want her to come. However, she wanted to leave that out of the conversation.
"You are going to Hawaii?" This had been the first that Angela had heard of such a thing. She was starting to get a sense that perhaps she didn't know Seth at all.
Seth gave a nod, "Yeah, just friends."
"Is Riane going with Julian?" She had just learned of these names, but already she was prepared to use them against him.
"Yes, but they aren't really engaged. They are just faking it in order to finish out college. Riane was our friend before she became his fiancee." Seth turned back to Emma. "I can't believe you are coming that will be so much fun."
"Well, I should get back to work." Emma held up the tray, "I'll see you on Monday when we leave, yes?"
"Yep, see you then." Seth continued to hold Angela's hand and this time he walked away with her in tow.
When Angela felt she was far enough away from Seth, she pulled on his hand to get him to stop walking. There was a bench nearby and she sat down but Seth remained standing.
"Um, why didn't you tell me about your female friends? You mentioned Julian and Dalen, but I have never heard of a Riane, or a Emma, or a Joe before. It feels like you have something to hide." She crossed her arms over her chest and lean back on the bench.
"You know it just hasn't come up. We haven't really talked about me much. Most of the subject matter is about you and your life. I would have told you eventually." Seth decided to sit down beside her.
"And when were you planning on telling me about Hawaii? You leave on Monday, and you weren't going to let me know this would be the last time I would see you in a while?"
Seth opened his mouth and then closed it. "You know it didn't cross my mind that I needed to tell you. I'm sorry."
Angela sighed, "Very well. Let's make this day count then. How long will you be gone?"
"A week." He said nonchalantly.
"A week! Are you kidding me?"
Dalen had been trying to get a hold of Joe for two weeks. It seemed that Riane had been attempting to talk to her as well, but she had gone silent. Though Dalen wondered how truly hard Riane had tried to talk to her friend.
He had given her plenty of space and decided that he wanted to come back over to her home to see her. After speaking with his sister he did see some of her points that she was trying to make. He did sound like he needed approval from his family in order to continue their relationship, and that wasn't the case at all.
Unless she acted like a terrible person or seemed to be a gold digger, his family didn't really care about who he dated. In fact, they gave him quite a bit of leeway compared to other families of his station. His mother always told him that she just wanted someone that could make him happy, and she would always jokingly add that she would like someone who liked to bake.
On his way over he found a flower shop that had a dozen red roses, and had happily purchased them as a peace offering.
Without telling the Swithins that he was there, he parked his car in the front and headed around back to the guest house. As soon as he turned the corner, he was met with a familiar face carrying a box and a surprised look on his face.
"Uh, Neil, right?" Dalen held out his hand until he realized that the man couldn't shake it. "Oh, sorry, no need to put it down."
Neil chuckled, "Yeah. Dalen, right?"
He nodded, "Um, is Joe in there?"
"Yeah, we are just moving her boxes to the car. She is moving back home." Neil shifted as the box he was carrying was heavy.
"Oh, alright. Well, could you give us a couple minutes before heading back?" Dalen didn't expect him to agree, but he nodded and quickly left.
Walking over to the open door, even though it was freezing out, Dalen stepped inside to see the small amount of boxes that had been packed up. He wondered what exactly was going on, but decided that it was probably none of his business. At least, it wasn't yet.
"Joe!" He called her name.
She appeared, wearing shorts and a tank top, from the kitchen and looked surprised to see him. "Dalen, what are you doing here?"
"I've been trying to get a hold of you, but you weren't answering my calls." He held out the flowers to her. "Probably not the best time to receive flowers, but they are still yours to do with as you please."
She took them from him and tossed them onto the couch. "Dalen, I am really busy right now. I don't have time to deal with this."
"Look, I am very sorry about what happened. I realized that I made it sound like my family needed to approve of you, and that is not what I meant. Don't you want your mom to like me? That is all I was going for. Can we please just talk about it?" He brought his hands together as if he were begging her.
Joe sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't answer your calls because I didn't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you anymore. Can't you understand that?"
"I don't understand why. One argument and our relationship is over. Am I that easy to toss out?" He remembered feeling this way several times before in his life. A girl feels overwhelmed and she tosses him aside in an effort to escape.
"The way you treated me was the way you treat someone you barely know. Tossing me out of your home because I am trying to explain my emotions to you that is just cruel." She crossed her arms. "I am not important enough to be heard then I am not important enough to stay at your side."
"I thought our conversation was becoming too hot and that it would lead to no where. I wanted things to cool down before we discussed it further."
She licked her bottom lip briefly and gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Is that some sort of bad joke? You wanted things to cool down so instead of saying let's talk about something else and talk about it later when we are a little even headed, you throw me out into the snow? Remind you that you didn't even bother to walk me to the door. You made me see my own self out."
He slowly nodded her head as she spoke, "In hind sight, I can see how that could be seen as disrespectful."
She swallowed, "I think we are done here."
"Look, we are all going to Hawaii together on Monday. Why don't you come? At the very least maybe you and Riane can have a real chat. She said that she has been trying to talk to you."
"I don't want to go to Hawaii with you or Riane!" She tossed her hands in the air. "Riane has sent me a total of two texts to which I replied that I was hurt, and she didn't reply back at all. That's not exactly trying to talk to me, is it?"
"So, what you are quitting your job?" He sounded exasperated, "What are you going to do to pay for college?"
"I haven't driven Riane anywhere in almost three weeks now. Do you know what the worst part of it is? That Ivy bitch that attacked her, remember her?"
He nodded.
"They are fucking friends now, and I am in the fucking cold! She forgave her, but she couldn't bring herself to forgive me. I am her oldest friend. I should be the one she wants in her life, but instead she now has Emma and Ivy. She has you and Seth. Most disgustingly, she has Julian following her around like a puppy wanting to please her at every turn." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I am her friend. Why don't I get any forgiveness? I made one fucking mistake."
He reached out to hold her, but Joe shoved his hands away. "Do you want me to talk to her? Help you find out what is going on?"
"No, Dalen. I want you to not be part of my life anymore. Don't you understand? I am breaking up with you. We are done. Finished. Over." She was trying her best not to scream.
"I don't understand why. You are mad that Riane won't forgive you over one mistake, and here you are unable to do the same for me." He dropped his hands to his side. "You know what. Be a hypocrite. When you are done acting insane, give me a call and maybe we can work something out. Good luck to you."
He turned around to leave and found Neil standing in the door way. Pausing for a second, he felt ashamed of what he had just said, but continued to move towards the door. Neil stepped out of his way and watched him disappear around the house.
Joe wiped tears from her eyes. "What a dick!"
Stepping inside the house, he shut the door behind him. "He was a little right though, wasn't he? I mean you said your relationship was really good, one of the best, and you can't forgive him over making a single mistake?"
She placed her hand over her heart, "I want to. I want to so badly."
"Then do it."
Sitting down on the back of the couch, she slowly shook her head. "I can't. Every time I try my heart clenches up and my mouth won't let me form the words."
"Have you tried a letter or a text instead?" Neil came over to the couch to stand in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I write it and then I erase it. Over and over again."
He inhaled and sat down beside her, "So your pride is in the way of your boyfriend, but what about Riane? Maybe that is the problem whenever she tries to reach out."
She nodded, "I know it is."
Ivy waved at the bus when she saw Emma in the window. The two didn't live far from each other and Ivy would wait at the bus stop after Emma's shift to walk home with her. Though Ivy hadn't really gotten too close to Riane, she did find a friend in Emma.
It was nice to have a friend that wasn't part of the alcohol and drug life style that she was trapped in. Finding things to do other than those things was always a nice surprise. Plus Emma was a kind person but she, at times, could pull out her inner demon if she felt disrespected.
"Hey, how was work?" Ivy asked as she bundled up in her faux fur coat and rubbed her hands together as Emma stepped off the bus into the snow.
"You will not believe who I ran into." Emma was putting on her hat and gloves as she spoke. "Seth was there with his fiancee."
"Yikes. Did he introduce you?" Ivy asked as the two walked towards her apartment.
The truth was Ivy lived across the street from the bar she worked at, so she didn't need to come to the bus stop everyday. However, the social interaction made her feel much less lonely, and in a selfish way Emma sometimes fed her. After eating ramen noodles almost every day for years, it was nice to have a home cooked meal.
"Yes, he did. She and I didn't talk much though. I told you before that he said he wasn't very interested in her." She sighed. "He stared at me pretty much the whole time, except when they were arguing about him not telling her about the trip."
"What trip?"
Emma raised an eyebrow, "The one to Hawaii I told you about last week."
Ivy nodded her head, "Oh, yeah. I guess I am not invited."
"Sorry, Ivy. I am sure Riane wanted to, but Julian wouldn't be comfortable with that. Not that I have talked to Riane about it. Would you like me to?" Even in her big coat, she felt frozen to the core and wrapped her arms around herself.
"No, I don't need an explanation why I am not invited. Riane and Julian are engaged, of course they don't want his old friend with benefits hanging around on a nice vacation." She did feel left out, but also knew she hadn't been friends with Riane for that long. Of course neither had Emma, but their's was a different story.
"Yeah, even more so now that Julian seems to be getting serious about the engagement." Emma couldn't wait to get home to have a hot cup of tea to warm her body, and her mind was mostly stuck on the smell and taste.
"It wasn't serious in the beginning?" Ivy questioned as they finally got to a part of the sidewalk that someone had salted, so they no longer had to trudge through the snow.
She nodded, "Yeah, it was an arranged engagement. They were just going to pretend until college was over and then break up to keep their parents off their back."
"No shit. Julian never seemed the type to play games, but now he is getting serious? Like he is actually falling for her? I wonder what that looks like." Ivy chuckled.
Over the last two weeks, she had learned that Julian was actually nineteen years old and it made her lose a great deal of interest over him. She thought he was younger than her, but she didn't think he was that much younger. It made many of the immature things he did make a lot more sense.
"It looks a lot like heart eyes and sickly sweet declarations. He is intent on making her like him back. If you ever get a chance to see it; don't. It is like watching a puppy desperately want someone's attention, but that person hates dogs." Emma laughed.
Her friend smirked, "I can't even imagine it."
"He buys her a candy bar every few days and slyly places it on her tray. He runs around giving her hugs from behind and holding her there until she says whatever he wants her to say. I saw him try to steal a kiss from her cheek, but Riane wasn't having any of that. It is the most dorky thing you can imagine, and it's from Julian so it makes it super awkward." Emma continued to chuckle, "Riane looks like an annoyed cat being taunted by the dog."
Ivy shook her head with a grin, "Who would have thought Julian could be a total goof when he is in love."
"Riane told me that he liked this girl before her. He was very cold to her, but Seth told me that it was because she turned him down hard. Like in front of people. He still liked her, but he was pissed at the same time." She stopped in front of her apartment building. "Do you want to come up? I am going to make tea, and probably spaghetti. There is always leftovers."
"Sure." Ivy began climbing the stairs after Emma started heading up. "So, about Seth. Other than noticing him staring at you, are there any signs that he likes you?"
Emma began to unlock the front door and she shook her head. "I can't decide if he is just being friendly, or if there is something there. He is engaged anyway, so it doesn't really matter, does it? I am not the type to get in the way."
They stepped inside and Ivy noticed a box in the corner, as they both took off their jackets and put them on the back of the couch. "What is that?"
"My mom's friend redid her living room, so my mom sent me her old living room stuff. Tv stand, side tables, and a coffee table. If you help me put it together, you can take any of my old things you want." Emma told her as she walked into the kitchen and turned on the electric kettle that already had water in it.
"My studio is pretty small, but I definitely could use a TV stand. I have a box with books in it right now." She wasn't embarrassed to admit these things to Emma, even though she didn't really want her to come to her own place.
"Yeah, and mine has draws so you can use it to put away clothes or whatever." She pulled down two mugs. "I have nighttime or peppermint."
"Peppermint, please."
"Oh, a lemon one too. I don't know why I have this, I hate lemon in my tea." She stared at the box for a couple seconds, "I bet my mom bought this for herself when she visited."
"Peppermint is fine."
"Are you sure you don't want any of the other pieces? You might not have room for a coffee table, but what about one side table?" Emma asked as she stepped out of the kitchen and found Ivy sitting on her couch.
"I would hate to break up the set." Ivy explained but she sounded hesitant to turn her down. "I don't have any tables at my house though."
"They are stackable. Take both." Emma walked around to sit beside her on the couch, and she exhaled loudly. "Horrible mistake. Now that I am sitting, I'll never want to stand up."
Ivy snickered, "I've had days like that." She leaned back against the couch. "Make sure you take lots of pictures in Hawaii. I want to feel like I was there when I look at them."
"Don't worry. I can't wait to see green again." Emma massaged her own shoulder and then stretched out her neck.
Turning her head, she looked at Emma with a tired look in her eyes but a smirk on her lips. "Green, what is that?"
They both giggled for a moment and then sat quietly while they listened to the kettle boil the water in the kitchen.
"Do I smell like meats and cheeses?" She asked after the quiet became too awkward for her and she simply had to fill the air with something.
"Yeah, smells good though. I mean not go on a date smell like that nice, but definitely I wish you had stolen some so I could eat it nice." Ivy stretched out her arms.
"Coat pocket. They let you take some home to prevent stealing." She laughed when Ivy's eyes lit up and she began to dig through the pockets of her coat.
"Why didn't you lead with this information?"
Riane made her way downstairs with Julian in tow. They were laughing at something one of them had said, but Nanette hadn't overheard their conversation. She had been waiting for Riane to come downstairs as she had been thinking about a particular topic for weeks now, but didn't know how to broach the subject.
"Riane." Nanette stepped out from the dining room. "Can I speak to you privately?"
Julian felt ill at ease at the thought of his mother taking Riane away from him for a "private" conversation. Would it be about him? Would it be about ending their engagement?
"Certainly." Riane said nothing as she followed Nanette into the dining room and left Julian in the hallway.
For a moment, he thought to walk away from the room but instead he stomped on the stairs a few times to make it sound like he ascended them before placing himself against the wall. He had no idea what his mother had been up to lately in her thoughts, and she had never tried to push the two together. He feared she was unhappy with the arrangement, and wouldn't let Riane fight this battle alone, even if that meant eavesdropping.
Riane stared at the woman across from her who folded her hands on top of the table and cleared her throat. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong." Nanette spoke softly. "I have been thinking about your degree and I remember you telling me that you wanted to study music."
"Yes, I did." Riane's heart began to race and her palms began to sweat as anxiety of where this conversation might lead set in.
"I have heard you playing instruments for weeks now, and I don't know if you have noticed but Zack has become quite the fan." She smiled gently.
"I have noticed him peeking in on me, but if I let him know I see him he just runs away. It's very cute." Riane started to think this conversation might lead to her teaching Zack a instrument or two instead of anywhere frightful.
Nanette continued to smile, "Riane, I understand that you didn't become a music major because of your father's choices in your life. Is that true?"
"He didn't think it would lead to any sort of career. He says it's a hobby not a way to support your life and family." The question immediately made her nervous again though she couldn't decide why that was just yet.
"I was thinking that when you sign up for classes in January that maybe you switch your major." Nanette watched as the girl's face grew with confusion and then worry.
"My father was pretty adamant about what my major should be." Riane remembered the argument and her father threatening to throw her out.
"That was when you lived under his roof, but this is your home now. Here we do not tell our children what their futures should be. Despite my hypocritical attempts with Julian, but you understand what I mean." She inhaled deeply, "I think you would be a great deal happier if you made the switch and when one member of the family is happier everyone benefits."
Riane liked the idea of being called family and grinned apprehensively. "I would fear my father's wrath."
"So, we don't tell him. It is not like you have had any contact with your family since you moved out, right?"
"No, but if he finds out he could pull my college funds." She began to play with her fingers under the table.
"If he does we will pay them. He can't toss you out, you live here. If it's money for college then we can afford to pay for you. Just think about it, alright?" Nanette feared that she wouldn't even agree to think about the matter as Riane looked terrified.
"Alright." She agreed reluctantly.
"Are you kidding?" Julian stormed into the room and stood next to Riane, his eyes turned downward to look upon her face. "You have to get your music degree."
Riane was confused by his sudden interruptions.
"Julian, I have asked you not to eavesdrop. It is rude." Nanette scolded, but her son seemed unwilling to hear her words.
"I get to do what I am a genius at, and you should be able to as well. Music is something you love, but you are ignoring it to do something you loathe." Julian's voice held genuine concern, which was something that Nanette had not expected. Not because of what he was saying, but because of the emotion behind it. "One day you'll be sitting in a meeting doing administration bullshit, and you'll overhear a song or something. Your brain will just snap and a flood of regret will fill you, and you realize that you allowed someone else to destroy your dream without ever giving it a chance when you were given one."
Riane's eyes turned to the table as she thought over his words. Though his story was a little over the top, the sentiment behind it was real enough.
Nanette was lost in her own world. She still wanted Riane to take on a music degree, but her mind was now stuck on her son.
The two had been getting along recently, but she hadn't noticed it until that moment. Her son's eyes looked at Riane with a softness that she hadn't seen in a long time. He was commanding her, but trying to convince her.
Had this actually worked? She figured the two decided to get along to finish out college as Julian's threats ended quickly, but she never really thought anything would happen between the two. She just wanted to curb Julian's unsavory activities until he had finished school. Both her and her husband thought that had a eternal playboy on their hands.
Riane nodded her head and looked up to Julian. "You're right. Next semester I'll change my major and start living for myself; not my dad."
Julian smiled widely, "Great! Maybe I'll get you to teach me an instrument."
"Which one?"
He shrugged, "Which one do you think I should play?"
Riane chuckled, "That's a very personal decision. I can show you a bunch and maybe you can find the one you want."
"Alright, right now?"
A throat cleared itself for attention from the doorway, and Joe stood there ready to say her goodbyes to Nanette for all she had done for her.
"I'm going to head home now." She explained.
Nanette stood from the chair and walked over to her. "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to lose your job."
"There is no job." Joe tried her best not to look at her friend. She had felt jealousy towards Julian as she watched the two interact with one another.
"What's going on?" Julian asked.
"Joe is moving back to her mother's apartment and is quitting her job here." Nanette told them with disappointment.
Standing from her chair, Riane walked over to Joe. "Can I have a moment alone?"
Joe nodded and followed her out of the room.
Turning her attention to her son, Nanette opened her mouth to ask the question but quickly closed it. She didn't know if asking him about his feelings for Riane would cause him to shut them down and she didn't want to risk it.
"I hope they make up." She mumbled.
Julian shrugged, "That's up to them."
She spent a great deal of time with Emma and Ivy, but upon arriving home she was always met with Julian in some form or another. He was either waiting up for her in the living room, hanging out in her bedroom, or sleeping in her bed.
Part of her was getting used to it and found it somewhat sweet that he wanted to spend time with her. He hadn't mentioned his crush on her once since that night, and she was hopeful that he was getting over it. Especially, when he and the guys went out to some clubs and he didn't come home until almost four in the morning.
Of course, he went straight to her room to wake her up and tell her that he didn't sleep with anyone as a way of reassuring her. Though, she didn't know if she believed, and she knew she shouldn't care anyway.
Stretching out her legs and placing them on the ground, she couldn't help but think about the moment when Julian had done the same thing on her bed. She felt her cheeks heat up and quickly smacked herself on the face.
As if to save her from further thoughts, her phone rang and the caller ID read Blake. She smiled at the thought of him calling her, and asked with as much cheer as she could muster. "Blake, good morning!"
"Good morning." He said flatly.
She had heard rumors that he and Adonia had broken up, but she didn't know why and she thought it might look desperate if she called him to find out any of the details. As much as she wanted to know, she didn't want him to think she was sniffing around to see if there was space for her. After all she was no longer just his friend, but someone who had admitted romantic feelings for him.
"What do I owe the pleasure?" She continued to sit on her bed but swung her legs back and forth.
"I wanted to talk to you... about what we discussed before." He was a little nervous and she could hear it in his voice. The thought that he could be nervous when speaking to her made her slightly giddy.
"Discussed before?" She was barely even listing to the conversation at this point.
"About you coming to live with me. I suppose you heard that I broke up with Adonia, so that is no longer an issue." His voice returned to a calmer state.
Riane's heart sunk. "You broke up with Adonia. Not over this I hope." She didn't want to be another reason that he lost a girlfriend, even though she knew it was hypocritical after their very short attempt to break them up. Julian had made it perfectly clear that she was now on her own with Blake, and he would no longer be part of any subterfuge.
"No, it had nothing to do with you." He lied.
In truth, he had spent the last two weeks thinking about what Adonia had said to him. He questioned every aspect of his life since he met Riane. In the end, he could come to only one conclusion and that was Adonia was right. He obviously loved Riane, but thought there could never be anything more than friendship.
She never dated anyone and she would be forced to marry a man, but he never questioned her sexuality. He thought she might not like men at all, and somehow in his mind had formulated a plan to keep her at his side, but also have a girlfriend.
The girls were smarter than he gave them credit for and they all picked up on it eventually. They may have blamed Riane for her feelings, but there was no doubt that they could sense his as well.
He had been a conniving monster who had hurt a lot of girls before he couldn't admit to himself his own feelings. It was time for him to act upon them whether he was to be rejected or not.
"Oh, well, I am sorry to hear it." Riane said softly. "However, I don't think it is a good idea considering what happened between us. I don't want to confuse myself." That was some of the truth, but really she didn't want to get her hopes up and end up heartbroken after living with him.
"See that's what I wanted to talk to you. Do you still have those feelings for me?" Blake's heart beat uncontrollably as he knew he was about to put his own heart on the line. It terrified him, but he didn't know anything else but honesty.
Riane didn't know how to answer the question. It felt like a trap. If she said yes then he might not want to talk to her for a while, and if she said no then she might be shutting down something she wanted from him.
"Uh, that's an awkward question."
He cleared his throat, "Of course, it is. The reason I ask..."
"Julian, get out of here!" Riane screamed. "You don't know if I am decent you can't just walk in here!"
"You are always decent. You are like a never nude." Julian voice said playfully and he laughed at his own joke afterward.
"I am not a never nude! I am on the phone, get out!" Riane stood from her bed and grabbed the door, although Blake could not see the motions she was making or her face. He could hear some humor in her voice even though she was trying to be serious.
"Hey, I brought waffles. I made them myself and everything." Julian nearly whined and Blake could hear the pouted out bottom lip.
Blake's nervous heart hardened as he felt jealousy over Riane for the first time in his life. This would not be how he would lose his best friend, especially not to that cretin.
"I am in love with you, Riane." Blake said as loudly as he could, but at the same time Julian screamed.
"Ah! My nipple!" He laughed during the pain of Riane's assault, and when she was over he continued to be amused. "If you want to touch me all you have to do is ask."
"Put your shirt on!" Riane screamed obviously she had not heard what Blake had screamed out to her.
"Look my nip is all red. Kiss it." He came towards her and Riane screamed as she jumped on her bed in an effort to get away from him.
"Julian, stop! You're being crazy!" She laughed as she jumped off the bed after Julian followed her onto it.
He jumped down and caught her in his arms with her back to him. Her arms were pinched down underneath his own and he quickly spun her around the room.
"Don't, Julian! You'll make me sick!" She barked though the humor in her voice told him and Blake that she was enjoying it.
"Riane?" Blake tried to gain her attention.
"Say you're sorry or I'll hug you to death!" Julian began to squeeze her tightly which caused Riane to make a grunting noise.
"Sorry!" She spoke the word in a strained manner.
He released her and they both continued to laugh. "Do you want tea or coffee?"
"Tea, please." She continued to chuckle as he left the room and she put the phone back up to her ear. "Um, Blake, are you there?"
"I am. I want you to think about moving in here with me. Your feelings or mine can be figured out when you are in a better locations, alright?" Blake couldn't go through with telling her how he felt just yet.
She sighed, "I'll think about it, but I don't think it's a good idea."
-***-
Angela walked beside Seth with his hand in her own. She hadn't been shy about taking it when they first entered the mall. It had been her idea to go on a shopping date, and they had met at the entrance instead of having him come to pick her up. She said she liked the idea of having her own car just in case.
He didn't like how ominous that sounded, but so far the time spent together hadn't been too bad. She, of course, talked incessantly and she turned her nose up to items and people at every turn. However, she had not turned that venom towards him, at least not yet.
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, she had tried to kiss him on several occasions. In truth, he didn't find her attractive and her entire personality was off putting. She was a beautiful women by any means to look at, but there was nothing in there that made him want to be with her forever. In fact, he feared showing any intimacy with her for fear she might think he was using her for sex.
It was getting tiresome to come up with reasons not to kiss her, and he knew she would eventually want to know why. There is only so many times that one can say they don't feel well and don't want the other one to catch it.
"Now that we are boyfriend and girlfriend, don't you think you should buy me a piece of jewelry to celebrate?" Angela asked as they walked through the crowded mall.
"Like a ring?" His heart nearly jumped into this throat at the thought of what she might be implying.
"No, silly, like a necklace or earrings. Not a ring, that would be a ridiculous thing to ask for." She chuckled as she stopped in front of a window to a store to look over the clothing. "Who would wear this brand?"
"Someone who can't afford..." He cut himself off when she realized that it was a rhetorical question, and she wasn't listening to him anyway.
"You know what the best thing about being born in April is?" She turned towards him after she eyed another couple that was walking with the man's arm over his lady's shoulder. A tinge of jealousy entered her heart. "They look cozy."
"What?" He responded to her question not her comment.
"I said they looked cozy."
Seth shook his head, "No, what is the best thing about being born in April?"
Angela giggled, "Oh, it's because of my birthstone, do you know what it is?"
He got the distinct feeling that if he got this wrong, she might become a little upset but he also figured he could guess by who she was as a person. "Diamond?"
She clasped her hands together, "Yes! My friends get birthstones and they are garnets or emeralds or rubies... or heaven forbid opals. Not me, I am encrusted with diamonds and it's not pretentious because it's my birthstone."
"I suppose not." Seth sighed when she grabbed his hand and began to walk again.
Somehow, he remembered her being less shallow in the past. He wondered if something had changed her or if he just hadn't been paying attention. Then again, he might have thought it was normal until he met Riane and her female friends. Not that his mother was shallow by any means, but she wasn't someone to date either.
"Oh, samples!" Angela pointed towards a kiosk that was selling seasonal sausage and cheeses for the holidays.
A girl stood in front of it with a tray and offered out samples to those walking by. She smiled at everyone and told them the price before they eventually walked away.
Upon seeing her, Seth's heart began to speed up as Angela pulled him towards her. "What are these?"
"Hey, Emma." Seth smiled at her.
Emma gave a smile of recognition, and completely ignored Angela's question though it wasn't on purpose, but from the surprise of seeing a friend. "Seth! Hi!"
"You two know each other?" Angela didn't care for the look the two gave each other as she grabbed a toothpick and took one of the smoked cheese samples off the tray.
"Yes, Emma goes to school with me. She is friends with Riane." He told her as if she should know any of these people's names. "Emma, this is Angela. My girlfriend slash arranged fiancee."
Angela frowned at her introduction and ignored Emma when she tried to shake her hand. "Who is Riane?"
He nodded and didn't seemed bothered by her sudden jealousy that was obvious even to Emma. "Julian's fiancee. Dalen was dating her friend, Joe. I thought I told you about this."
She slowly shook her head, "I didn't know you had so many female friends. I am sure I would have remembered something like that."
He shrugged, "Well, three female friends is hardly a lot, especially when two of them are dating your friends."
Emma felt uncomfortable and looked towards those passing them by. "Cheese?"
"So, you are working here through the winter break then?" He asked when Angela had nothing to reply.
She nodded, "Until we go on that trip. Riane invited me, she said she didn't want to be the only girl there. I've never been to a Hawaii before and I can't believe she is actually taking me with her. I am so excited."
Riane had even offered to make sure that her bills were paid in order to have her friend tag along. It had taken some time to convince her to let Riane do such a thing for her, but Riane told her she wouldn't offer if she didn't really want her to come. However, she wanted to leave that out of the conversation.
"You are going to Hawaii?" This had been the first that Angela had heard of such a thing. She was starting to get a sense that perhaps she didn't know Seth at all.
Seth gave a nod, "Yeah, just friends."
"Is Riane going with Julian?" She had just learned of these names, but already she was prepared to use them against him.
"Yes, but they aren't really engaged. They are just faking it in order to finish out college. Riane was our friend before she became his fiancee." Seth turned back to Emma. "I can't believe you are coming that will be so much fun."
"Well, I should get back to work." Emma held up the tray, "I'll see you on Monday when we leave, yes?"
"Yep, see you then." Seth continued to hold Angela's hand and this time he walked away with her in tow.
When Angela felt she was far enough away from Seth, she pulled on his hand to get him to stop walking. There was a bench nearby and she sat down but Seth remained standing.
"Um, why didn't you tell me about your female friends? You mentioned Julian and Dalen, but I have never heard of a Riane, or a Emma, or a Joe before. It feels like you have something to hide." She crossed her arms over her chest and lean back on the bench.
"You know it just hasn't come up. We haven't really talked about me much. Most of the subject matter is about you and your life. I would have told you eventually." Seth decided to sit down beside her.
"And when were you planning on telling me about Hawaii? You leave on Monday, and you weren't going to let me know this would be the last time I would see you in a while?"
Seth opened his mouth and then closed it. "You know it didn't cross my mind that I needed to tell you. I'm sorry."
Angela sighed, "Very well. Let's make this day count then. How long will you be gone?"
"A week." He said nonchalantly.
"A week! Are you kidding me?"
-***-
Dalen had been trying to get a hold of Joe for two weeks. It seemed that Riane had been attempting to talk to her as well, but she had gone silent. Though Dalen wondered how truly hard Riane had tried to talk to her friend.
He had given her plenty of space and decided that he wanted to come back over to her home to see her. After speaking with his sister he did see some of her points that she was trying to make. He did sound like he needed approval from his family in order to continue their relationship, and that wasn't the case at all.
Unless she acted like a terrible person or seemed to be a gold digger, his family didn't really care about who he dated. In fact, they gave him quite a bit of leeway compared to other families of his station. His mother always told him that she just wanted someone that could make him happy, and she would always jokingly add that she would like someone who liked to bake.
On his way over he found a flower shop that had a dozen red roses, and had happily purchased them as a peace offering.
Without telling the Swithins that he was there, he parked his car in the front and headed around back to the guest house. As soon as he turned the corner, he was met with a familiar face carrying a box and a surprised look on his face.
"Uh, Neil, right?" Dalen held out his hand until he realized that the man couldn't shake it. "Oh, sorry, no need to put it down."
Neil chuckled, "Yeah. Dalen, right?"
He nodded, "Um, is Joe in there?"
"Yeah, we are just moving her boxes to the car. She is moving back home." Neil shifted as the box he was carrying was heavy.
"Oh, alright. Well, could you give us a couple minutes before heading back?" Dalen didn't expect him to agree, but he nodded and quickly left.
Walking over to the open door, even though it was freezing out, Dalen stepped inside to see the small amount of boxes that had been packed up. He wondered what exactly was going on, but decided that it was probably none of his business. At least, it wasn't yet.
"Joe!" He called her name.
She appeared, wearing shorts and a tank top, from the kitchen and looked surprised to see him. "Dalen, what are you doing here?"
"I've been trying to get a hold of you, but you weren't answering my calls." He held out the flowers to her. "Probably not the best time to receive flowers, but they are still yours to do with as you please."
She took them from him and tossed them onto the couch. "Dalen, I am really busy right now. I don't have time to deal with this."
"Look, I am very sorry about what happened. I realized that I made it sound like my family needed to approve of you, and that is not what I meant. Don't you want your mom to like me? That is all I was going for. Can we please just talk about it?" He brought his hands together as if he were begging her.
Joe sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't answer your calls because I didn't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you anymore. Can't you understand that?"
"I don't understand why. One argument and our relationship is over. Am I that easy to toss out?" He remembered feeling this way several times before in his life. A girl feels overwhelmed and she tosses him aside in an effort to escape.
"The way you treated me was the way you treat someone you barely know. Tossing me out of your home because I am trying to explain my emotions to you that is just cruel." She crossed her arms. "I am not important enough to be heard then I am not important enough to stay at your side."
"I thought our conversation was becoming too hot and that it would lead to no where. I wanted things to cool down before we discussed it further."
She licked her bottom lip briefly and gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Is that some sort of bad joke? You wanted things to cool down so instead of saying let's talk about something else and talk about it later when we are a little even headed, you throw me out into the snow? Remind you that you didn't even bother to walk me to the door. You made me see my own self out."
He slowly nodded her head as she spoke, "In hind sight, I can see how that could be seen as disrespectful."
She swallowed, "I think we are done here."
"Look, we are all going to Hawaii together on Monday. Why don't you come? At the very least maybe you and Riane can have a real chat. She said that she has been trying to talk to you."
"I don't want to go to Hawaii with you or Riane!" She tossed her hands in the air. "Riane has sent me a total of two texts to which I replied that I was hurt, and she didn't reply back at all. That's not exactly trying to talk to me, is it?"
"So, what you are quitting your job?" He sounded exasperated, "What are you going to do to pay for college?"
"I haven't driven Riane anywhere in almost three weeks now. Do you know what the worst part of it is? That Ivy bitch that attacked her, remember her?"
He nodded.
"They are fucking friends now, and I am in the fucking cold! She forgave her, but she couldn't bring herself to forgive me. I am her oldest friend. I should be the one she wants in her life, but instead she now has Emma and Ivy. She has you and Seth. Most disgustingly, she has Julian following her around like a puppy wanting to please her at every turn." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I am her friend. Why don't I get any forgiveness? I made one fucking mistake."
He reached out to hold her, but Joe shoved his hands away. "Do you want me to talk to her? Help you find out what is going on?"
"No, Dalen. I want you to not be part of my life anymore. Don't you understand? I am breaking up with you. We are done. Finished. Over." She was trying her best not to scream.
"I don't understand why. You are mad that Riane won't forgive you over one mistake, and here you are unable to do the same for me." He dropped his hands to his side. "You know what. Be a hypocrite. When you are done acting insane, give me a call and maybe we can work something out. Good luck to you."
He turned around to leave and found Neil standing in the door way. Pausing for a second, he felt ashamed of what he had just said, but continued to move towards the door. Neil stepped out of his way and watched him disappear around the house.
Joe wiped tears from her eyes. "What a dick!"
Stepping inside the house, he shut the door behind him. "He was a little right though, wasn't he? I mean you said your relationship was really good, one of the best, and you can't forgive him over making a single mistake?"
She placed her hand over her heart, "I want to. I want to so badly."
"Then do it."
Sitting down on the back of the couch, she slowly shook her head. "I can't. Every time I try my heart clenches up and my mouth won't let me form the words."
"Have you tried a letter or a text instead?" Neil came over to the couch to stand in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I write it and then I erase it. Over and over again."
He inhaled and sat down beside her, "So your pride is in the way of your boyfriend, but what about Riane? Maybe that is the problem whenever she tries to reach out."
She nodded, "I know it is."
-***-
Ivy waved at the bus when she saw Emma in the window. The two didn't live far from each other and Ivy would wait at the bus stop after Emma's shift to walk home with her. Though Ivy hadn't really gotten too close to Riane, she did find a friend in Emma.
It was nice to have a friend that wasn't part of the alcohol and drug life style that she was trapped in. Finding things to do other than those things was always a nice surprise. Plus Emma was a kind person but she, at times, could pull out her inner demon if she felt disrespected.
"Hey, how was work?" Ivy asked as she bundled up in her faux fur coat and rubbed her hands together as Emma stepped off the bus into the snow.
"You will not believe who I ran into." Emma was putting on her hat and gloves as she spoke. "Seth was there with his fiancee."
"Yikes. Did he introduce you?" Ivy asked as the two walked towards her apartment.
The truth was Ivy lived across the street from the bar she worked at, so she didn't need to come to the bus stop everyday. However, the social interaction made her feel much less lonely, and in a selfish way Emma sometimes fed her. After eating ramen noodles almost every day for years, it was nice to have a home cooked meal.
"Yes, he did. She and I didn't talk much though. I told you before that he said he wasn't very interested in her." She sighed. "He stared at me pretty much the whole time, except when they were arguing about him not telling her about the trip."
"What trip?"
Emma raised an eyebrow, "The one to Hawaii I told you about last week."
Ivy nodded her head, "Oh, yeah. I guess I am not invited."
"Sorry, Ivy. I am sure Riane wanted to, but Julian wouldn't be comfortable with that. Not that I have talked to Riane about it. Would you like me to?" Even in her big coat, she felt frozen to the core and wrapped her arms around herself.
"No, I don't need an explanation why I am not invited. Riane and Julian are engaged, of course they don't want his old friend with benefits hanging around on a nice vacation." She did feel left out, but also knew she hadn't been friends with Riane for that long. Of course neither had Emma, but their's was a different story.
"Yeah, even more so now that Julian seems to be getting serious about the engagement." Emma couldn't wait to get home to have a hot cup of tea to warm her body, and her mind was mostly stuck on the smell and taste.
"It wasn't serious in the beginning?" Ivy questioned as they finally got to a part of the sidewalk that someone had salted, so they no longer had to trudge through the snow.
She nodded, "Yeah, it was an arranged engagement. They were just going to pretend until college was over and then break up to keep their parents off their back."
"No shit. Julian never seemed the type to play games, but now he is getting serious? Like he is actually falling for her? I wonder what that looks like." Ivy chuckled.
Over the last two weeks, she had learned that Julian was actually nineteen years old and it made her lose a great deal of interest over him. She thought he was younger than her, but she didn't think he was that much younger. It made many of the immature things he did make a lot more sense.
"It looks a lot like heart eyes and sickly sweet declarations. He is intent on making her like him back. If you ever get a chance to see it; don't. It is like watching a puppy desperately want someone's attention, but that person hates dogs." Emma laughed.
Her friend smirked, "I can't even imagine it."
"He buys her a candy bar every few days and slyly places it on her tray. He runs around giving her hugs from behind and holding her there until she says whatever he wants her to say. I saw him try to steal a kiss from her cheek, but Riane wasn't having any of that. It is the most dorky thing you can imagine, and it's from Julian so it makes it super awkward." Emma continued to chuckle, "Riane looks like an annoyed cat being taunted by the dog."
Ivy shook her head with a grin, "Who would have thought Julian could be a total goof when he is in love."
"Riane told me that he liked this girl before her. He was very cold to her, but Seth told me that it was because she turned him down hard. Like in front of people. He still liked her, but he was pissed at the same time." She stopped in front of her apartment building. "Do you want to come up? I am going to make tea, and probably spaghetti. There is always leftovers."
"Sure." Ivy began climbing the stairs after Emma started heading up. "So, about Seth. Other than noticing him staring at you, are there any signs that he likes you?"
Emma began to unlock the front door and she shook her head. "I can't decide if he is just being friendly, or if there is something there. He is engaged anyway, so it doesn't really matter, does it? I am not the type to get in the way."
They stepped inside and Ivy noticed a box in the corner, as they both took off their jackets and put them on the back of the couch. "What is that?"
"My mom's friend redid her living room, so my mom sent me her old living room stuff. Tv stand, side tables, and a coffee table. If you help me put it together, you can take any of my old things you want." Emma told her as she walked into the kitchen and turned on the electric kettle that already had water in it.
"My studio is pretty small, but I definitely could use a TV stand. I have a box with books in it right now." She wasn't embarrassed to admit these things to Emma, even though she didn't really want her to come to her own place.
"Yeah, and mine has draws so you can use it to put away clothes or whatever." She pulled down two mugs. "I have nighttime or peppermint."
"Peppermint, please."
"Oh, a lemon one too. I don't know why I have this, I hate lemon in my tea." She stared at the box for a couple seconds, "I bet my mom bought this for herself when she visited."
"Peppermint is fine."
"Are you sure you don't want any of the other pieces? You might not have room for a coffee table, but what about one side table?" Emma asked as she stepped out of the kitchen and found Ivy sitting on her couch.
"I would hate to break up the set." Ivy explained but she sounded hesitant to turn her down. "I don't have any tables at my house though."
"They are stackable. Take both." Emma walked around to sit beside her on the couch, and she exhaled loudly. "Horrible mistake. Now that I am sitting, I'll never want to stand up."
Ivy snickered, "I've had days like that." She leaned back against the couch. "Make sure you take lots of pictures in Hawaii. I want to feel like I was there when I look at them."
"Don't worry. I can't wait to see green again." Emma massaged her own shoulder and then stretched out her neck.
Turning her head, she looked at Emma with a tired look in her eyes but a smirk on her lips. "Green, what is that?"
They both giggled for a moment and then sat quietly while they listened to the kettle boil the water in the kitchen.
"Do I smell like meats and cheeses?" She asked after the quiet became too awkward for her and she simply had to fill the air with something.
"Yeah, smells good though. I mean not go on a date smell like that nice, but definitely I wish you had stolen some so I could eat it nice." Ivy stretched out her arms.
"Coat pocket. They let you take some home to prevent stealing." She laughed when Ivy's eyes lit up and she began to dig through the pockets of her coat.
"Why didn't you lead with this information?"
-***-
Riane made her way downstairs with Julian in tow. They were laughing at something one of them had said, but Nanette hadn't overheard their conversation. She had been waiting for Riane to come downstairs as she had been thinking about a particular topic for weeks now, but didn't know how to broach the subject.
"Riane." Nanette stepped out from the dining room. "Can I speak to you privately?"
Julian felt ill at ease at the thought of his mother taking Riane away from him for a "private" conversation. Would it be about him? Would it be about ending their engagement?
"Certainly." Riane said nothing as she followed Nanette into the dining room and left Julian in the hallway.
For a moment, he thought to walk away from the room but instead he stomped on the stairs a few times to make it sound like he ascended them before placing himself against the wall. He had no idea what his mother had been up to lately in her thoughts, and she had never tried to push the two together. He feared she was unhappy with the arrangement, and wouldn't let Riane fight this battle alone, even if that meant eavesdropping.
Riane stared at the woman across from her who folded her hands on top of the table and cleared her throat. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong." Nanette spoke softly. "I have been thinking about your degree and I remember you telling me that you wanted to study music."
"Yes, I did." Riane's heart began to race and her palms began to sweat as anxiety of where this conversation might lead set in.
"I have heard you playing instruments for weeks now, and I don't know if you have noticed but Zack has become quite the fan." She smiled gently.
"I have noticed him peeking in on me, but if I let him know I see him he just runs away. It's very cute." Riane started to think this conversation might lead to her teaching Zack a instrument or two instead of anywhere frightful.
Nanette continued to smile, "Riane, I understand that you didn't become a music major because of your father's choices in your life. Is that true?"
"He didn't think it would lead to any sort of career. He says it's a hobby not a way to support your life and family." The question immediately made her nervous again though she couldn't decide why that was just yet.
"I was thinking that when you sign up for classes in January that maybe you switch your major." Nanette watched as the girl's face grew with confusion and then worry.
"My father was pretty adamant about what my major should be." Riane remembered the argument and her father threatening to throw her out.
"That was when you lived under his roof, but this is your home now. Here we do not tell our children what their futures should be. Despite my hypocritical attempts with Julian, but you understand what I mean." She inhaled deeply, "I think you would be a great deal happier if you made the switch and when one member of the family is happier everyone benefits."
Riane liked the idea of being called family and grinned apprehensively. "I would fear my father's wrath."
"So, we don't tell him. It is not like you have had any contact with your family since you moved out, right?"
"No, but if he finds out he could pull my college funds." She began to play with her fingers under the table.
"If he does we will pay them. He can't toss you out, you live here. If it's money for college then we can afford to pay for you. Just think about it, alright?" Nanette feared that she wouldn't even agree to think about the matter as Riane looked terrified.
"Alright." She agreed reluctantly.
"Are you kidding?" Julian stormed into the room and stood next to Riane, his eyes turned downward to look upon her face. "You have to get your music degree."
Riane was confused by his sudden interruptions.
"Julian, I have asked you not to eavesdrop. It is rude." Nanette scolded, but her son seemed unwilling to hear her words.
"I get to do what I am a genius at, and you should be able to as well. Music is something you love, but you are ignoring it to do something you loathe." Julian's voice held genuine concern, which was something that Nanette had not expected. Not because of what he was saying, but because of the emotion behind it. "One day you'll be sitting in a meeting doing administration bullshit, and you'll overhear a song or something. Your brain will just snap and a flood of regret will fill you, and you realize that you allowed someone else to destroy your dream without ever giving it a chance when you were given one."
Riane's eyes turned to the table as she thought over his words. Though his story was a little over the top, the sentiment behind it was real enough.
Nanette was lost in her own world. She still wanted Riane to take on a music degree, but her mind was now stuck on her son.
The two had been getting along recently, but she hadn't noticed it until that moment. Her son's eyes looked at Riane with a softness that she hadn't seen in a long time. He was commanding her, but trying to convince her.
Had this actually worked? She figured the two decided to get along to finish out college as Julian's threats ended quickly, but she never really thought anything would happen between the two. She just wanted to curb Julian's unsavory activities until he had finished school. Both her and her husband thought that had a eternal playboy on their hands.
Riane nodded her head and looked up to Julian. "You're right. Next semester I'll change my major and start living for myself; not my dad."
Julian smiled widely, "Great! Maybe I'll get you to teach me an instrument."
"Which one?"
He shrugged, "Which one do you think I should play?"
Riane chuckled, "That's a very personal decision. I can show you a bunch and maybe you can find the one you want."
"Alright, right now?"
A throat cleared itself for attention from the doorway, and Joe stood there ready to say her goodbyes to Nanette for all she had done for her.
"I'm going to head home now." She explained.
Nanette stood from the chair and walked over to her. "Are you sure about this? I don't want you to lose your job."
"There is no job." Joe tried her best not to look at her friend. She had felt jealousy towards Julian as she watched the two interact with one another.
"What's going on?" Julian asked.
"Joe is moving back to her mother's apartment and is quitting her job here." Nanette told them with disappointment.
Standing from her chair, Riane walked over to Joe. "Can I have a moment alone?"
Joe nodded and followed her out of the room.
Turning her attention to her son, Nanette opened her mouth to ask the question but quickly closed it. She didn't know if asking him about his feelings for Riane would cause him to shut them down and she didn't want to risk it.
"I hope they make up." She mumbled.
Julian shrugged, "That's up to them."