4. Izzy

Ispent the next two weeks pointedly ignoring the world. I wasn't exactly hurt by Harry, but man was it embarrassing. Especially the family dinner I was supposed to attend. Hard pass on that. And he still denied it? How could he lie when I literally caught him on camera? Men.

After I captured the video of his infidelity, I made him meet me in a neutral location—a café—and I showed him the evidence. He had the audacity to say I made it with AI. That it was my fault he was with my step-sister now, that I pushed him to her when I spewed my accusations. Needless to say, that was the end of just another pointless relationship with a horribly immature, vanilla man.

My step-sister and I had never been close, but now I did my best to prevent any possible interactions.

I was a bit annoyed, though. Usually, I would be venting all of this to Oliver, but it almost felt as if he was avoiding me. What gave?

I voiced these exact concerns to Yara on the phone as I opened my bag to pack for our trip.

"He's probably just giving you space. You know, girl time and what have you." That did sound almost convincing.

"I guess…" I still didn't fully believe it. Oliver always stayed by my side for every fucked man and break up over the years. It was odd he was keeping his distance now, but I chalked it up to our impending trip.

She paused, almost as if she was unsure if she should continue, it was very uncharacteristic of Yara. "And truthfully? Isn't Oliver a little bit too involved in your life? He even freaking tracks your phone!"

I didn't want to rehash this argument. She always said there was something off with how close Oliver and I were. In all honesty, I think she might have simply been jealous that he and I spent so much time together while she lived on the other side of the country.

Humming, I walked into my bathroom gathering what I would need for my trip. I opted to change the topic entirely. "Are you there yet?"

Our high school resided in good ol' sunny Florida. While Oliver graduated three years my senior, I would be bringing him as my plus one to our ten-year reunion. I was still dreading it, but I could acknowledge the potential for expanding our company.

Our profit was just teetering on the cusp of me never needing to work another day again, and I could one hundred percent support that. I preferred to delegate, if at all possible.

"Not yet," Yara stated casually, accepting the shift and my obvious disagreement with her opinions on Oliver.

"I am excited about one thing though." I redirected the conversation again as I organized my toiletries bag. "Sooo, you find someone for me?"

Yara cackled in my ear, "Girl, you know how this works, but yes of course. I will have it all ready to go the night of the reunion. You sure you want to go in completely blind?"

I set my toiletries bag on my bed next to my suitcase. My ever-active libido was more excited than I thought possible and with myself placed firmly in the friendzone for both Oliver and Maddox, I needed options. "Yes, I have a special request in mind for our first encounter, and I don't really care what he looks like. Just make sure he knows what he's getting himself into. I don't want to be rejected, please?" I whined the last word as I pinched a stomach roll through my shirt. I didn't overeat and I worked out, but even still, I never could make much of a difference to my size.

"Girl, when are you going to wake up and realize those thick thighs, big old TDs, and juicy ass are what men dream of?"

I scoffed. "Harry certainly didn't agree." I was still in the whiny and pity party phase of our breakup. My step-sister was gorgeous in all the ways I, most certainly, was not.

Yara made a series of noises that reminded me of an exhaust backfiring, and I pulled the phone from my ear, hissing.

"Ouch," I grunted.

"Shut your whore mouth, you know that man is trash. He didn't deserve you, let alone this self-deprecating bullshit. I know the man for you, I found him a year ago and he wanted you then. All the same, he wants you now. We both just waited ever so patiently for your call. And he's hot AF."

"Sure," I replied in disbelief and continued packing my bag. My hands hovered over my underwear drawer.

Fuck it. Was the man even worth it if he didn't want you in a Mumu?

"I can hear your brain through the phone."

"Do I need to pack lingerie?" I questioned. I wasn't exactly sure how this worked.

"Girl. Why bother? Easy access is what I always say. And all those strings and shit? Well, if it makes you feel good, but if not–" she paused "–wear what makes you feel the best."

Decision made, I dropped the lingerie that rode right up my ass back into the drawer. "Mumu it is."

Yara laughed. "You know I love you, right?"

"Always," I confirmed. "So, you going to tell me about your newest beau?"

Yara went unexpectedly silent. "I don't have one," she finally stated.

It was odd, as she was always dishing the tea on the newest flame in her life, but I knew when Yara didn't want to talk about something. We may live states away, but we always got each other.

"Seriously though, can we talk about Maddox? Why don't you just jump on that? He watches you even more closely than Oliver does," Yara not so subtly redirected.

I choked and dropped what I was holding to the floor. "Funny. You've got jokes."

When I first met Maddox, I thought he might be interested, but he had fully friendzoned me. I realized I wasn"t his type; he seemed to be into the gym babes while I was an anime, bookish, nerd girl.

"Sure…" Yara drawled the word out. "Well finish your packing. T-minus twelve hours until we are finally reunited. It has been too long. In case you were wondering," she scolded me.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. In our next lives we can both strive to not be the boss ass bitches we are and actually have more time for each other."

She cackled into my ear, "We have way too much energy for that." She turned the phone, and I heard her yell at someone. "Got to go, this boss ass bitch is about to meet your future man. See you soon, doll face."

The phone clicked and I sat it down, moving my attention to my now fully packed bag.

Six Mumus, one pair of socks, and a t-shirt.

Well, that would not work. I dumped my entire bag and restarted the process. I had a plane to catch and a man to fuck. I scanned the time on my phone and cursed.

Why did I always procrastinate everything?