9. Chapter 9

"Before you go to Chi-Town, we are having a girls' night," Macy announces during breakfast Wednesday morning. The three of us are gathered around our kitchen table, drinking coffee and munching on our breakfasts—a blueberry muffin for Chloe, waffles for Macy, and cereal for me.

Is there anything better than cereal? Like, it's the perfect meal.

Need breakfast? Cereal.

Need a snack? Cereal.

Don't want to cook dinner? Cereal.

But none of that healthy shit. Give me the Frosted Flakes with another teaspoon of sugar.

Taking a heaping spoonful of the sugary goodness, my head snaps to Macy.

"Ready to come up for air from dear ol' Gregg?" I ask around a mouthful of cereal, milk dribbling from my mouth.

"Chew first, you heathen." Macy tosses me a napkin. "And, as a matter of fact, Gregg is busy, and I miss my girls. It's not my fault you don't know what it's like to be in a relationship."

Oof, that stung. Because, just like Quinton, my closest girlfriends have no idea about my last relationship. The last time I loved someone.

Sensing my mood change, Macy apologizes. "Sorry, B."

Bringing another spoonful up to my mouth, I take another big bite, nodding my head in acceptance of her apology. There is nothing worse than conversation while eating cereal. Soggy cereal is shit, and anyone who disagrees is a psychopath.

Chiming in from the other side of Macy, Chloe asks, "What'd you have in mind, Mace?"

Macy's face lights up like a kid on Christmas morning.

"For starters, no boys allowed. No texting, no surprise visits, nothing. This is a girls' night only." Taking a breath, she continues. "Let's do a spa night with facials, mani/pedis, and hair treatments, while eating junk and watching early 2000s chick flicks!"

Out of the three of us, Macy is the girliest and, honestly, I can't even complain because she keeps me in line. If it wasn't for her, my nails would be a hot mess with chipped polish, and my face wouldn't have the healthy glow it has.

"Can we get Chinese food?" Chloe asks as she makes her way over to the kitchen sink to wash up a few dishes.

"Chinese sounds fantastic," I add, getting up and getting more coffee.

"Yes! Text me your orders, and let's plan on five o'clock."

"Sounds good, see you guys tonight."

Exiting the kitchen, I make my way to the front door to head to campus for my classes.

At five o'clock on the dot, the Chinese food delivery driver shows up with our food. Macy has the living room set up when Chloe and I walk in from classes. A pedicure spa tub, bowls of popcorn and chips on the coffee table, and a variety of beauty products are scattered around. Thank God Macy knows everything there is to know about beauty products because I am clueless. I'm no stranger to beauty regimens but growing up in an elite family meant I had appointments made for me with professionals who would take care of my hair, skin, and nails.

"I thought we could go ahead and do our hair masks while we eat, and then we can do facials, pedicures, and then manis. How's that sound?"

Chloe and I look at each other, neither one of us having an opinion on the matter.

I answer, shrugging. "Yeah, sounds good to us."

Macy stands there, clapping before tossing us each a bottle of hair treatment.

"Run up and wet your hair, apply the treatment, then come back down."

We do as we are told, returning to the living room a few minutes later. The town home we share is very modest. It's a recent, new build with modern finishings. Our living room is a large rectangular space that is separated from the kitchen and eat-in area by the staircase. The town home association made a smart decision by incorporating light and luxury vinyl flooring. Not only does it go perfectly with the warm, white walls, but it's easy maintenance.

The girls did all of the decorating. deciding on neutral colors with pops of yellow sprinkled throughout the house. Our leather couch and armchair are both extremely comfortable. So comfortable that someone is always falling asleep on them. But most of the time, you'll find us sitting around the coffee table, eating. Like we're doing now.

We dig into the assortment of containers—egg rolls, crab rangoon, fried rice, beef with broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, lo mein noodles, and steamed veggies. I'm pretty sure Macy ordered everything off the menu. A Cinderella Story is playing on the TV while we eat.

"So B, a friend of Gregg's is interested in taking you out on a date. What do you think?" Macy asks.

Taking a drink of my lime margarita, I savor the strong, cold liquid, letting the tequila burn the whole way down.

"I'm not interested in blind dates, Mace, you know this."

If I had a dollar for every time someone voiced concern or questioned my love life, I wouldn't have to pay for college. Seriously, it's absurd. What's wrong with a girl being in a non-committed relationship, or just hooking up with the opposite sex? Guys do it all the time. The whole double standard is archaic bullshit. It's 2022.

Where are all my promiscuous girls at?

"I know, I know but I thought I'd ask. I still think you should take Cody up on his offer. He's perfect for you," she replies, stabbing a piece of fried chicken.

Mulling over her comment, I know what I say next is going to shock the hell out of them. So I wait until Chloe is taking a drink of her marg.

"Actually, I've thought about it."

Macy half chokes on her chicken as Chloe snorts the margarita out of her nose.

Yes, just the reaction I was hoping for.

"Jesus, Chloe, you got margarita snot all over the table."

Sputtering, she grabs a napkin to clean up her mess. "You literally just shocked the hell out of me."

Macy chimes in. "Are you serious? Because if you're serious, I'm going to force you to text him right now."

"Ohmygosh, you guys are ridiculous."

Turning my attention to the TV, I can't help but appreciate a young Chad Michael Murray before One Tree Hill. Wasn't he everyone's dream guy growing up? Feeling eyes on me, I glance back at my friends who are still looking at me like I have two heads.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I ask, knowing damn well that's not why they are staring at me.

"Get your phone out, and text him right now," Macy demands.

Who does this bitch think she is?

Laughing, I turn my attention back to the TV again.

"Brinley Carolyn Wilder, do not ignore me."

Looking at my shocked bestie, I play dumb. "What Macy Marie?"

Pointing to my lap where my phone is, she barks, no, more like demands, "Get your phone out, text Cody right now, or I'm calling bullshit on you taking him up on a date."

Realizing that I'm not going to win this battle, I reach in my lap, grabbing my cell. Before I text Cody, I look Macy in the eyes.

"I thought you said no texting boys?"

Chloe stares at me. There's a look on her face that I can't quite decipher. It almost looks like she's upset at the prospect of me going on a date with Cody. And honestly, there's no way I'm going to go on a date with him. He's one of my best friends, and that's where things are going to stay.

I need new friends.

Scrolling through my messages app, I find Cody's name.

Leaving the text vague, I hit send. Not even thirty seconds later my phone chimes.

I grin and shake my head. Always a flirt.

Hitting send, I wait. And wait. And wait. The bubbles appear, notifying me that Cody is responding. Then they disappear. Appear again. Then disappear.

Ping, my phone chimes.

Turning the phone around, I show the girls my conversation with Cody.

"Happy?" I ask.

Macy grabs the phone from my hand, but Chloe just takes a sip of her margarita, avoiding the phone. My eyes narrow at her.

Note to self, circle back and figure out what's up with Chloe.

"You brat," Macy squeals, tossing my phone back.

I throw my head back and laugh. "I'm not going on a date with Cody!"

I watch as Chloe's shoulders relax. I toss her my phone, so she can read it.

Sitting around laughing with my two best friends is just what the doctor ordered. The evening is spent reminiscing on our friendship. We laugh at the story of when Macy got locked out of her dorm room and had to go floor-to-floor in a tiny towel, trying to find an RA to unlock her room.

Chloe reminds us of when we became friends with the football guys and how they called dibs on us when we met Cody. As if they could call dibs on us. The boys just had to learn to share and, thus, a beautiful friendship developed between the football and baseball teams.

Am I taking credit for their bromance? Oh, hell yeah.

A lot of margaritas are consumed, causing even more giggles.

There really isn't anything better than surrounding yourself with your tribe.

Growing up, I was never without a crowd. There were always people wanting to hang out with me. Those people called themselves my friends, but the truth is they were just using me for status. That's the problem with living where I grew up. It's full of fake people needing clout to make themselves feel important. Getting out of Chicago, and the toxic dynamic that surrounded my family and their "friends," was the best thing that I ever did. To this day, I'm so glad I chose to continue the dream that Bryce and I had in junior high. We both wanted to see the country, but we didn't want to do it without the other.

Little did we know that I would be doing it alone.

And, in just two short days, I'll be catching a flight back to Chicago to honor my brother's memory.