The next morning, Cali snuck into Morgan’s house like a wayward teenager and tiptoed toward the guest room Syd had designated as hers. After she’d left the bar, she’d driven home. She needed some time to herself, to sleep in her own bed.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Cali yelped and tripped, falling smack on her back. “Ouch!” she cried, wincing in pain.
When she opened her eyes, Syd was standing over her. “Where the hell have you been?” her friend repeated.
Syd extended a hand to help her up, but she waved her off and struggled to her feet. Brushing off her clothes, she said, “What are you doing up this early?”
“I’ve been up all night, worried about you. Red called. He was wondering if you were okay. Did something happen?”
Cali rubbed her lower back and rolled her neck. Her back was on fire and her leg was throbbing. Limping over to the table, she sat down gingerly. “I’m fine. I went home after I left The Ice Box. I needed some time.”
Syd sat across from her. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks.”
“Red told me you and he had an… encounter.”
“We’ve been having encounters for years, Syd,” Cali said sarcastically. “What else is new?”
“How about the fact that you two had just invoked the ‘easy out’ clause? And I heard you were having drinks with James. What the hell is up with that?”
“It was no big deal,” Cali said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I told Red that. Can we drop it?”
Syd held her hands up. “Okay,” she said. “We’ll drop it. What else is going on?”
“It wasn’t enough that your brother humiliated me last night.” Cali tilted her head. “But look what he left me with.”
Syd’s mouth hung open. “Oh my God. Is that a hickey?” She leaned closer and examined it, running her finger over it. “It is! Red lost so many cool points for this one. Who the hell does that anymore?”
“I know, right? I don’t think he realized he did it, though. I didn’t even notice until I woke up this morning.”
“I want to take a picture and send it to Morgan and Kent so they can blaze him.” Syd held her sides as she laughed.
“How do you even get rid of these things? Aren’t there some home remedies for them?”
She picked up her phone. “I’m going to Google it.”
Cali tried to remember what they did back in the day, thinking it had something to do with cold or ice.
“Got it!” Syd shouted, hurrying to a kitchen drawer. She pulled out a spoon and put it in the freezer. Then she grabbed an ice pack and joined Cali at the table. “Here, put this on it and hold it there for a few minutes.”
Frowning, Cali held the ice pack up to her neck, shivering as the cold plastic met her skin. “I thought a lot about what you said.”
Her friend rested her chin in her hand. “Did you get a chance to tell Red how you felt?”
“No. He didn’t give me a chance. He told me it didn’t change anything.” And that hurt like hell. She’d cried most of the night, but oddly, she wasn’t mad at Red. No, her anger was directed at herself. It was her inability to let go of her past that led to her heartache. And she had to deal with the consequences. “I think it’s too late.”
“I don’t agree. You two couldn’t even go an entire day. That doesn’t sound like a hopeless situation to me.”
After a few minutes, Cali put the ice pack down. “There has got to be something else we can do. It’s too cold.”
“Oh. Hold on.” Her friend read whatever website she’d been searching on and jumped up, heading toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Cali wondered if she was supposed to follow, but Syd soon reappeared with a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.
“I know you don’t expect me to brush my neck with that toothbrush?” Cali asked dryly.
“Apparently, you can rub the toothpaste on your neck and let it sit for about fifteen minutes,” Syd explained. “Then, rub it off with a warm cloth and, voilà, no hickey within twenty-four hours.”
“Straight up?” As if the last twenty-four hours hadn’t sucked enough.
“Okay, let’s try this then.” She stood up and tipped her head to the side. “Pull your skin flat,” she instructed.
Cali did as she was told and screamed bloody murder when Syd scraped the area with a… coin? Grabbing her wrist, she yelled, “Girl, stop! That shit hurts.”
“Do you want it gone?”
“It’s already irritated, Syd,” she shouted. “Forget it. I’ll wear a turtleneck or a scarf. I’m hungry. What’s for breakfast? Is Uncle Cal up?”
“He got up with the roosters and left, said he had to make a few stops. He asked where you were, but I covered and told him you had an early meeting.”
Cali wondered where her uncle had gone. She hadn’t expected him to be out when she got there. She was hoping to take him to breakfast so they could talk. If she’d known he had plans, she would have gone to work.
“I called Allina,” Syd admitted softly.
Cali waited for her to finish, but when her friend didn’t say anything else, she asked, “And?”
“She apologized for not telling me what was going on. But she said she’d be back for the baby shower. I don’t know what to think. We’re supposed to be best friends and she didn’t even tell me she got engaged or moved. I’m trying not to be hurt by it, but I am.”
“Well, you haven’t exactly been available,” Cali said. “There’s a lot going on. You’re pregnant and you moved.”
“I’m always available for my friends, even from Baltimore. Last time I talked to Allina, she barely mentioned the preacher. Now they’re getting married? Plus, you know how she feels about Kent. It just doesn’t seem like she’s thinking rationally. I don’t know… Then, her business. She had an awesome opportunity to expand her brand by taking over the shop. What about you and her?”
Cali shrugged. “It stung at first, but hey… Allina has to do what she feels is right. I can’t begrudge that. She’s always wanted to live her life a certain way, married with two-point-five kids and a happy home.”
Allina was one of Cali’s best friends, but she was closer to Syd because they were more alike. Allina was a prude, for lack of a better term. She always seemed to disapprove of Cali and her choices. They’d gotten into it a few times over the years, but Cali had decided to just let her be who she was. She was a sweet, giving person, albeit a little judgmental. Syd had a different relationship with her, though. They had a bond that Cali couldn’t quite understand, but she was cool with it. And when it counted, Allina had been there for her more times than not. That meant something to her.
Cali jolted up when she felt something cold on her neck. “Shit, Syd. Warn me next time,” she said, snatching the cold spoon from her grinning friend. Standing up, she glared at her. “I’m going to get a shower.” She placed the spoon back on her neck. “If this doesn’t work, it’ll be fine.”
Syd laughed. “I’ll make you some breakfast. It’s the least I can do. You’ve had a rough night.”
“Thank you. Can you make bacon? I have a taste for it.”
“I was thinking Fruit Loops. Just kidding. Go wash your ass. I got—” Syd cursed.
“Everything okay?” she asked, rushing toward Syd, who was leaning over the table, holding her belly. “What’s going on? Are you in pain?”
Syd breathed deep. “Oh no. I think that was a contraction.”
“What?” Cali screeched, panic welling up in her. “Oh my God. It’s not time. What do I do? Should we go to the hospital?”
Syd waved her off. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I think it’s normal, but I’m going to call my doctor. Hurry up and take your shower in case I have to go to the hospital.”
“Are you sure? Maybe I can drive you to the ER right now.”
Syd shook her head. “I’m fine. Just go. By the time you get out of the shower, I’ll have heard from the doctor and know what I need to do.”
Cali wasn’t sure she should leave her friend in pain like that, even for a quick shower. Instinct was telling her to stay and insist on driving her to the hospital. She’d heard of early deliveries, but that usually meant something was wrong.
“Go, Cali!” Syd shouted, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Turning, she ran to the guest room. Working quickly to set out her clothes for the day, she hurried to the shower and turned it on. It didn’t take long to get the water hot enough and she jumped in, praying the entire time that Syd was okay.