Julie drove Liz’s car in silence, save for the low hum of a gut-wrenching ballad ironically about breakups. Liz was curled in a ball in the passenger seat, her knees heartbreakingly pressed to her chest, her head tucked into her arms. She hadn’t said a word since they’d left Nona’s.
Liz and Derrick had broken up too many times for Julie to count, but something about this night felt final. Like goodbye.
She wanted to say something to make her best friend feel better, but for the life of her, Julie didn’t know what to say—or do.
The red lights came one after another. Blinking beacons of clarity. If Liz needed a sign, it couldn’t have been much clearer that she needed to stop. That much Julie had down. Her only clue, really. That was going to be the first piece of advice she gave her friend. But what else?
She was no good at this sort of thing—words of wisdom, pep talks, uplifting quotes. That was Liz’s thing. Still, she kept running over profound tidbits she could give her whenever she came up for air.
Julie quickly glanced at the rearview mirror, biting her bottom lip before returning her gaze back to the road.
Stop. That was about as far as Julie had gotten by way of advice each time she pulled up to another red light. Except, what did that mean? Was Liz supposed to stop and think, or stop and go back, or just cut her losses while she was ahead?
Glancing over at Liz again, Julie decided she likely hadn’t seen one of the red lights. Liz wasn’t looking for signs from the universe right now. Her body seemed to sink lower and lower into the bend of the seat.
Muffled sobs and the gentle rise and fall of her friend’s back made her want to reach over and hug her as tight as she could. But she knew what it was like to need that time to settle down. The time to bawl and make a way through all of the tangled what-ifs and whys.
Besides, what was there to say? What would really make her feel better?
“Liz?” Her eyes flickered between the road and the rearview mirror as she touched Liz’s shoulder. “Got about five more minutes. How you doing over there?” she asked, glancing in the rear view once more.
At her side, Liz whimpered, but said nothing.
Rather than saying anything more, Julie turned the radio off and let the windows down. The desert breeze perfumed with that same air of romance drifted in her general direction. Well, it kind of floated in her direction from the black pickup truck still tailing her. The same truck where an annoyingly sweet Nico sat behind the wheel, with a heroic determination to ensure her safety home.
He and Julie had stood in front of the restaurant, arguing over how she’d get home. Liz had picked her up after work and she was supposed to take her back home. But what was she going to do? Tell her to suck it up and drive herself home when she’d just turned down a proposal from the man she loved? No.
For the umpteenth time, she assured Nico that she’d be fine. Once she’d dropped Liz off, it wasn’t a big deal to call for an Uber or a Lyft. She’d done it a million times and she didn’t need him to chaperone her. Still, he insisted and she finally snapped at him.
Up until three lights ago, Julie was pretty sure that he’d gotten the picture.
Through the rearview mirror, she peeked at him for about the twentieth time since she tried to lose him. She had swerved and jumped lanes, even gone as far as speeding through a yellow light on the verge of turning red. Even after three consecutive right turns brought them back to the same traffic light, he was right there, watching her through her rearview mirror.
He seemed like a nice guy. A real sweetheart. But then, so did that guy who roofied that girl in that New York nightclub and stuffed her into a shallow grave. She watched Forensic Files and Criminal Minds. Hell, she watched the news. She could be this guy’s next victim.
Her mind was still sifting through a thousand and one signs that Nico might be crazy when Liz lifted her head, jolting Julie’s thoughts. Her best friend was in pieces. Her eyes covered with black mascara sludge.
God, she had to think of something uplifting and supportive to say.
This is it. Half-hatched mutterings of reassurance and a few motivational quotes she’d read on Instagram floated in one ear and out the other, but they were all too rehearsed and impersonal. Ah, what would a real friend say?
She had no clue. This was Liz’s territory. Julie had always been on the receiving end of their little pep talks. Liz was the one who always knew just what to say to light a fire under her.
“Uh…it’s going to be fine.” Julie settled on safe and simple. She couldn’t go wrong with that. “Trust me, Derrick’ll probably be waiting at your place when we get there.”
Liz twisted in her seat and rested the back of her head on the window. Through the rays of streetlight piercing through the window, a twisted smirk pulled at the right corners of her eye and mouth, in the sort of regimented, unnatural way puppets move on command. “You suck at this.”
“Huh?”
“Jules, you’re no good at this, so just stop. You have no idea how to console a person. I’ll be fine. What you need to be worrying about is that hot little daddy who’s been following us and what you’re going to do when you guys get back to your place.” She gave a great impression of a smiling raccoon.
“I’m worried about you.”
“Why? I’m good. Derrick and I will work this out some kind of way. But you? You need to get your shit together,” she said. “You’re probably over there, ready to call America’s Most Wanted on him, when he’s just trying to make sure you make it home safe. Need to get your mom out of your head and let him clean those clogged pipes of yours,” she said as a giggle spilled from her lips.
Julie couldn’t help laughing as Liz shook her head disapprovingly.
“What? What do you want me to do?” Julie managed between stuttered laughs. “He could be a mass murderer. You don’t know.”
Even as she said it, she couldn’t help laughing at herself. The two of them burst into contagious giggles. Coming up for air in between bouts as they alternated from breathless heaving to all-out howling shrieks.
As always, Liz was right on both fronts. Julie sounded ridiculous, likening Nico to a psychopath—and a smash and dash might be just what she needed to unclog her pipes and her mind.
“Look, if you don’t get your paranoia together at some point, you’re going to end up haggard and alone. Shit, that boy is hot. If I wasn’t all caught up with Derrick, I would push your ass out of the way.”
In the face of Liz’s kidding, Julie attempted to bring the conversation full circle. “For real, though, in all seriousness, he’s hot, but he’s too sweet. If this is the real version of him he showed us tonight. What the hell am I going to do with a nice guy?” she asked as she flicked on her left blinker.
“Uh, first you said he was a player and now you’re worried he might be too nice?” Liz rolled her eyes. “Quit overanalyzing everything and just use him for the only thing men are good for. At least get some good sex out of this bust of a night.”
I’m going to let that one slide. That’s the hurt talking.
Julie’s brows scrunched low over her eyes. “Oh, okay, like that’s going to work. You know he’s probably just a poser. I didn’t get the manwhore vibe once tonight.”
“Yeah, because you’re so good at picking ’em,” Liz teased.
“Jerk.” With her right arm, Julie swatted the air at Liz. “Seriously, though. Not everyone has a stone wall around their heart and steel balls to walk out on a lovesick dude in the middle of a proposal. Nico’s too nice and you know it. I’ll end up breaking his heart.”
Liz jolted upright. “Like Patrick did yours?”
“Ooh, that was low. Even for you Liz, that was low.” Julie brought the car to a stop and put it in park.
For a split second, Julie cut her a serious side-eye.
Liz broke their stare first. Her shoulders lowered along with her eyes. “Jules, all I’m saying is that maybe you could stand to open up a little bit. Stop trying to mold your life and everyone in it around this plan in your head.” She exhaled. “Can you just try to live in this moment for once?”
As much as Julie wanted to deck her friend for that little dig, she did know. She did need live in the moment for once. For the past few years, she’d been forcing her goals and happiness into unachievable deadlines, and where had that left her? Husbandless with a dead-end job.
She hated when her family pigeonholed her, so why was she doing this to herself?
Without a second thought, Julie leaned over and hugged Liz. “Could have done without the shade, but thanks, you jerk.” She smiled and handed Liz the keys.
The lights of Nico’s truck glared against the glass as he pulled in beside them.
“Think you can make it from here?” Julie asked as they exited the car, just as the driver side door of Nico’s truck slammed shut and he walked up behind her.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Liz nodded and winked as she bounded up the steps to the front door of her apartment. “Text me when you get home,” she yelled to Julie from the second floor landing. “Oh. And Nico? I’ll cut you if you hurt her. Bye!” She gave a chipper wave.
When the door shut with Liz on the other side, Julie turned her attention to Nico.
Immediately, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “Sorry about that. She’s just…protective,” she explained, hoping he hadn’t read too much into Liz’s warning. Neither of them could predict where things might go between them beyond this night.
If she thought being face to face with Nico beneath the dim lights of a romantic Italian restaurant was a lot to handle, she’d drastically underestimated the effect of low lights and street lamps upon a good pair of cheekbones and a sharp chin.