Neighborly

Secrets Don't Make Friends

The next week crawled by so slowly. It was torturous. By Wednesday I was begging Marni for her to spend the night with me. I desperately needed a night of trashy reality TV and heavy drinking. Heidi was due to be in town on Friday. Jared had already scheduled out the whole day to be dedicated solely to her. We’d start with a meeting at the manor that morning to tour the grounds and discuss all of her ideas, followed by a lunch in the dining hall to sample caterers and table arrangements. I hadn’t heard from Grady since he left my house last Tuesday night. I looked for him every morning when I left my house for work and every night when I got back home. Only this time, it wasn’t to avoid him. I honestly didn’t know what I wanted when it came to him.

On Wednesday, I left work at five and headed straight home. I flew through the door at warp speed. I was so excited to finally be done with the day and was looking forward to a much needed time with my best friend. I put my hair in low pigtails, washed all the make-up off my face, and threw on an over-sized Social Distortion t-shirt I’d had since eighth grade and a pair of shorts I’d made from an old pair of sweat pants. Marni and I had decided on tacos from our favorite Mexican place for dinner. She was bringing the food and I was mixing the drinks. I had just started adding ingredients to the blender when I heard Marni come through the door.

“I think the military should stop waterboarding terrorists and just make them drive around with Agave’s food next to them when they’re starving. I would have given up every secret I know just to take a bite of this food on the way here. It smells soooo good.”

Marni dropped two bags on the counter and busied herself getting plates out of the cabinet. As if on cue, my stomach growled when the scent of the food hit my nose. I hit blend on the blender to get the drinks started while I watched Marni mill around my kitchen. Her wild orange curls were bouncing around her face as she moved around. She was wearing a light blue tank top and black yoga pants. She had already kicked off her shoes when she came in the door.

“It does smell amazing. What did you get us?”

“Chips, cheese dip, guac, and they were having a special on jumbo chimichangas. These are stuffed with bacon, shrimp, AND chicken.”

“That sounds delicious.” I handed her a margarita. She took a big gulp before doling out food onto our plates. We both quickly dove into the food, not even bothering to sit down to eat.

“How was your day?”

“Long. Boring. Yours?”

“Same s**t, different day. That new receptionist quit.”

“Damn, already?” This was the second receptionist she'd hired in the last 4 months. No one ever stayed in that position for very long.

“Yeah. Dr. Cobb won’t let me up the salary and there’s no benefits, so as soon as something better comes along, they move on. I can’t blame them.”

“It still blows my mind that there are no benefits at a doctor’s office.”

“It still blows my mind that I’m still working there. Everything about that place makes me feel like I’m working for the devil. But I can’t seem to get out. I can’t find anything better right now.”

“You will eventually. Or finally marry Bryce and become a housewife.”

Marni glared at me over her margarita glass. Bryce hadn’t officially asked her to marry him but it had been a constant argument between the two of them for the past year. He messed up one time and suggested she become a housewife and she hadn’t let him forget it since. She was so independent that suggesting she depend on someone else was an insult to her sensibilities.

“Speaking of Bryce, he’s next door. Apparently, you’re not the only one having a hard week.” I could feel her studying my face for a reaction.

“What makes you say that?”“According to Bryce, Grady called him at lunchtime and was already drunk. Asked him to come over and watch baseball with him tonight. He said he was having a rough week and wanted to blow off some steam with some drinks with his best friend.”

I didn’t immediately respond. I kept eating my food. Why should I care if he was having a rough week? The bastard had led me on and almost had me naked even though he had a fiance and I was planning their wedding. He didn’t give a damn about my feelings, so why should I care about his?

“What’s going on with you two, Molls?”

I hadn’t told Marni about the other night in the chair. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that I’d become a homewrecker. Or admit to anyone else that I really didn’t feel bad about it. I wasn’t ashamed at what I had done. I was ashamed that I had liked it and I wanted more.

“Nothing.” I grumbled in between bites of food.

“Bullshit. You’ve never kept secrets from me. What’s going on?”

I sighed and put down my fork. Marni was right. I had never kept anything from her. She was almost like a living diary. I told Marni everything.

“He came over here that night after our disastrous lunch. Things got a little heated.”

“A little heated how?”

“f**k, Marni. I might as well just spill it. Grady Markham was three centimeters away from having his face shoved in my v****a when his fiance called and ruined the moment.”

Marni stared at me, wide-eyed. She was holding her margarita glass as if she was about to take a sip, but she didn’t make a move. I could tell she was still trying to process what I had just said.

“I know. I know. I would have never thought it myself.”

“How the f**k did that happen? And do not skip any details.”

“Well, he barged his way in here after texting me. We sat in the living room and talked about when we were kids and how mean he was to me. And then he confesses that it was all because he had a huge crush on me, but I intimidated him and he didn’t know how to handle me. He basically said he got off on fighting with me.”

“That’s sick. And hot.” Marni giggled into her hand.

“Then he came over to the chair where I was sitting and kissed me. He told me all I had to do was say stop and he would. But I told him that I didn’t want him to. Things progressed from there and the next thing I knew, my pants were off and he was biting my thighs while he was rubbing me through my panties. And then she called.”

“What happened after that?”

“We decided that seeing each other anymore was a bad idea. He said he wasn’t really sure why I affected him this way and that he didn’t know what he wanted. I didn’t really say anything because I was so afraid that my heart would betray my brain and I’d say something stupid like ‘leave her’. So I kissed him goodbye and that was that.”

“Well, that’s depressing,” Marni got up and started cleaning up our plates. I started putting everything in plastic containers, splitting the leftovers evenly so Marni could take some home. I gave her all of the guacamole. It made me want to puke just looking at it. “I always secretly hoped you two would end up dating when we were kids.”

“What?” I spun around and looked at her incredulously.

“I just always thought you two had a thing for each other. Turns out I was right.” She laughed and wiggled her eyebrows at me.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s go watch some housewives and forget about men for a while.”

Marni and I lounged in the living room while we watched The Real Housewives of New York. She and I both loved watching other peoples’ drama. It was much better than dealing with the drama of our own lives. We were halfway through a season of the show when Marni broke the silence between us.

“Is she pretty?”

“Who?”

“Heidi.”

“I have no idea. But I would assume so. She’s younger than us. And her family has money. So she’s probably drop dead gorgeous as well.”

“You mean you haven’t looked her up?”

“What? No. Why would I?”

“I mean I would have already looked her up if some b***h was engaged to my man.”

“Marni,” I started laughing. “He’s not my man. And if anything, I’m the b***h doing things with her man.”

“Semantics. Let’s look her up on Facebook.”

Marni grabbed her phone and leaned over so that we could both look together. I watched as she typed in Heidi’s name. She clicked on the first person that popped up. Staring back at us was a picture of Grady with a tall, buxom blonde draped over his shoulder. They were on a beach somewhere. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of bright pink and green swim trunks. She was wearing a coordinating bikini that didn’t leave much to the imagination. Her body was tanned and toned. She looked incredible.

“Wow. She’s gorgeous.”

“Of course she is.”

“But look at him. Damn, that’s a sexy man.”

“Does Bryce know you feel this way about his best friend?”

“I may have mentioned how well he grew up. Ya know, just to see those nostrils flare a little.”

“You’re so awful.” I giggled.

“Yeah, but Bryce never gets jealous. I like it when I know I can push his buttons sometimes. Enough about Bryce. Do you think she’s as fabulous as she looks?”

“She’s a twenty-six year old fashion designer whose family has a ton of money and she’s marrying a man whose family also has a ton of money. She can afford to be fabulous.”

“I bet she’s boring.” I smiled at Marni. I know she was just trying to make me feel better. “It’s getting late. I should probably go home.”

“Are you good to drive?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Unless you want me to spend the night? I know you’ve had a rough week.”

“No, go ahead. I’m probably going to bed as soon as you leave.”

Marni got up and I followed her to the door. She gave me a big hug before she left. I turned off the TV and the lights in the living room and headed for my bedroom. I turned on my bedside lamp and turned down my comforter, getting my bed ready for me to climb in it. I pulled off my shorts and was pulling my shirt over my head when I heard my phone ding. I didn’t pick it up but I could read the message on the lock screen.

Grady Markham: You should close your curtains.