Pep Talk

It was Monday afternoon and I still hadn't heard back from Jonah. I was sitting in my anatomy class staring down at my phone screen. The book sitting in front of me suddenly slammed shut making me jump out of my chair.

“Fuck's sake, Henry!” I looked up to see him standing with a devious grin on his face.

I started packing up my book bag as I realized class was over. Henry leaned his elbow down on the table and rested his chin on his fist.

“Lynn?” He said in a sing-songy voice. I threw him some side eye, letting him know I wasn't into whatever he was about to tell me.

“Henry, stop being such a creep!” Sarah finally broke her concentration and put away her iPad that she'd been taking notes on.

Henry ignored her and continued, “I heard, through the grapevine, that you're still friends with Jaime.”

“Okay, and?” I shook my head at him as I stood up and waited for Sarah to pack up her things.

“Well, Jebrone and I are back together...”

I cut Henry off before he could go on, “Oh, yay, I knew you two would work it out!” I balled up my fists and shook them in the air.

“Thanks, but, I need you to stop being friends with Jaime.”

The smile on my face fell flat and I dropped my hands to my side. “No.”

“Lynn!” Henry shrieked.

Sarah finished packing up her things and we both walked out of the classroom with Henry tailing behind us.

“I'll let you have my driver for a week!” As tempting as it sounded to have a personal driver in this horrendously cold weather, I wasn't going to lose a friend over it.

I spun around to look Henry in the eye.“Why does it matter if I'm friends with Jaime? I'll just make sure you two aren't around each other.”

Henry grabbed my shoulders,“Okay, but how do I know Jaime won't be out to get me?”

I raised my eyebrows, “Why would Jaime be after you? Y'all had a fling. I'm sure he doesn't even remember you.”

“Lynn” Henry whispered. “He remembers!”

I laughed at how dramatic Henry was being and patted him on his cheek. I turned back around and chased after Sarah. She was already outside.

“What's up with Henry?” Sarah asked as she saw me approaching.

“I don't know. He's just paranoid I guess.” I dug inside my bag to pull out my metro card.

“Hey, before I forget, Poppy's coming into town on Thursday. Henry and I want to have a welcome dinner that night with a few close friends. Would you and Kadie be able to come?” Sarah's driver pulled up to the curb and she stood with the door open, waiting for my reply.

“Of course! I'll let Kadie know” I smiled at Sarah.

“Fabulous!” She jumped into her black SUV and shut the door behind her.

I waved her off and made my way down to the subway. When I got back to the apartment I was surprised to see Adam there. He'd been so busy lately I hadn't seen much of him.

“Hey, Lynn!” He greeted me as I walked in. It looked like he'd come straight from work. He was still in his business suit with his hair perfectly made and his face clean shaven. He began frantically typing away on his phone while he calmly sat in the living room waiting for Kadie.

“Hey, Adam” I smiled at him and continued into Kadie's room.

“Kadie?” I walked in and she wasn't any where to be found. I could tell she'd been there by the clothes that had been flung around the room. I almost immediately imagined her pulling a shirt up to herself, making a disgusted face, and then tossing the shirt behind her. Until of course she found the perfect top. Typical Kadie.

“Yeah” I heard Kadie call out from her restroom. “I'm in here!” I walked over and knocked hard enough to crack the door open. Kadie stood in front of the mirror making her hair.

“Are you going somewhere?” She was wearing a nice red dress with black pumps.

She put down the curler that was in her hand and spun towards me. “Guess what!” She widened her eyes. She was so eager to tell me she didn't even wait for my response. “I told Adam how much I loved the apartment we saw, and he got it for me! Can you believe it?” She excitedly clapped her hands.

“No way, that was so sweet. Congrats, K!” I spread out my arms to give Kadie a hug.

As we pulled away she continued, “So, we're going to pick the keys up right now. Then we're going to dinner to celebrate. I'll probably be home late.”

"You two have fun!”

I walked back into the living room and sat next to Adam. He put away his phone and looked over at me.

“Congrats on the new place, Kadie just told me.” I said with a smile.

“Thank you! You know you're going to have to help us decorate.” He smiled back.

“Oh, if you know Kadie, you know she's a stickler about that kind of thing. She won't like anything unless it's her vision.” Adam leaned back and dropped his arm onto the armrest.

“Lynn, thank you for being so cool about this.”

“About what?” I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about.

“I know you and Kadie are really close. And I know it's not easy for you to watch her move out.” He spoke quietly, occasionally looking over my shoulder.

“You know, it really isn't easy. I'll admit I was a little upset at first, but I want her to be happy and I know she's happy with you.” I playfully shook Adam's shoulder.

He smiled and asked, “Is there anything I need to know?”

“Let's see" I counted on my fingers, "Don't ever leave unwashed dishes in the sink. She hates taking out the trash, so that's permanently your responsibility. Oh, and if you ever get into a fight before bed, make coffee for her the next morning. The smell of it makes her forget everything.”

Adam and I shared a laugh before I stopped and continued in a serious tone, “Oh, and Adam, if you do any tiny thing to upset her, or make her cry, I swear to God...”

Just as I was about to finish Kadie pranced into the room. Both Adam and I looked up at her and back to each other. I widened my eyes and gave him a stern look.

“Come on, Adam. We're going to be late!” Kadie grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter and waited for him at the door.

“It was good talking to you” I smiled at Adam and he nervously smiled back. “Bye guys!” I shut the door behind them as they walked out.

I couldn't help but giggle at Adam's face. I always wanted to be the best friend that gave the boyfriend a good talking to. And by his expression I could tell he was going to do whatever he had to to keep Kadie happy.

I grabbed my things and went into my room to change into my pajamas. I heard a vibrating noise in my purse and pulled out my phone. It was a text from Jonah.

I wish I could, Lynn. I have a dead line due by the end of the month. Things are crazy right now.

My smile quickly vanished with each word I read. I plopped down onto my bed and held my head in my hands. It was yet another reminder why Jonah and I couldn't be together.