Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“No. Yes,” I sighed. “Maybe. But let me tell you about Tori's big plan.”
Naomi listened attentively as I explained the situation. “She’s going to move in with one of her classmates, a guy she barely knows.”
Naomi raised her eyebrows. “Honestly, Hailey, her situation doesn’t sound a lot different than yours.”
“It is,” I insisted. “This guy, Todd, he’s got a crush on her. He’s always hitting on her and doing things to get her attention. But he’s got an extra room and she’s desperate to get out of her current place.”
Naomi gave me a sympathetic smile. “I don’t mean to sound callous, but it’s either going to work out or it won’t. If it doesn’t, she’ll need a friend like you to help her through it.”
“I guess so,” I said doubtfully. “But it kind of feels like I’m watching a friend walk toward an open manhole, and I can’t do anything to warn her about it.”
“Maybe it’ll work out. What about you? Where are you going to live in the fall?”
That was a subject I had hoped wouldn’t come up. I told her about the housing stipend offered by the school and made it sound like I was likely to get it, even though I had no idea how many other students had applied and whether they were strong candidates or not. But I didn’t want to concern Naomi with that. Plus, if I didn’t get it, I didn’t know what I’d do. I was barely halfway to the five thousand dollars I’d need to get a room in a shared apartment for the semester.
“How have you been?” I asked, because I genuinely wanted to know and, okay, also to change the subject.
“I’ve been under the weather,” she said. “Headaches. Fatigue. Upset stomach, and that kind of thing.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said automatically, but her demeanor was puzzling. She’d just rattled off a list of unpleasant symptoms with a radiant smile on her face. And then it hit me. “You’re pregnant?”
Her smile widened, and I scooted my chair around to give her a hug. It was kind of a dicey situation. When people my age said they were pregnant, it was generally an accident, and not always a reason to celebrate. But Naomi was a little older, and she lived with her boyfriend. His two best friends lived with them as well, so they’d have built-in babysitters.
Naomi was still beaming as I released her. “I just crossed the twelve-week mark, so we can finally tell people.”
“That’s great. Is your boyfriend happy?”
“Very happy. What about you? Is there any guy at the frat who’s caught your eye?” She grinned. “Or vice versa.”
I didn’t even know how to answer that, either to myself or to her. It was a complicated situation, and I didn’t know Naomi all that well, but something told me I could trust her. “There is this one guy,” I said. “He’s studying architecture and he’s really talented and a truly nice guy. He was the first one in the whole house to be friendly to me.”
“What’s his name?” Naomi asked.
“Theo.”
“Has he asked you out?”
“No,” I said with a small sigh.
She studied my face. “But something’s happened, right?”
Predictably, I blushed. “Yeah. You can say that.”
“So what’s the issue? Is he sending you mixed signals or something?”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure. Things had been tense in the house lately, but that wasn’t the main problem. “No, that’s not the problem.”
Naomi leaned forward, her expression concerned. “Then what is?”
She kind of felt like an older sister to me, and older sisters were the ones you were supposed to ask for advice. “Well, see, there’s this other guy too. Ian.”
She smiled, an eyebrow raised. “Ah, now I get it.”
“Is it awful of me to kind of have feelings for both of them?” I looked out the window at the people on the sidewalk rather than facing my friend after that admission.
“No,” she said immediately. “That can happen sometimes.”
“So what do you do? Just keep getting to know them until you choose?”
“That’s one possibility,” she said.
“I don’t even know how either of them feel about me.” Theo and I had done some intimate things, whereas Ian and I hadn’t. But I’d felt closer to the pre-med student these past few weeks, and it felt good to provide support to him instead of always being the one who needed help.
“Maybe that’s the first step. Figuring that out.”
“And then picking one? If they’re both interested, I mean.”
She took her mug in both hands as if warming them. “Look, Hailey, you’re young. You don’t have to decide anything right now. You can keep your options open. If you like both of them, spend time with both of them. As long as you’re not doing anything behind anyone’s back.”
“They’re friends. That kind of makes it more complicated.”
Naomi sipped her hot chocolate. I understood now why she hadn’t gotten a caffeinated drink. “It can be complicated. Maybe it’s also a good thing. You like them. If they have any brains, they like you too. And they like each other. So it’s less of a love triangle and more of a partnership.”