Page 92 of The Recovery Coach
“It is nice.”
“I missed having a friend like you.”
“You didn’t have friends before you moved to Seattle?”
Livy took a long pull from her drink.The straw rattled.“I had friends.They weren’t friends like you.”
“Friends like me.”
“Yeah.Friends who will drop their plans for the evening to dye my hair on a whim.Or watch the same show forty-two times because it makes me feel safe and happy.Friends you can run errands with.All Lance’s friends wanted todosomething.Fancy dinners we couldn’t afford, and concerts, and shopping, and movies.Sometimes I want to hang out without having a specific plan, you know?”
“What about Jake?”
“We lost touch after college.”
Sadness for her seeped into him.Hazy always had someone who was happy to hang out and be bored together.Beanie, Lover, Daisy, and even Roxie fit the bill.They were always coming around, checking on each other.Spending evenings and days off together watching their favorite shows and playing children’s video games.“That sucks.”
He applied dye to the last few strands of her hair and set the bowl aside.“You should hang out with Daisy more.She’d love if you popped by unannounced.”
“That sounds like horrible advice.”
“I’m being serious.That’s how we became friends with her.”
“Hmm.”
“Roxie, too,” he said.“Her sarcasm rivals yours.Now, don’t move.If you do, it’ll be a giant mess.Thirty minutes.”
Hazy set a timer, rinsed the bowl and brush in the sink, and found a fancy mud mask in his skincare drawer.(Yes, he had a skincare drawer.Sunscreen is important.Everyone knows that).He stood in front of Livy and applied the clay mask to her skin with newly washed fingers.He finished the application with a boop to her nose.
“Want another drink?”
She handed him her empty glass.“Please.”
Hazy took his time in the kitchen to escape the stifling heat of the bathroom.He couldn’t get the dirty thoughts about Livy out of his head.What the hell was happening?How the hell had he gone from considering her a sister to considering what it would be like to fuck her?It was fucked up.She was his best friend.The platonic love of his life.And she was dating theother platonic love of his life.
He ran a hand down his face.Fuck.Before he returned the liquor to the freezer, he took a deep pull.Disgusting, and too little to get him tipsy.But maybe it would help him calm the fuck down.
Livy greeted him with a grin, and he checked the timer.Twenty-four minutes to go.So much for killing time.He’d stopped in her room to grab some nail polish options.He handed her the drink, then showed her the colors he’d chosen.
“Which one do you want?”
“Those are all blue.”
“But they’re different shades of blue.”
“What if I wanted pink to match my hair?”she asked, but pointed to the lightest shade.
“If I’m painting, I’m choosing.”
He sat cross-legged on the floor in front of her, thankful for his housekeeper who kept his floors clean enough to eat off.Livy sat her foot in his lap and he painted a thin coat of polish onto each toenail.
“Tell me about Lover,” he said.
“He’s your best friend.You two are attached at the hip.What new information could I possibly tell you?”
Hazy tapped her foot and she switched it out for the other.“I know you.And I know Lover.But I don’t know you two together.When I’m around, you two snuggle and watch whatever I want.We have dinner.What else do you do?What do you talk about without me?”
Livy lifted her cup to take a drink, but missed the straw with her mouth.She stuck her tongue out to find it.It was fucking adorable.He loved her so much.
