Page 119 of Instigator

Aidan: Yikes.

Baxter: Yeah, I’m less than thrilled.

Baxter: How’s Hailey? Making better life choices, I hope.

Aidan: She got married on Monday.

My phone vibrates with a call, his name scrolling across the display. I don’t want to do a voice call. That’s way too much effort.

But I’m trying. So I answer it.

“Hey,” I say when the line connects.

“She got fucking married?” he says without preamble.

“She’s been engaged for over a year and a half.”

“Where was my invite, asshole?”

“It must have gotten lost in the mail.”

“Fuck off,” Baxter mutters. “Wow. She’s really grown up, isn’t she?”

“Yep.”

“How the fuck did that happen?”

“Beats me.”

We fall silent for a few moments. It’s comfortable. I don’t feel the pressure to be “on” like I usually do.

So when the words come out, I’m as surprised as he is. Suddenly, I need to talk about it. To tell him. Not for his approval. More so an olive branch. An inside peek into my life.

“Do you remember, like, seven years ago, we used to game with a woman named Statistical Anomaly? You, me, and⁠—”

“Whittaker. Yeah, I remember.” Baxter whistles.

Our old buddy is with New Orleans now. I talk to him when we’re in the same city for a game, but we don’t keep in touch, either. I don’t keep in touch with anyone.

How did I let all my friends slip away? How did I not notice I was pushing them all aside?

He sighs. “Fuck, I haven’t thought about that in a while. Barely have time to game now.”

“We’re dating.” My smile stretches from ear to ear. It’s so much more than dating. We’re building a life together, one day at a time.

“No fucking way.”

“She lives here, and she’s friends with my sister, and we… we’re together. And it’s serious.”

“Shit, man.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “I’m happy for you.”

“Her name is Ceci, and she’s amazing. I haven’t felt like this before.”

“You going to settle down? Do the marriage and babies thing?”

“She doesn’t want that. And I don’t think I need it to be happy with her.”

“You sound it.”