Day 72: Tales Of Matching Outfits And Unplanned Liars
Day 72 Of How To Move On From A Man — 1LD
“Oh, you’re out of bed.”
James was standing in the living room, dressed head to toe in brand new sweat and Louis Vuitton runners. He bought the same pair as me in a slight colour variation.
I wasn’t sure we would ever wear them at the same time. But as I looked down at the gym clothes adorning my body, it would seem the improbable was about to happen.
I didn’t think they suited him. The colour and shape were all wrong for him. But I didn’t dare tell James. The man thought of himself as someone above style; he believed he had the mind of Wintour.
And whilst sometimes he got it right, correcting him now would only further deepen the tension between us.
“I sure am. I promised GG I would meet her at spin class today. I’ll see you there?”
Feeling my face contort with revulsion, I begged myself not to react. Don’t take the bait. Don’t give him the sarcasm you’re so desperate to deliver. And that he deserved.
Of course, I would see him there. It was my spin class before it was GG’s. And I had been begging James to come for ages. I was also standing before him in head-to-toe workout gear, about to mix my protein water before waltzing out the door.
Like I did every Tuesday morning.
Of course, I would see him there, I thought.
What else would I be doing?!
“Yes, you will. If you wait a moment, we can walk together.” I moved towards the kitchen but James reached for the front door instead.
“Can’t. I need to talk to GG.”
“We have coffee afterwards. You could talk to her then.” James’ eyes darted around the room.
“Yeah — but — ” he paused.
I felt his eyes on me. I wasn’t going to help him come up with an excuse for why he couldn’t be my friend and wait for me. I wasn’t going to let him be MIA another time in our life.
It was time for answers.
I started mixing my protein water in my travel container and shook it loudly. The metal ball rattling against the plastic container cut through the silence between us.
“I’m ready now. Perhaps when you’re going to have secret conversations, you had better come up with excuses ahead of time. Especially when you’re gatecrashing something I’m always at.”
Walking out the front door and down the street, feeling James keeping his distance behind me, I didn’t feel proud.
Or smug.
Or like calling him out on his secrecy was a good idea.
It felt like the opposite. It seemed to only reinforce the fact it was my friends versus me. And that I was being left out of something.
And, perhaps worst of all, they knew I had worked that out, too.
It would only mean a confrontation was coming. That wasn’t something any of us were looking forward to.
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
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