Listen to Me
She sits back and blinks at me, frowning. “Okay.”
“He’s constantly butting in, trying to ‘help’ me,” I say, using the air quotes. “As if I’m not an adult and need his help.”
“They do have a tendency to be very testosteroney,” she says with a nod.
“Right! I mean, I’m an intelligent woman. He doesn’t always have to come save the day.”
“Micah does that all the time too,” Cici says, smiling as she thinks of her husband. “But it’s just because he loves me.”
“But it drives you batty,” I insist.
“Yes.” She nods and rubs my feet, just as my phone lights up in my hand. Jake. I roll my eyes and toss my phone into my handbag.
“That him?”
“Yeah. He can just go to voice mail.” I sigh, thinking of all the things that completely annoy me about Jake. “You know what else he does? He’ll drink almost all of the juice or milk or whatever, and put the last few drops back in the fridge.”
“Ugh, I hate that!” Cici chuckles. “Or when you ask them what they want for dinner, and they say ‘I don’t care,’ but when you start suggesting things, they don’t want any of the suggestions.”
“Yes!” I point at Cici in agreement. “I hate that! Or when they put the new toilet paper roll on, with the flap facing the wall. I mean, who does that?”
“Exactly,” Cici says with a nod, switching feet. “And why can’t they actually put dirty dishes in the sink? Why do they put them on the counter beside the sink?”
“Actually, I can’t complain about that because Jake will put his dishes in the dishwasher.”
“Oh my God,” she says, staring at me with wide eyes. “I thought the dishwasher-loading man was a myth.”
“Nope, I found one in his natural habitat.”
“Impressive.” We’re quiet for a moment while she continues to rub my feet, then cleans off my nails to paint them. “At least Micah doesn’t pee all over the bathroom, and he’s teaching our sons not to either.”
“That’s good,” I reply softly. “Also, I really do love it when Jake cuddles with me.”
“Seriously? You hate to cuddle!”
“I know.” I smile, then laugh. “I used to hate to cuddle. But Jake is really good at it. And sometimes, he’ll cuddle me and not expect sex after.”
“I love it when that happens,” Cici says. “I mean, I love the sex too. Obviously because I have four kids.”
“I was wondering if you knew where those come from,” I say and watch as she applies the top coat over my robin’s-egg-blue polish.
“Micah brings me coffee in bed every morning. And I do mean every single morning, no matter what.”
“Even when he has to get up super-early for work?”
“Yep.” She smiles softly. “It’s our quiet time together before the kids get up and life gets crazy.”
“That’s so sweet.” We move over to the manicure station and get settled. “Jake brought me wine and ice cream when I had a bad day a few weeks ago,” I say softly. “It made me feel really special.”
“Aww,” she says and smiles up at me. “That would make me feel special too. He sounds like a really nice guy, Addie.”
I sigh. “He is. Except the kissing other girls part. And speaking of the sex, damn girl.”
“Good?”
“The best. Ever.”
“Ever?” She pauses filing my nails, surprised. “Better than that photographer in the Bahamas?”
I nod.
“Better than the drummer when we were shooting in New York that one summer?”
I cringe. Geez, I don’t need to be reminded of all the guys I’ve had sex with. “The best.”
“Is it the best every time?” she asks skeptically.
“Of course not.” I roll my eyes. “But it’s always intimate, even when it’s rougher, you know?”
“I do.”
“And he always makes me feel sexy. He says I’m sexiest when my hair’s a mess and I have no makeup on.”
“Keep him,” she says immediately, making us both laugh. “Seriously, Addie, when was the last time you were with a guy who even wanted to help you?”
It’s true, I’ve never dated the white knight before. “Probably never.”
“It’s okay for the guy you love to want to defend you.”
I pause, frowning. “Who said anything about love?”
“Oh come on,” she says with a snort. “I’ve known you all of your adult life. Love is written all over you in permanent marker. And also, he kissed her cheek, Addie. You don’t have photos of him fucking some chick.”
I bite my lip and watch as she paints my nails. “Loving him scares me.”
“As it should.” She screws the brush on the bottle of polish and sits back in her chair. “Love is fucking terrifying.”
“It’s fucking bullshit,” I mutter.
“No it’s not.” She smiles and pats my arm. “But I understand the sentiment.”
“I wasn’t very nice to him earlier.” I cringe and blow on my fingers. “He was just trying to get Jeremy off my ass.”
“You skipped that part,” Cici says. “What did Jeremy want?”
“A free ride,” I reply. “Under the disguise of I want you back, I was stupid, blah blah blah.”
“Idiot.”