The sound of Maroon 5 from my cell phone wakes me up. I roll over and grab it from my nightstand. It’s Lanie. Why is she calling so early in the morning?

I smile when I answer, “What’s up, lucky girl? How’s that fine man of yours?”

There’s a long pause on the line before she says, “Not good.”

As soon as the words leave her she’s bawling into the phone. I sit up in bed, immediate concern rocks me. She’s falling apart. Did she find out about Diana’s plan to take the charity away from her?

I have to know what’s going on. “Aw, baby cakes, tell me what happened?”

She sniffs. “He’s such an asshole.”

A heavy breath leaves my lungs as relief washes through me. I’m sad she’s hurt, but I’m glad it’s not because of me and what I’m keeping from her. “Did he hurt you? I’ll kill him if he laid a finger on you.”

“Nothing like that. He’s just…” She takes a deep breath. “Noel has a girlfriend, Aubrey.”

“What!?” I screech. “What do you mean he has a girlfriend?”

“I guess he has for a while, but that’s not the worst part.”

“What can be any worse than that?”

“She’s pregnant.”

I gasp. “Like, with a baby?”

“Yes. She says it’s Noel’s.”

“Oh, my god. Screw the job, Lanie. Run away as fast as you can from that freak show. Come home.”

She’s quiet for a second and then she calls out, “Just a minute.”

“Who is that?” I question. It better not be Noel. He better thank his lucky stars I’m not there to punch him square in the balls.

There’s a rustling noise on her end of the line like she’s moving around. “It’s probably just housekeeping.” After a distinct sound of a deadbolt unlocking, I hear her say, “What are you doing here?”

Noel’s deep voice rumbles and asks, “Can I come in?”

There’s a thump as the door closes and then she sighs into the phone. “Aubrey, I’ll have to call you back.”

“Is it him?”

She whispers, “Yes.”

I inhale deeply through my nose, trying to hold in my anger. “Tell him to fuck off, Lanie. You don’t need to put up with his shit.”

“I will. I promise.”

“You call me back if you need me. Hear me?”

“Okay,” is all she says before disconnecting our call.

I flop back against my pillow and rake my hair back from my forehead. What a mess. If only I could’ve seen this coming…

My lips twist. This is exactly what Zach was trying to warn me about. Why didn’t he tell me or her for that matter? Just further proves why I can’t date a guy like him. That whole bros before hoes mentality is sickening.

I open the message box to Zach and see the last message he left me.

Riff: Why?

I shake my head. There’s so many reasons why I can’t date him. This situation with Lanie doesn’t help.

Aubrey: Because men like you keep girlfriends on the side.

I toss my phone back on the nightstand and head into the shower to get ready for work. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me what Noel was up to. Why make me try and guess?

I scrub vigorously in the shower, running through everything Zach ever said to me about Noel. There’s nothing I can recall that screams Noel wasn’t exactly single.

I know it’s not Zach’s fault that his friend is a douchebag, but he knew exactly what was going on. He had to. And he didn’t tell me, or more importantly, Lanie.

I run a fluffy towel through my hair, sopping up the water as I walk back over to my cell. The blue message light flashes. I pick it up and touch the screen.

Riff: Lanie called you?

I roll my eyes.

Aubrey: Of course she called me. We don’t keep things from each other.

After I hit send, I think about how that isn’t exactly true either. I’m keeping something from her too, but I’m doing it to protect her, not out of selfish gain.

Riff: Look, I’m the one who told her, okay? I was trying to help her. I told you I didn’t think it was a good idea for them to be together.

Aubrey: You should’ve told me, so I could break it to her.

Riff: I struggled with it because it wasn’t exactly my place to tell her and I didn’t want you involved.

I sigh. He’s right. Noel should’ve manned-up and told her. Instead he kept it from her, causing her to be crushed.

Aubrey: You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to lash out at you. Thank you for telling her.

Riff: It was the right thing to do.

I smile.

Aubrey: So noble…who knew?

Riff: I wouldn’t go that far.

Aubrey: I would.

Riff: What’s your cell number? I hate instant messaging.

I tap my finger on the side of the phone. Where is this going? It’s only going to torture both of us if we keep this up.

When I don’t respond right away another message pops up.

Riff: Come on, friends call each other.

I nod in agreement. What the hell? He’s right.

I fire my cell phone number into the message box and hit send. Two seconds later the phone rings showing an unknown number on the ID screen. What the hell did I get myself into?

RIFF

I haven’t called a girl I liked since junior high school. They typically call me. The palm of my hand is clammy as I dial her number. I know she said friends only, but that doesn’t work for me. I think about her way to damn much to leave it at that. I need more time with her. I’m not even sure why. I know that the weekend I spent with her was the first time I’d felt alive in a long time. I didn’t dwell on past things I can’t change as much. I even allow myself to picture what a life with her might be like. I don’t want those kinds of feelings. I don’t deserve to have them.