Chapter 3

Ellie was curled up on her sofa, limbs tangled like a ball of discarded yarn. Today was the first true day off she's had off in months. She was draped in pajamas, sans makeup, and her face was framed by bedhead. She was looking at her phone, scrolling through her list of recent texts and trying to come up with something to do.

After scrolling past a few names, she saw Wynnie. It might be fun to go rock climbing, she thought.

Hey Wynnie! We should go climbing some time! Let me know. I've got a few free evenings.

She hit send without hesitation. Continuing down the list, she saw Griffin. After a moment, she tapped into their conversation. She reviewed his last message:

Ellie I'm sorry if I crossed a line tonight. I don't want to lose you as a friend. I can take you out for dinner to make it up to you. You shouldn't be alone on your birthday. No pressure. - 18 days ago

She felt bad that she had left him on read. But she also did it on purpose.

I've been really busy with work but I've got a free evening tonight. We can order takeout or something?

Before she could hit send, she got a message from Wynnie:

Wow. Ellie! I thought you'd given up climbing. I haven't heard from you in months!

A non-answer, Ellie thought. She tapped on the notification and saw that Wynnie was still typing. As the typing indicator continued to play its cute little animation, dread started to build. Is she writing a thesis on why I'm a bad friend? Is she breaking up our friendship? Then the typing bubble disappeared. The longer it was gone, the more panic grew.

Suddenly, a message appeared:

We can definitely do something this week. I've been going climbing with Todd, his friend Jim and his wife. I think you'd really like them.

A wave of jealousy hit Ellie like a medicine ball. I don't want to meet Jim and his wife... can't it just be Wynnie and Todd? Then she realized, Wynnie probably knows that I've read this message already.

That sounds great!

Both of them had used fairly passive language and neither had made a commitment. This was intentional on Ellie's part. Ellie didn't want to meet Jim or his wife so she wasn't going to proactively make plans to. She backed out of this thread with no intention of replying further.

She went back to her list of conversations and she noticed Brittany. Her messages were shockingly far down the list. I haven't talked to her since she blew up at me at the cafe, she thought, tiptoeing around blaming herself.

Hey Brittany. We haven't talked in a while. How are you doing?

Send. And it was marked as 'read' almost immediately.

I'm doing ok. U? - Brittany

I snapped pretty viciously at a client and Rod forced me to take a two week vacation. haha - Ellie

Is that good or bad? 🤣 - Brittany

Well, I've got time to hang out without being late. So that's good for us. - Ellie

Wanna meet at Cafe Marsh in like 10? - Brittany

Make it 20 👠💄 - Ellie

Then, Wynnie texted back.

Would you want to meet up at City Leap tonight at 6? - Wynnie

But Ellie didn't even open the notification.

Ellie left her phone on the sofa and went to get ready. 20 minutes isn't really enough time to get ready, she complained to herself. As she pulled a pair of jeans out of her dresser and slipped one leg into them, she realized it had been too long since she'd worn something this casual. With it, a sense of vulnerability came over her. She looked at herself in the mirror, glaring at the fit of these jeans as she fastened the top button. They rode much lower than the skirts she wore to work and she wasn't used to the feeling. But my ass looks great, she thought to herself with a smile.

Brittany's small frame filled the cafe booth. She looked at her phone. It had been 24 minutes since she made plans with Ellie. And there she was, coming through the door. Her hair tightly pulled back wearing jeans and an ill-fitting t-shirt. They made eye contact and both of them smiled. "I haven't even ordered a drink yet," Brittany said. "I usually wait 10 minutes after you're late to do that."

Ellie deflected the jab with a shake of the head, they walked over to the register together and placed an order. Brittany got a black iced coffee, Ellie, a matcha tea.

They sat down in their booth and started to catch up. "How was the showing at the gallery?" Asked Ellie.

"It was good," Brittany said, "I sold a painting, but there wasn't a great turnout."

"But you sold a painting! That's good news."

"Oh, yeah. That'll pay this month's rent for sure," replied Brittany with a smile.

Ellie's phone chimed and she pulled it from her jacket pocket.

I just wanted to check in on you since I haven't heard from you in a while. Are you okay? - Griffin

Ellie tapped the notification and accidentally sent the message she had drafted earlier. The one she had hesitated to send earlier. "Oops. I guess I just invited Griffin over for takeout, tonight," she said, a mild panic on her face as she looked at the friend across from her.

"You did? I guess you're taking this vacation seriously."

Ellie's phone chimes again, her screen lights up:

Sure! is 7:30 okay? - Griffin

"That's right. I haven't told you. I thought I had made things clear that we were just friends with benefits... but he bought me a silver necklace and gave it to me to for my birthday. It seemed like he was trying to start something official," she scanned Brittany's face for any sense of absolution.

Brittany winced, "so what did you do?"

"Well, I gave it back immediately and told him we couldn't pursue this."

Brittany had a skeptical look on her face, "and that's because...?"

"I don't know. We've got a sexual chemistry, but he's really needy."

"How is he needy? Because he wants to spend time with you?"

Ellie took stock of each potential answer. If she replied "yes," she'd be validating everything Brittany chewed her out for a few weeks ago. If she said "no," she'd have to come up with some other excuse. So she decided to mulligan: "I just don't find him attractive."

With a laugh at the back of her throat Brittany retorted, "I don't buy that for a second. He's exactly your type. In fact, the only way he could be more your type is if he worked as a lumberjack."

Ellie wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips, trying not to acknowledge the truth of such a cutting observation. Trying to turn the tide of the conversation, Ellie asked, "would you want to come over for some Chinese tonight?"

"Oh no, I'm not going to be your third wheel."

"Please? I really don't think it's safe for us to be alone together."

"Sorry. I can't," Brittany was resolute in her response. An awkward pause magnified the space between them. "So... what are you going to do with your two weeks off?"

"I have no idea," Ellie was beside herself with listlessness. The thought of two weeks without work was more daunting than apologizing to Tanya.

About The Author:

B.E. Waites

B.E. Waites is a New England-based author. They're also a gamer and an amateur photographer. When they're not writing, they work in the public health sector.