I’m not sure I believe in fate, but if I did, I’d say the universe is telling me there’s another option. That or the universe thinks I’m an idiot for not agreeing to go out with him. Touché, universe.
9
A GOOD FEELING
BRIDGET
After two days of texting back and forth with Everly, I’m mostly certain of two things.
I’m not texting with Ash. I know, that may seem obvious, but it did occur to me that maybe he just gave me two different numbers for him and was gonna be like “Surprise! You can sleep in my bed.” Cue, total ick. But it isn’t him. Or at least I’m ninety-nine percent Everly is real.
Ash didn’t lie. She’s nice. Or at least polite via text.
The paper that Ash gave me with Everly’s name and phone number is folded up and tucked into the back pocket of my jeans as I walk up to the adorable little yellow house.
The homes on either side are cute, but more rundown. Typical college housing, but this one looks brand new. The landscaping is meticulous with small plants and fresh mulch. It isn’t anything I would have recognized before, but it has the same look as Ms. Cole’s newly landscaped backyard.
Two steps lead up to a cute little porch that spans the entire front of the house with a white railing and two navy rocking chairs with a small side table between them. It’s like something off the home improvement channels my mother watches.
I’m certain I’ve written down the address wrong when a girl with blonde hair and a huge smile steps out onto the porch. The screen door slams behind her.
“Hi!” Her voice is more tentative than the expression on her face. “Are you Bridget?”
“Yeah. And you must be Everly.”
“That’s me.” She hooks her thumbs into the back pockets of her jeans. “Ash said you were pretty.”
I open my mouth, then close it.
“Sorry.” She scrunches up her face. “That was super weird. Forget I said that. Come in. Grace will be here soon. She had a study group on campus.”
Everly turns and holds the door open for me to step in behind her.
My jaw falls open when I see the inside. It still has a new paint smell and the surfaces gleam. We’re standing in the living room, but the kitchen and dining room are visible. The dining room has a rustic-looking table with yellow upholstered chairs around it. Textbooks are laid out all around the top.
“It’s gorgeous,” I say as I take a few more steps. I look back at the living room. A large, blue sectional takes up most of the space. The TV is on Spotify and I smile when I see the name of the station is Harry Styles radio.
“Thanks. Yeah, it’s coming together.”
“You did this?”
“Mhmm. Grace and I already had a few pieces, but the rest we did ourselves. We found those chairs at a flea market and I reupholstered them.”
“I’m impressed.”
“It’s fun.” She shrugs. “Do you want some coffee or tea?”
“Sure. Coffee would be great.”
While she pours me a cup, she points out a few more things that she and Grace bought and Everly refinished. She’s talented.
“What are you studying?”
“I haven’t declared yet, but I’m thinking interior design.”
“I should have known.”
She hands me a mug and we sit together on stools in front of the kitchen counter. “Ash said you were a nurse. Is that what you’re going to school for?”
“Yeah. I’m getting my BSN.”
“That’s so cool. I don’t like the sight of blood, so I don’t think I’d be very good at that.”
“I don’t think anyone does, but you get used to it.”
We make small talk over coffee. I like Everly. She’s not as overly sunshiney as I thought at first, but she wears her emotions on her face and speaks them freely.
I could picture her with Ash. She’s beautiful and confident. Black winged eyeliner frames her hazel eyes. There are two different kinds of women: the ones who can perfect winged eyeliner and the rest of us.
Grace hasn’t shown up by the time our mugs are empty, so she gives me a tour of the house. A nice-sized bathroom with a shower and soaking tub. Three bedrooms, two of which they’ve already claimed for themselves.
“This would be yours,” she says.
I walk into the room. The walls are white, and the floor is the same medium-tone wood planks that cover the rest of the house. It should be drab and unoriginal, but the light that floods in through the window makes it warm and inviting. The room itself is bigger than mine at the guest house, but I’d be sharing a bathroom and living spaces.