One Big Mistake: a friends to lovers rom-com

by Whitney Barbetti

  “She sure was in a hurry to get out of here.”

  Ah, that would be because she woke up naked in my bed. “I think she just wanted to check on her sisters.”

  Mom wrapped the second sandwich. “She kept looking at her phone like she was expecting a message or something. She seemed worried.” At my look of concern, Mom patted me. “Maybe I’m just projecting. She was probably tired and ready to go home and sleep for real. I know you make her watch your awful movies—they probably keep her up at night.”

  Except my terrible taste in movies wasn’t what kept her up last night. I made my mouth in a flat line, not wanting to confirm or deny anything.

  “Ready?” Asa asked, coming from his bedroom, his duffel bag in hand.

  “Yeah.” I gave Mom another kiss on the cheek and took the sandwiches she held out for me, a few pieces of fruit, and followed my brother out the door.

  10

  NAVY

  At a stoplight, I pulled my phone out and shot a text to Keane.

  Me: Sorry, running late.

  The truth was, my brain was scattered in so many directions that my standing “date” with Keane was the very last thing on my mind. I’d spent most of the night before preparing for my sister’s arrival by setting up an air mattress in my aunt’s bedroom—where I was currently staying—and getting extra bedding for said air mattress. My phone pinged back almost immediately.

  Keane: You, late? Are you ill? Don’t infect me if so, pretty please.

  Normally, a response like that would elicit a smile from me, but when I already felt I was on the verge of crumbling, all it did was remind me just how un-together I had my shit. I pressed a hand to my forehead, coming away with sweat. It’d been a bear getting out of the music shop tonight, with Roger running down an invisible checklist of things he wanted to ask me, to stall closing of the store.

  “Do you know when the next shipment of the 2B drumsticks is?” he asked me.

  “No,” I replied as I ran through my actual checklist of things to do before closing the shop. “Are we low?”

  “No.”

  When I glanced up at him in question, he shrugged. “Just wondering.”

  The problem was that Roger was always “just wondering.” As I’d pulled the till, he asked me about my plans for the night, since—in his words—I seemed in a hurry to get out of there.

  “I’m meeting Keane,” I told him.

  “Oh.”

  “We have a weekly friend date,” I said as I pulled the larger bills out first and began counting them. But the word date felt so heavy in the universe of our friendship, especially considering what had transpired between us after a night of heavy alcohol. “Literally, just friends.”

  “That’s good,” Roger said, leaning his hip on the counter so that he was closer to me. “I wasn’t sure if you guys were a thing or just friends.”

  “Just friends,” I repeated, now on the smaller stack of bills. “Always.” And forever.

  “Do you have a boyfriend? Just wondering.”

  I counted out the change, then separated the cash we’d made in sales from the standard one-hundred and fifty we kept the till stocked with. “No,” I said, when I finally remembered that he’d asked me a question. I blew out a breath when I glanced at the clock. “Shit.” I had to get Roger out of my hair if I wanted to finish this. “Can you sweep up the front of the store, Roger?”

  “I did that after my lunch.”

  He couldn’t take a hint. “Can you please just do it again?”

  “We only had a few customers come in since I last did it.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, running down the list of things I normally did while my aunt counted out the tills in the office. “I’m going to take the till to the backroom. Can you disinfect these counters while I prepare the night deposit?”

  “I’d be more than happy to do that for you,” he said, finally easing from out of my space. “Can I help you with anything else?”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to say, “Stay out of my way for the next thirty minutes,” but instead I just gave him a smile. “Thanks, Roger.” The very last thing I needed to do was piss off my aunt’s favorite employee in her absence.

  When the office was locked, and the lights were off, I went out to the parking lot with the deposit bag, Roger walking in my shadow to my car. It was customary for the two closing employees to go to the bank for the night deposit, but it wasn’t necessary for Roger to follow me so closely that I could tell he ate onion rings for lunch.

  “Do you like strawberries?” he asked me as I unlocked my door. It’d been a long, long time since I’d closed with Roger, but I never remembered him being so chatty. Especially about random things.

  “Sure,” I said, tossing the deposit bag onto the passenger seat. I was a full thirty minutes behind now, and had a feeling that Roger was going to suck up another ten, easily. “You ready?” I asked him, when he hadn’t moved out of my invisible bubble.

  He pointed with his thumb back at his car. “I bought these snacks at the wholesale place downtown. But I’m not sure if I like them. They’re like little strawberry pastries. Do you want them?”

  I was normally a very patient person, but Roger was always doing this—distracting me, delaying me over things that were unnecessary. At this rate, I’d have very little time with Keane to do his hair and watch our movie before I had to head to the bus depot to get Violet. The twins were probably starving as it was. “It’s okay, but thanks.” I glanced meaningfully at the deposit bag on my passenger seat.

  “I’ll just go grab one for you, so you can try.”

  I resisted the urge to sigh and gave him a quick nod, telling myself it would be faster to just accept than to argue to leave. He parked at the very back of the parking lot—where we technically were supposed to park. But in my haste getting to work, I’d parked closer to the front. Aunt Isabel would’ve made me move my car if she was here, even though it had been a slower day. Just another reason Roger was the number one employee of the month for the last few years.

  It could’ve been nerves and my anxiety over my sister’s pending arrival, but it bugged me to no end that he didn’t make haste on his return to me from his car. He walked casually back to me, as one might walk down a sidewalk while window shopping. Like the parking lot wasn’t pitch black, save for a couple overhead lights. Like I enjoyed the view as he moseyed back to me.

  He was attractive—don’t get me wrong. And maybe I’d be interested in him if I’d known him as Roger a friend and not Roger a co-worker, but since I only knew him in the latter capacity, I saw him as a pain in my ass most of the time. Not that I’d ever say that to him.

  “Here,” he said, holding up the shiny, individually packaged snack with a grin like I’d begged for him to give it to me. “Try it. You’ll probably love it.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him why he thought I’d love it, when he did not himself, but the last thing I needed was for him to launch into more conversation over meaningless stuff. “Great,” I said, “thanks. Ready?”

  He opened his mouth, and I heard the intake of breath. I had to cut off whatever he was going to say before he barreled right over me.

  “I probably should get this deposit bag to the bank. Not safe to hang out in a dark parking lot with a bag of money, you know?”

  “It’s Amber Lake,” he said. Amber Lake rarely had robberies, and very little crime in general. It was a sleepy little town on the edge of a larger one—sandwiched between mountains and an old, often unused highway—seemingly forgotten by the rest of the world. So Roger’s simple statement said more than just those three words.

  “Still,” I said, forcing a smile as I slid into my car and started the engine when he opened his mouth again. “You’re going to follow me, right?”

  “Of course.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked off in the distance like he was put out.

  God, he needed so much handling.

  Climb into
your car, I repeated over and over under my breath.

  “Hey, are you hungry?” he asked, his gaze reflecting the bright yellow fast food emblem in the distance. “Burger on me?”

  “Thanks, Roger,” I said, “but I’ve gotta get going.” I gave what I hoped was a regretful smile and closed the door. Finally, a reprieve.

  A loud tap on my window caused me to jump.

  “Buckle up,” he said through the thick glass.

  I gave him a nod, yanking the seatbelt across my torso and clicking it. He took his time walking back to his car and I drove to the exit as soon as he was inside his car, forcing him to hurry it up so he could follow me onto the main road.

  Now, that I was on my way to the bank and reflecting back on it all, it seemed so petty to be annoyed with him. He was a nice guy, if a little pushy and excessively chatty. He wasn’t dangerous or creepy or mean. He just didn’t always pick up on social cues—at least not when he was around me. I wondered if he was up my aunt’s ass all the time, too. With customers, he was perfectly pleasant.

  I glanced at the clock. I was a full forty-five minutes behind and getting out to my aunt’s house in the dark meant I’d be even later. Not for the first time that night, I had to remind myself why I hadn’t just decided to cancel.

  Because things are weird between us.

  Oh, that was right. Things were weird. Ever since Saturday morning, Keane and I hadn’t chatted like usual. Normally, from sunup to sundown we talked—either via phone calls or text. And somehow, since yesterday, we’d barely done either. In fact, I couldn’t remember texting him at all today. Were it not for our accidental hookup, I might’ve chalked this up to us both being busy. But what had happened between us muddied the waters and my confidence that we could weather this awkward moment. Something like this had never happened in the space of our friendship.

  As I pulled into the bank, my phone rang, and I hit the button on my center console to answer it.

  “What’s up, tootsie?”

  “Tootsie?” I asked Keane, cringing. “Sorry, I’m running late. I know we just had pizza, but would you totally hate me if I ordered it again? The twins can’t make much besides burned toast and I’m sure they’re ravenous.”

  “I can pick up dinner, Navy. Whatcha want?”

  “No, you don’t have to do that.”

  “No shit. I’m doing it anyway. What do you want? If you don’t give me an idea, I’ll pick up takeout from that place you hate. With the barbecue sauce spaghetti.”

  “Oh, God.” I rolled my window down and put the deposit in the night drop. “Um…” I waved a hand to Roger, who flashed his headlights in acknowledgement, and left the bank parking lot. “Honestly, anything. My brain is fried. I feel like I barely slept this weekend.”

  Silence filled my car. Had I really just said that? Oh, God. We said we wouldn’t make things awkward, and yet I already was.

  “No, I get it. I’m tired too. Okay, I’ll surprise you. What do The Adorables like?”

  “No, you don’t need to buy anything for them.”

  “Navy, just let me buy them something, okay? If I walk through the door with delicious food and I don’t have anything for them, I’ll never hear the end of it. Hell, they’ll probably take the food I do have and pelt me with it.”

  He was right, but it was hard for me to accept help when it came to my family. We had my aunt—and she was amazing—but my sisters were ultimately my responsibility when my aunt was gone. Plus, they often gave her hell, so they were my responsibility even when she was here. “They’re not picky,” I said.

  “Got it. You close to being home?”

  “About thirty minutes away,” I said.

  “See you then.”

  When I pulled into the driveway of my aunt’s house, Keane’s car was already there. Every single light in the house was on and if my aunt was home, I knew she’d be going around turning them off one by one, lamenting that she’d need to win the lottery just to cover her electric bill.

  I exited the car and really, really wished I’d canceled our standing friend date. Every single part of me ached and various parts of my body were covered in dust from cleaning the back stock in the store. I’d have to find a second to sneak away to shower. There wouldn’t be time to after Keane left, because I’d need to get on the road to head to the bus station.

  As I opened the door, the sounds of laughter reached me, and the smells of Chinese food seemed to cause an immediate reaction in my stomach.

  A head peeked around the corner to the kitchen. “Hey, Navy!”

  “Hey, Rose.” I set my bag down by the door and shrugged out of my work vest as I made my way down the hallway.

  “You’re such a dick.” Jade.

  “Language,” I reminded her as I came into the kitchen and lowered myself to the closest bar stool.

  “Yeah, Jade. Language,” Keane said and stuck a tongue out at her.

  “‘Dick’ really isn’t a bad word,” Jade argued. “People have that as a name, you know.”

  “Is that his name?” I asked, nodding toward Keane. Keane pointed a chopstick at himself and glanced back at Jade.

  “It is when he’s acting like one.” Jade stabbed an egg roll on Keane’s plate with her chopstick and put it on hers.

  “I mean…” Keane started, stealing his egg roll back, “I can’t argue with her logic.” When Jade attempted to steal the egg roll, Keane slapped her chopstick away with his like they were clashing swords. “I don’t think so,” he told her, and proceeded to take a large bite out of the egg roll. “Now it’s got my germs. Do you kids still believe in cooties?”

  “See?” Jade raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow at me. “He’s an egg roll hog.”

  “There are a dozen in the bag on the island,” Keane said, and I snagged the paper bag myself before she could, peering into it.

  “He’s right.” I inhaled the incredible aroma, knowing the smell to be my favorite Chinese place instantly. “And they’re all mine.”

  “Nuh-huh,” Jade protested, rising from her seat and coming toward me. I maneuvered so I was opposite from her on the other side of the island. “Come on, Navy! You know I love egg rolls.”

  “So do I, and I’m older.” I grabbed two from the bag just as she lunged and yanked the bag out of my arms.

  “Hey, hey, be careful with those babies,” Keane said.

  I took a healthy bite of an egg roll. “What do I owe you?”

  Keane looked at me like I’d spoken another language. “What?”

  “For the Chinese food.” I motioned with my egg roll hand as I piled fried rice onto a plate with the other.

  “Nothing.”

  “Come on.” I popped a bite of orange chicken in my mouth and had to stop myself from groaning. “You know I love this place, but it’s not the cheap shit.”

  “The cheap shit is shit.” Using his foot under the table, he pushed a chair away from the table. “Sit down and eat.” Pointing one of his chopsticks at Jade he added, “And watch your egg rolls around this one. She’s undomesticated.”

  A piece of orange chicken went flying Keane’s way and he deftly caught it in his mouth and grinned at his attacker.

  “He’s the worst,” Jade said, but I knew she didn’t mean it. They acted just like bickering siblings. He’d known the twins since they were toddlers, so it wasn’t really a surprise to see the camaraderie they shared.

  “Thank you,” Keane said and pointed at the chair again for me to take a seat. “Rough day?”

  “Not rough,” I said, easing in the chair beside him. “Just long.” I eyed Rose who had been quiet since I’d entered the kitchen. “How was Jess’s house?”

  “Fine,” Rose said, filling her mouth with food to keep from talking more.

  “Rose dyed Jess’s hair, and it turned out bad.” Rose elbowed Jade and Jade made a pained face even though I knew it hadn’t hurt that bad.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” Rose insisted, her mouth full of food.

>   I closed my eyes briefly. “Did she want you to dye her hair?”

  “Yeah. And she—” Rose pointed at Jade “said we could just use Kool-Aid, but I talked her out of it. We bought actual hair dye, but it didn’t work like it was supposed to.”

  “Yeah, because Rose stained Jess’s forehead, her scalp, and her neck. Purple. But her hair turned green and purple.” Jade’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Oh, her mom was so pissed.”

  “Language,” I reminded her.

  “Pissed isn’t a bad word. In some countries, it’s a name for drunk.”

  “Was Jess’s mom drunk?”

  “No.” Jade turned her head to smirk at Rose. “But she probably wanted to be.”

  I rubbed the skin between my eyebrows. “Did you fix her hair, Rose?”

  “Hell no,” Jade said. “Her mom wouldn’t let anyone—not even Jess—touch it. I guess they have a hair appointment tomorrow.”

  I took a sip of water. “Then you’re going to pay for the hair appointment,” I told Rose.

  “That’s not fair,” Rose whined, bringing her hands up and showing me the purple staining between her fingers.

  “And it’s not fair that Jess’s head is purple.”

  “And green,” Jade added.

  “But she wanted it purple!” Rose said and pounded on the table.

  “Then you should have told her no.”

  “If I didn’t do it, Jade would’ve dyed her hair with Kool-Aid.”

  “And if Jade had, then Jade would pay for the hair appointment. You should have told her no, but you didn’t.”

  I could feel Keane’s eyes on me. I never, ever disciplined my sisters in front of people who weren’t a part of our immediate family. But I reminded myself that if my aunt was here, she’d give an even harsher punishment.

  Rose threw her chopsticks down onto the table and stalked away. I counted to five as she ran up the stairs to her bedroom and right as I said five the slamming of her door rang out.