Best Friends Don't Sleep Together - A.H. Series #1

Chapter 38

When I didn't reply, the same grin I fell asleep to peeked through, but less cheerful. I hate this part. Putting some more physical distance between us, I poured some toothpaste on my toothbrush. "I prefer to walk." I mentioned, hoping that was a clear enough hint.

"We can walk together, then, I'm actually early."

Why is it the same script over and over? Why do they never understand? Closing my eyes for a moment, I heaved a deep sigh. "You're really gonna make me say it, aren't you?"

"Say what?" Her big doe-eyes stared at me in pure confusion. I felt bad, I always do.

"Look, it was nice and all, but there clearly was a misunderstanding here."

"I don't understand ..."

I calmly brought the toothbrush to my mouth, but before starting to brush my teeth, I said coldly: "You're nothing but a pastime. A good pastime, but not a permanent one."

"But I thought there was something ..." she went on whining.

"We met at a bar, got drunk, and fucked." I scoffed. "Believe me, there's nothing special about that, I've done the same with 3 other people this week."

Predictably, she looked outraged. She went back to the bedroom, gathered her things in a huff, and left – slamming the door, of course. Being called a one-night-stand is really the greatest equalizer among sexes. They all react the same way. You'd think men would be less sensitive about it ... nope, same hurt look on their face, same anger, same huffing.

I guess that, immediately jumping to conclusions and thinking Beth and I had done something, that time 5 years ago, should have been a hint. I didn't know I liked women more than just men until I got drunk and hooked up with a bartender and her boyfriend when I was in Australia. Threesomes are actually the easiest, nobody expects anything. You don't need to kick them out of your bed, they're gone before you wake up.

Once I was done brushing my teeth, I took a quick shower, then went back into the room to get dressed. Before doing so, I grabbed my phone. Just as predictably, I found texts from Laura and Beth. The first one sent me the latest stunt of her 4-year-old daughter – tying her own shoes. At the extreme opposite, Beth's picture was of her newest "girlfriend". And by girlfriend I mean the current girl she'll be sleeping with until she gets bored. Just like me, after Jen, Beth decided relationships aren't all that interesting.

Ever since I told her I started sleeping with women, Beth decided I needed a crash course in female anatomy, namely, how to spot a fuckable girl without staring too hard – her words, not mine. I did remind her that the whole point of my pansexual epiphany is that I'm attracted to a person regardless of their gender, but her whole answer was involving Shane in our talks. Funny how the only ones that welcome your newfound hoe lifestyle are the hoes themselves.

Laura thinks it's a phase, I'll soon ... fuck this hatred for relationships out of my system and move on to love someone else. Possibly someone not as toxic as Chris and not as murderous as Sebastian – her words, not mine.

I merely sent a few kissy emojis to Laura, not because I don't care about her beautiful daughter, but because her blatant attempts at showing me what I'm missing out on don't work on me. Not the mama life – she wouldn't be so cruel, given the past –, I mean my actual goddaughter, the sweet Lily, who according to her mom misses me too bad and needs me to come home asap. I get that kind of guilt trip every three days, but it didn't work when Lily started walking, it won't now that she's started reading.

I sent Beth's picture to the group chat with her and Shane, adding: Beth is into brunettes this month. Before closing the app, I eyed my archived chats section. It's pretty cruel to just put it there without giving you the chance to hide it. Then again, I could delete everything, I just haven't found it in me yet. It's more of a reminder than a way to hang onto the past.