Dolly's face contorted into confusion, and I watched her as she shook her head.
"For...for me? Who would be here for me?" she asked, befuddled. I smiled weakly and kissed her forehead.
"Come on," I said quietly, reaching for her shirt to help her button it up. I frowned – it was much easier to unbutton these than it was to button them up. All of my hard work was going to waste.
"I don't understand," she said, following me as I pulled her up. I kissed her softly.
"It's okay," I assured her, taking her hand and pulling her to the living room. I heard her gasp quietly as she saw who was in the living room.
"Robin?" she said, sounding more confused than before.
I recognized Robin as soon as I opened the door – she was always hanging around Steve, which surprised me, because she seemed like a nerd like I was in high school. She still had that same haircut, and same surly expression she always wore in high school. When I opened the door, she attempted a smile that looked more like her baring her teeth at me.
"Hello – I'm Robin," she said as I opened the door. I nodded.
"I know," I replied awkwardly. We sat for an uncomfortable beat. I cleared my throat. "I'm, uh...I'm Eddie."
"I know," she shot back. I raised my eyebrows, surprised by her tone. She sighed. "Sorry – is Dolly here?"
I felt panicked for a moment – what was she doing here? She didn't like me, Dolly had told me that, and it was the reason why they hadn't really spoken in a long time. Was she here to talk sense into Dolly about me?
"Uh, y-yeah, she is," I finally replied before stepping aside so she could come in. Robin nodded and walked in, clasping her hands behind her. She looked around and cleared her throat.
"The place is nice – you spruced it up since high school," she complimented. I furrowed my brows. "I came to a couple of your parties back in school."
I nodded and ran my hand through my hair.
"I'm sure Harrington hated that," I said before I could stop myself. Her face twisted into an angry expression, and I realized I was not winning any points with her. "I'll, uh, I'll go get Dolly."
So, here we were. My secret girlfriend staring at her best friend who she had been fighting with for months because of me.
"You're never home, and I figured school had let out," Robin explained.
"How did you know where Eddie lived?" Dolly asked, still sounding confused. Robin shrugged.
"He used to throw parties in high school here – I had been to a couple," she explained simply.
"Why did you just show up?" Dolly questioned, her tone shifting to anger. Robin crossed her arms.
"Because we need to talk," Robin snapped back. Dolly stepped forward, setting her hands on her hips.
"So, you drove three hours to talk? Are you insane? Just use a phone—"
"You can hang up a phone call, it's hard to ignore me in person," Robin interrupted. Dolly let out an exasperated sigh.
"God, Rob, you're batshit sometimes," Dolly hissed. Robin rolled her eyes.
"Big talk from you, ignoring your best friend for a guy—"
"Oh, my god, you know that's not what happened!" Dolly exclaimed. Robin turned red, and before she could respond, I set my hands on Dolly's waist. She jumped, almost like she forgot I was there.
"Sorry, I just—" I started. Dolly's eyes widened.
"Oh, my gosh, Maggie could come home," she said, almost to herself. I shook my head.
"It's o-okay, I just—"
"No, it's not okay – Eddie's sister could come home, and there's a psychotic redhead in her living room," Dolly seethed, glaring at Robin again. Robin's jaw dropped.
"I am strawberry blond, asshole," she snapped back. I felt a smile tug at my lips despite the tension between the two. Dolly let out a frustrated squawk and gesticulated wildly.
"You are insane – Jesus Christ!" Dolly practically yelled. She pointed at the door. "Go get in your car and meet me back at my apartment."
Robin groaned and stomped out of the trailer. Dolly turned to me, setting her hands on my biceps.
"I'm going to go talk to her and get out of your way," she said quietly. I pulled her to me, shaking my head.
"You're never in the way," I insisted. Her face finally broke into a smile, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.
"I like you so much," she said quietly. I smiled at her and stroked her hair.
"I like you too, Doll," I replied. She set her face in the crook of my neck, and I kissed the top of her head. I felt that small, terrible pull of insecurity and I closed my eyes. "Just...just don't let her talk you out of that."
She pulled back, her brows furrowed. She set a hand on the side of my face and shook her head.
"Never. You have nothing to worry about," she assured me. She leaned up and kissed me deeply, battling back the insecurity I felt. I held her there longer, not wanting to let her go quite yet. She pulled back and patted my chest. "I promise."
I nodded, and she took my hand as she started walking towards the door.
"Do...do you think you'll come back?" I asked, feeling pathetic but not wanting to go another night apart from one another. We stopped at the doorway, and she shrugged as I opened the door.
"I really want to – I'm not sure if I'll be able to," she admitted. I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment. She wrapped her arms around me. "But I'll try my hardest. At the very least, I'll call before bed."
I forced a smile and nodded at her. She got close to my lips.
"Don't be sad, good lookin'," she whispered before kissing me softly. I pressed my forehead to hers.
"I can't help it," I whined. She smiled.
"Tell Maggie that we'll do her lesson tomorrow – and if I can't get back here tonight, I'll make sure I'm here tomorrow so we can pick up where we were interrupted," she flirted before kissing me again. I felt my stomach flip at her promise and smiled wildly at her.
I kissed her forehead and dropped her, watching her as she went to her car. She got into her car and looked at me, flashing a smile and blowing me a kiss. I winked and waved bye to her. I looked over and noticed Robin in her car, watching me with furrowed brows. I waved at her, as well, and she shook her head before backing up and following Dolly out of the trailer park. I sighed and went back in.
I tromped back to the kitchen, frustrated that my evening plans had been interrupted. I started dinner again, trying not to spiral out on thoughts of Robin convincing Dolly to dump me. I finished cooking and pulled out plates to prepare for Maggie. The door swung open, and I heard Maggie clomp in like she always did.
"Hey, kid," I called out. She came to the kitchen, grinning and giddy. I tamped down my urge to be overprotective, especially because I wasn't supposed to know why she was so happy.
"Hey, weird one," she quipped, going to the fridge to get juice. I pointed at the cabinet, and she rolled her eyes before getting a cup. She poured herself a glass and took a large sip.
"How was your friend?" I asked. She turned bright red and shrugged.
"F-fine, it w-was fine, they w-were fine," she insisted. I smiled, and I was glad I could put her on the spot. She cleared her throat. "Where's the general?"
I started plating our dinner and handed her a plate. She followed me to the table, sitting down and pulling her legs up onto the chair. We started eating, and I sighed, trying not to sound as disappointed as I felt.
"She, uh...she had a personal thing come up and had to go see a friend," I answered vaguely. I looked down at my plate. "She said she was going to pick up your lessons tomorrow."
"Oh, got it," she replied before taking a large bite. Her mouth was full as she started talking again. "So, she's not going to spend the night?"
I froze, slowly turning my head towards her. She was stock still once she realized what she had asked.
"What did you just say?" I asked slowly. Her eyes were wide, and she was evading my stare.
"Um, uh, I meant...I really meant so she's not coming tonight – that's what I meant," Maggie stammered, trying to sound convincing.
"You knew?" I pressed, my voice pitching up an octave. She smiled awkwardly.
"I mean...yeah, I did," she admitted. I leaned back in my chair, shocked.
"How long?" I questioned her. She took another bite of food and shrugged.
"A while now," she replied sheepishly. My jaw dropped and she gestured at me. "I mean it wasn't hard to figure out."
"It wasn't?" I exclaimed. All of the sneaking around we had done, how little sleep we got because I wanted to make sure Maggie didn't find out about us – it had been for nothing? She gave me a patronizing look.
"You guys make googly eyes at each other all of the time. And you think you're sneaky with touching her and you totally are not," she explained. I felt my face flush, and she took another bite of food. "And she grabs your butt a lot."
A wave of embarrassment crashed over me, and I cleared my throat.
"W-well, uh...are...are you o-okay with it?" I asked nervously. She smiled.
"Sure. I like the general. And she obviously makes you happy," she replied. My mouth twisted into a smile, and I looked down.
"She does," I said quietly. I looked back up at her. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"It was kind of nice having a 'get out of jail free' card every time I asked about the secret girlfriend," she answered. I pursed my lips.
"You're a little shit," I sniped. She laughed.
"Well, now you don't have to sneak around – I'm sure you guys are exhausted," she teased. She stood, picking her plate up and kissing my head quickly. "I'm going to my room since there's no lessons tonight. Thanks for dinner, weird one."
I watched her as she put her plate in the sink and skipped to her room. I looked back at my plate, and I was unable to stop smiling. We didn't have to sneak around anymore. We could sleep in. I didn't have to hide my affection for my girlfriend.
I couldn't wait to tell Dolly.