"SO who was that woman?" Adrien asked casually.
Muse leaned over the side of the boat. Adrien had signed them up for scuba diving after lunch. She had never been scuba diving in her life. She had no idea how it worked, and was doing her best to remain calm and collective.
The question threw her off-guard, though.
"What woman?" she asked, knowing perfectly well who Adrien meant.
"The one in the lobby."
"How do you know about that?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Did you put a camera in my eyeballs or something while I was sleeping?"
"No. But now that you mention it . . ."
Muse glared at Adrien. The wind rippled her black hair. She was leaning over the side of the boat, too, sunlight dappling her tan skin. Her jaw flexed as she grinned, still facing the ocean, and added, "Catalina was in the lobby. She told me she saw you with some woman."
"It was a two-second interaction!" Muse said. Her blood had turned warm, but she wasn't mad. She hoped she wasn't blushing.
"What was her name?"
"I don't know. Um, Ryan."
Adrien glanced at her. Her black eyes gleamed. The smirk still danced on her lips. "Was she cute?"
"Was she cute?"
"Yeah. Was she?"
"Adrien, I'm going to murder you."
"You're not answering my question. You thought she was cute. Do you like her?"
"Adrien, you better be kidding right now," Muse spluttered. "Did you forget that it was a two-second interaction?"
"She called you princess. Did you like it?"
Muse had no idea how Catalina had picked up on that from where she'd been sitting at the bar. She had to have some kind of super hearing. "No, Adrien. I told her not to call me princess, and that I had a wife."
"But, you know, when this is over and we get divorced . . ."
She knew her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing had become uneven. She hoped to God Adrien hadn't noticed those minor details. The idea of divorce had made her heart rate speed up. For no reason. She had told Adrien they needed to get divorced.
They did need to get divorced. She couldn't be doubting herself now. She knew they could never work, and that they should stay friends. But . . .
"Why do you care then, honey pie?" Muse asked through clenched teeth.
"I was just curious. Since we're friends, baby cakes. You know, friends."
"Friends."
"Yeah. Friends tell each other things. Like if they ran into a woman in the lobby and were given the nickname princess."
"I didn't tell you about that because . . . I don't know, it was two hours ago and it wasn't important? I barely registered her."
In fact, Muse had been itching to tell Adrien what she'd found when she followed Grey. She hadn't yet, though. She was waiting for a moment of real privacy. Not on a boat surrounded by other resort guests, where there was even the slightest chance they could be overheard. She knew nobody was paying attention to them right now, that if she wanted to, she could tell Adrien. But this conversation had riled her up in a way she didn't want to think about.
"Well, Ryan lives in New York City, too, by the way. So if you ever wanted to meet up with her . . . you know, catch up . . ."
"There's nothing to catch up on." Muse levelled a menacing glare at Adrien, who seemed to be avoiding looking at her.
How in the world did Adrien know Ryan lived in New York City?
"If you thought she was cute, I mean. I'm all for it. You guys would make a great couple. I'm just saying that as your friend."
Muse remembered Adrien with Piper in the locker room and said, "Yeah, you know what? She was kind of cute."
"What?"
The wind and the sound of the waves rose louder for a moment. Loudly, Muse said, "I said, she is cute!"
The wind died. The entire boat turned to look at them.
Muse and Adrien blinked at each other.
"My baby niece," Muse added. "Um, Emma. My cousin's, um, daughter. Who got pregnant at fourteen. Her baby daddy left her, and she's been raising the kid on her own ever since. She had to live on the streets for like a few years in New Orleans, but like, then she got on her feet and she contacted me and I was like, Oh my God, hey, I can't believe you've been raising a kid on your own? What happened to your parents? And she was like, Oh my God, they abandoned me when I got knocked up! So then I met her daughter, and she was really cute, and I can't wait to see her again, and―"
She didn't have a baby niece, and she didn't have any cousins in America she knew about.
People had long since stopped paying attention, and Adrien sarcastically whispered, "Nice save. Really good. Are you going to give me an autobiography on Emma's first pacifier, too?"
"Adrien Vitale."
"Muse Vitale."
Adrien's last name, paired with her name, sent a shiver through Muse. She forced herself to remain calm.
Adrien feigned casualty again and pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes. Peering into the ocean, her muscled forearms stretched over the railing of the boat, she continued, "So, you thought she was cute."
"Can we drop the subject now?"
"She's kind of short, don't you think?"
"Oh my God, Adrien. Drop it. And how do you know how tall she is? Did Catalina include that in the description, too?"
"No, I found it when I ran a background check on her." The smirk had reappeared on her lips. "Her driver's license says she's five-six."
"Is that how you know she lives in New York City?" Muse said exasperatedly.
"Yeah, the same way I know she went to Sunnyvale Daycare, Rosewood Elementary School, Immaculate Conception Secondary School, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her parents got divorced in 2012. She has no siblings, but a lot of cousins. She has six speeding tickets she paid fines for. She has a membership at the Nautilus gym uptown, and she drives a Porsche 911. Her address is―"
"Okay, I get it." Under her breath, Muse added, "Stalker."
Adrien grinned broadly. "Never denied that."
"Why'd you run a background check on her?"
"I want to make sure my friends are making good decisions, you know."
"Is she? A good decision?"
Adrien's eyes blackened to the colour of the cold between stars. "I think you can do better."
Better like how? Muse wanted to ask. You?
"You're just biased. As my friend. You'd think I'm too good for anyone."
"And I'm right about that."
"I'm not some saint, Adrien."
"You're literally an angel."
"Are you well in the head?"
"Come here, wife." Adrien grabbed Muse, petting her head like some kind of dog. "You're just a baby. A little angel baby. Someone needs to protect you. Who better if not your best friend?"
"I said we're friends, not best friends."
"I don't know, I'm pretty sure we're best friends."
"We are not best friends."
"Whatever you say, best friend. BFF. Bestest friend for life. Bestie for the restie."
"How many drinks have you had?" Muse accused her.
"Only a couple. Four. Six."
"Six?"
"Okay, seven. Happy? My tolerance is really good."
"No, I see that. Your tolerance is so good you start asking me if you think I find some random woman in the lobby cute."
Adrien's eyes narrowed on Muse like she had just remembered that. "Why do you keep bringing her up?"
"You started this conversation!"
"Do you want to kiss her?"
"Adrien, no."
"You want to make babies with her."
"Adrien, I forgot she existed the second she left my eyesight."
"You just said you want to make babies with her."
"Are you jealous?"
The mention of the word jealous seemed to snap Adrien out of some kind of trance. She released Muse from her hold and leaned back against the boat, this time facing the deck. She was wearing a white tank top. Her arms looked lean and muscular in the sunlight, her fingers clenching and unclenching at her sides.
Muse hadn't realized how much Adrien had drank at the bar on the boat. She had been busy for thirty minutes frantically searching the Internet for what happened on a scuba diving excursion. She still hadn't managed to wrap her head around it.
In that time, Adrien had somehow downed seven drinks. She had just figured Adrien was making conversation with some random guests. These people were all rich and wealthy. Surely she had friends here somewhere. She hadn't thought much about it. She had been too concerned with looking stupid in front of Adrien.
Now, she wondered if Adrien really was jealous.
If she had gotten drunk enough to actually reveal something.
What was that saying again? Drunk words? Sober thoughts?
Maybe the line of their friendship was more blurry than Muse had thought it was.
***
I miss my gf. Please keep manifesting I pass my courses y'all. New chapters coming soon.
From the moon and back,
Sarai