Chapter 61

“Morning,” Mel said, making me jump.

“Holy shit,” I exclaimed, letting out a hard breath as she started laughing softly.

“What, you weren’t expecting me?” she asked, coming into the kitchen still grinning.

“I had a late night,” I sighed, leaning heavily against the counter as I tried to swallow my heart out of my throat and back into my chest.

“Mhmm,” she hummed, giving me a look.

“What?” I asked.

“Well, I had to park on the street because there’s a car in your driveway,” my best friend said. “And I’ve had that particular car parked at my house over the past couple of years, so I’m pretty sure you had a sleepover with a college coed. You little manwhore.”

“Guilty,” I grunted and shrugged, pouring her a cup of coffee.

“Is it Elyse or Tori?” Mel asked, taking her usual seat at my table and accepting her mug from me. “And where is she?”

“Elyse,” I said. “And she just finished showering before you must have come in, so I wasn’t expecting someone on the first floor.”

“Hmmhmmhmm,” Mel smirked, humming her laugh into her first sip of coffee as she looked at me over the rim of the mug.

“Don’t do that,” I rolled my eyes as I turned back to making breakfast.

“I’m not doing anything,” she said.

“You’re trying to decide whether to tease me, praise me, or tell me off,” I said. “And don’t worry, I’m doing all three more than enough in my own head, you don’t need to do it for me.”

“Teasing it is,” she smirked.

“Fuck off,” I chuckled.

“Sounds like you’ve been fucking off,” she said.

“Weak,” I said, pointing at her with the lifter I was using on the eggs in the frying pan. “Very weak.”

“You’re right. I need to work on better material,” she sighed.

The conversation pivoted as I took the eggs out of the pan and gestured if she wanted me to make her a plate as well, which she accepted after a moment. It wouldn’t be the first time we shared a breakfast, but we usually stuck to coffee for our morning visits. I was just wrapping up cooking her eggs when she cut off telling me about the latest gossip coming out of the theatre troupe group chat at the sound of footsteps in the hallway coming our way.