Chapter 12: Lexi - Lies of Omission

Despite our efforts to sober up, Ky and I were still moving a little slow on Monday morning and had to rush a little to be at work on time. Ky grumbled and joked about Reed having the right idea quitting immediately. I was not ready to take that step but I could see the appeal.

I felt a little bit guilty about lying to my boss about a family emergency. I didn’t care about my employer - they were one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world. My job only existed so they could pay lip service to caring about sustainability for the benefit of investors. However, I did feel guilty because my boss had recruited me and advocated for me in the four years I had been there. I considered her a friend and even a bit of a mentor. I also did not think I was a very good liar.

Luckily, everything went smoothly. I was given time off until after Thanksgiving, although I insisted I could work Tuesday, and granted the option to work remotely through the end of the year.

My work day had a strange air of unreality about it. I went through practiced routines and procedures like normal, but in the back of my mind it all felt fake. It was uncomfortable.

I texted with Ky about it and he was feeling the same things after his boss had bought his lies just like mine had. I wondered if our resolve to not jump two feet first into a different world would start to slip. I kept reminding myself nothing was truly different yet. Everything was still theoretical.

Ky’s and my sleepover routine had developed over time. In the early days, when we became friends with benefits, we tended to sleep over on Thursdays since that was the night we played co-ed soccer together. Friday and Saturday night booty calls began to creep in and before long we were spending the night together Thursday through Sunday most weeks. Oftentimes that extended to earlier in the week too, but Monday was our typical reset night that we spent alone. A part of me wanted to break that routine and see if he wanted to sleep over that Monday, but it felt like everything else was in turmoil so I resisted the urge to text Ky about it. Keep one tiny piece of routine amidst the chaos, was my thinking. Ky was radio silent too. I wondered what was going on in his brain.