My cell rang and I made an apologetic face as I pulled it out of my pocket. “Rhian, hey.” I turned and took a few steps away, not chancing that they might hear her on the other end of the line.
“I have an emergency,” she replied in a monotone. “Abort the picnic.”
“Oh, no, you’re kidding.” I played along, sounding all mothering and soothing. “Are you okay?”
“Bloody hell, Joss, I thought you could lie?” Rhian grumbled. “You’re speaking like an alien who’s heard of the human concept of ‘being concerned’ but doesn’t know how to execute it.”
I grit my teeth, ignoring her. “Sure, I can talk. Just a sec.” I took a moment, trying to exude ‘human concern’ as I turned back to Braden and the gang. I had a feeling I was scowling more than frowning, but whatever. “I’m sorry, guys, but I have to take a rain check.”
Ellie sat up, worried. “Is everything okay? Do you need me to come?”
“No, I’m okay. Rhian just really needs someone to talk to. It can’t wait. Sorry.” I chanced a glance at Braden and found he wasn’t just watching me. He was studying me. Suspiciously. My eyes dropped quickly. “See you later.” I walked away to their calls of goodbye and stuck the phone back up to my ear. “I was being concerned,” I grouched at Rhian.
“Anyone who knows you, knows that’s not how you sound when you’re concerned.”
“Well, luckily, they don’t know me.” Or not… Braden was sure looking at me funny.
“So you really don’t like this Ed guy?”
I winced, remembering my lie. In an effort not to get into the whole Braden thing with Rhian, I’d lied and said that Ellie’s friend Jenna’s fiancé Ed was a bigot and I didn’t want to be around him, but I also didn’t want to hurt Ellie’s feelings by saying no to the picnic. I felt bad about maligning Ed, but I didn’t think it mattered too much since I wasn’t expecting him and Rhian to ever meet.
“Nope, I don’t.”
“You know I’m not buying it, right?”
I almost stumbled. “Buying what?”
“You talk about Ellie all the time, Joss. I think I can safely say I understand enough about the woman to know she wouldn’t be friends with a f**kin’ bigot. Like I said, you can’t lie for shit.”
Huh! That was so not true! “I can lie. I am a damn good liar!”
“Oh that’s right, yell that out while you’re still walking away from them.”
Shit. I glanced around to make sure I’d put enough distance between us. I had. My heart slowed. “You’re a pain in the ass,” I grumbled, forgetting she’d just done me a favor.
She made a pfftt noise. “You’re the one who lied to me. Seriously, what’s going on?”
I sighed. “Can this be one of those things we don’t talk about?”
“No.”
“Please, Rhian.”
“Have you spoken to your therapist about it?”
I frowned, wondering why she’d ask that. “No…”
“Fine.” She sighed heavily. “I won’t ask about it, as long as you promise to talk to your therapist about it. And you may lie, but I know you would never break a promise.”
“Rhian-”
“Promise.”
I shook my head. “It’s not therapy-worthy.”
“If it was worth lying to me about, then it’s therapy-worthy. Sort your shit out, Joss, and promise.”
“Fine,” I agreed, but only because I knew it was Rhian’s grumpy way of being a good friend.