bite into her bottom lip. “At least my next mistake was in form of a very dirty Russian.”
“You had margaritas all night,” I recall, knowing it’s her favorite go-to drink.
“You obviously don’t remember the guy I went home with,” she says with a wink. I shake my head and pull the blankets over Ainsley, not worrying about getting anything more than her slip-on shoes off.
Leaving the door cracked open, I follow Jenna downstairs where she set the bag of presents Ainsley got. She picks up a doll and examines its gaudy pink outfit. “I noticed your roommate didn’t make an appearance today. Are old ladies and princess cake too good for him?”
I drop onto the couch, crossing my legs under me as she unpacks the presents. “I mentioned we were having a party there, but he never said if he’d come.”
“Did you specifically invite him?” Her brows arch in inquiry as she places the dolls in compromising positions in the house she bought Ainsley.
“Why is that Barbie on top of two other Barbies? You know what. Forget I asked. And, no. I just kind of hinted that there would be a party to celebrate. It doesn’t matter anyway. He works today.”
“Would he have come if he didn’t?”
How am I supposed to know? I shrug. “I don’t know what he would or wouldn’t do. He probably wouldn’t have had fun with a bunch of senior citizens anyway.”
Jenna turns to me slowly. “Why does it sound like you’re trying to convince yourself of that? Did you want him to come?”
My lips part, then close.
She perks up. “Oh my God! You did.”
“Shut up. No, I didn’t. It’d be weird.”
“Weird because you like him.”
“Weird because he has no obligation to Ainsley or me,” I correct, getting up and walking into the kitchen. Pulling out a bottle of tomato juice, I hop onto the counter and let my legs dangle off the edge. “It’d make no sense for him to come celebrate some little girl’s birthday with people he doesn’t know.”
“But … you wanted him to,” she presses.
I glare. “No. I. Didn’t.”
She steals my juice and takes a sip. “You can deny it all you want, but you got the hots for your sex-on-a-stick roomie. All those inked muscles have gone to your head.”
Refusing to answer, I steal the juice back and focus on anything but the narrowed look my self-appointed best friend gives me. Sometimes I wonder how we’ve made it this long without trying to kill each other. We’re opposites in every way that counts, yet we work. If I didn’t have her, even when she annoys me, I’d be lost. She knows it, too.
“Whatever, Ms. Denial,” she sighs, leaning against the counter behind her. “So, what are you going to do about the school situation? You wouldn’t share when we talked on the phone the other night and I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Ainsley.”
Wetting my lips, I feel the anxiety of reality crash into me. I’ve avoided the topic for as long as I can, but Principal Harris pulled me aside and insisted we needed to discuss Ainsley’s wellbeing on Friday. Needless to say, the conversation was tense. My facial expression was anything but professional despite her talking to me during working hours. I’ve already been told to see her first thing Monday morning, and I have a feeling the little control I have left will be long gone come that conversation.
“I want her to stay there.”
She nods once. “Understandable.”
“Harris would barely listen to me when I told her about the sign language classes. It was like all she heard was how she’d have to hire an interpreter. I swear, the woman is—”
“A total bitch?” my bestie finishes.
“I was going to say unfit to work with school children, but yeah. She is. Everyone is tense because of the budget, and she sees Ainsley as an added expense. Isn’t she supposed to do what’s best for the kids?”
Jenna gives me a sympathetic look. “I can play the bad cop. Go in fists swinging on Monday that way you don’t get the blame.”
“And how would I explain that?”
Her lips pull upward slowly. “We can say I’m your crazy ex-lover. I can play the part of a concerned parent.”
“Crazy ex-lover?” I repeat, blinking.
“I’d rock the role.”
I have no doubt. “Something tells me that won’t end well. It’s best if I speak with her and get it over with. I’ll just voice my concerns and explain what I want, as a