Crazy Girl(74)

“Nice to meet both of you as well,” I replied. Courtney continued to stare at me, her smile bright, her eyes barely blinking. Kate elbowed her and she seemed to snap to attention.

“Yes, so, so, sooooo great to meet you,” Courtney added.

Hannah closed her eyes and shook her head. “Wren, why don’t you go and make yourself a cup of coffee.”

“Yeah, I think I need one,” I agreed. As I turned and made my way to the kitchen, I could hear the three of them playfully squabble in a blur of loud whispers.

I hate you so much right now.

You had sex with that last night?

You’re tapping that?

Really?

You so owe me. I was the one that made you get on that app!

Shut up, he’ll hear you.

Was it dirty? It was, wasn’t it? Damn, I bet it was.

Shut uuuuuup.

He had big feet.

And hands.

Did you see his abs?

Oh man, I bet he went down on you for hours.

Now I have a mental image of him, and I can replay all the epic sex you’ve told me about over and over.

Courtney!

What? Kate asked if it was dirty.

The whispers grew louder and faster until I was unable to decipher any clear wording. I turned and the three of them were huddled together in some kind of fight where they were trying to out whisper each other and flapping their hands in some kind of girl-fight. Hannah was pushing against them like somehow in doing so she would silence them, and Kate and Courtney were pushing back, both of them grinning as they continued to whisper; though, they’d stopped making complete sentences and it sounded like all they were saying were dirty words just to rile Hannah up.

I internally chuckled at their schoolgirl antics. They were in their mid-thirties, after all. “Would either of you ladies like a cup of coffee?” I asked. The three of them immediately drew away from each other, going still and silent. Hannah’s face was bright red, and Courtney and Kate still wore their shit-eating grins.

“So nice of you, Wren,” Courtney said.

“But we’re good. We’re only staying a minute,” Kate chirped.

After making my coffee, I made my way back into the living room and found Hannah with her head hung while Courtney and Kate made thrusting motions, laughing silently as they did so.

Clearing my throat, they jumped. “Well, Courtney, I do think it’s time we said our goodbyes,” Kate managed through her giggling.

“Why yes, Kate. I do believe you’re right,” Courtney replied in a deepened Southern accent.

“Thanks for bringing my purse,” Hannah piped in quickly as she herded them toward the door, much like she did to me the night of our first date.

“Lovely to meet you, Wren,” Kate called.

Waving a hand, I chuckled as Hannah pushed her body against them.

“Oh my God, Hannah. Are you naked under that shirt?” Courtney said loudly, almost as if she wanted the neighbors to hear. “You’re not even wearing any panties! You dirty little slut,” she cried out. Kate, who was already out the door and on the porch, let out a loud laugh. The two were enjoying torturing Hannah way too much.

When she finally shut the door, she pressed her forehead against it. “Well, those were two of my best friends.”

“They seemed like a lively duo.”

Spinning around to face me, she smirked. “They are.”

Sipping my coffee, I glanced around the room again. It would’ve been nice to have a place to sit.

As if she’d read my mind, Hannah apologized, “Sorry I don’t have anywhere for you to sit.”

Scratching the back of my neck, I battled with whether we should broach this subject again. Last time she’d seemed agitated when I tried to discuss it with her. But at this juncture, and after last night when I felt things shift between us, maybe she’d open up to me more. Her lack of things didn’t bother me. I just wanted to understand. I wanted to get to the nitty-gritty of it.

“So…what’s the plan here?” I began. “You’re just going to live in this empty house for the foreseeable future?”

She pushed off the door and immediately busied herself sliding the stack of books she’d used to step on to kiss me earlier back to its place. “I told you. I just don’t want things anymore.” I didn’t believe her.

I sipped my coffee again, giving myself a moment to choose my words carefully. I didn’t want to upset her, or make her think I was judging her. But she didn’t sound like she meant it. She plunked down on the floor in front of her laptop and began typing. Her attempt to end this discussion was anything but subtle.

“Hannah,” I said her name. She ignored me. Wow. I’d hit a nerve. I battled again. This was obviously a sensitive subject and went much deeper than her original minimalism reasoning. “Hannah,” I said her name again. “It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re speaking to you, babe.”

Staring at her computer screen, she continued typing. “It’s rude to push someone to discuss something they don’t want to discuss.”

“Well people in relationships discuss…stuff.” I motioned my hand more to myself than for her, as if the gesture would explain stuff was a simplification of what I really meant.

Turning her head, she glanced up at me. “Who said we were in a relationship?”