Playing It Safe(14)

Tyler is now doubled over laughing while Sabrina is shaking her head at me, covering her mouth with her hands to try to control her giggles.

“Wow, why don’t you tell us how you really feel, Julia?” she gets out, while failing miserably at holding her laughter in.

Oops. I really need to try and apply a filter to my thoughts more often before they reach my mouth. So much for trying to cover my tracks. I think I just elaborated a tad too much on my assumptions about Alex’s relationship with Marisa, or whatever you call that aberration.

Honestly, aren’t you scratching your head on this one too? I sure as hell am. I’m a little embarrassed to report that I may have spent most of my night lying in bed having an actual argument with myself over it. Out loud.

“I’m glad I could be a source of entertainment for you guys this morning,” I deadpan while they’re still laughing.

Sabrina collects herself long enough to say, “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

She elbows Tyler behind her to get him to stop laughing, then leans in to whisper something in his ear.

“Hey! That’s not fair! Don’t be whispering sweet nothings in his ear while I’m sitting right here.”

When she turns her body to face the camera again, Tyler brings his lips to her neck and starts to nuzzle her until she giggles again.

“I so hate you guys right now,” I say sarcastically. “Get a room, for chrissakes!”

Sabrina slaps him away and then clears her throat dramatically. “I have something to tell you.”

“Oh my God! Are you PG, Sabrina?”

“PG?” she asks, all confused.

“Yes, PG. You know, like Mary with Jesus but you know who the father is,” I say, pointing at Tyler on the monitor, who is practically choking.

“Are you insane? No, I’m not pregnant! And if I was, I don’t think I’d be telling you that news after you just called someone a cun …” She trails off, not being able to bring herself to complete the actual word. She’s always had an issue with cursing, so I’m surprised she was able to get as far as the letter n. Me, on the other hand … well let’s just say that if I had one of those curse jars where I put a dollar in for every bad word that came out of my mouth, Robin Leach would be doing a segment on me on the next episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

“Oh shit! Are you guys getting married?”

Both of them answer at the same time, she with a “no” and he with a “not yet.”

I tilt my head, thinking that little exchange right there was rather interesting, but I decide not to jump all over it like I normally would. I’ll just ask her about it another time when Tyler’s not around.

“Okay, so if you’re not knocked up and not getting married, then what is it?”

She flashes me a smile and says, “I kind of got a promotion at work.”

“Congrats! That’s great news.”

“Thank you,” she says.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘kind of’?”

“Well, it’s not official yet because my boss wants to see how I manage the next two exhibits at the museum on my own.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great.”

“You really think so?” she asks.

“Girlie, I’m positive. You have nothing to worry about. Right, Tyler?”

He agrees and gives her a tight squeeze before shooting me a wink, which even though he’s my bestie’s man makes me want to swoon on the spot.

“Your boyfriend is winking at me again, Sabrina,” I tease. “Please have him try to control himself around me.”

He laughs as she gives him a light slap on his arm.

“All right, you two,” I say, noticing the time. “I’ve gotta motor since I have to stop by my parents’ house in a bit.”

I bring my hand to my lips to blow her a kiss, and she repeats the gesture before we start in on saying how much we miss and love each other, as only true BFFs can. This tacks on a whole other five minutes to the Skype session before finally Tyler gets exasperated and just starts shutting it down on us. Good thing too, because if not, we could have easily spent the rest of the day on there talking about everything under the sun and then some.


As soon as I switch off my laptop, I move my ass into gear and start getting ready for the visit, which should be all kinds of interesting. My mom and dad love each other, no doubt about that, having been devoted to each other for the better part of almost thirty years now. But having been together for so long, they tend to get on each other’s nerves a bit. I’m fairly certain it has something to do with the fact that ever since my dad retired a few years ago, he’s home a lot more than he used to be, and my mom’s not digging him cramping her style.

I hope to God that my little brother, Darren, will be there since my other brother, Lucas, is living out in Las Vegas. I should probably call Darren and find out what his deal is and see if I can bribe him into hanging out with me while I’m there. He’s usually pretty easy to get a hold of. As for Lucas, you can never get him to pick up the phone, much less return a freaking phone call. I’m lucky if he even remembers to call me on my birthday.

Picking up my cell phone off the coffee table, I unlock the screen and thumb scroll through my contact list until I find Darren’s name. While I’m scrolling, I notice that I have a ridiculous amount of people on here that I haven’t spoken to in years. Like this entry right above Darren’s for a person (I have to say person, because I have no clue if they’re male or female) named Dale. Who the hell is Dale? And how did they get starred and categorized as a “favorite” under my contacts? I’m still pondering this Dale person when I press Darren’s name on the screen just below it.