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“Easy for you to say. They both like you.”

“You know you’re my favorite of all her boyfriends, Clark!”

“That’s not a compliment, Mia,” he shoots back. Josie looks like someone just told her the secret to happiness at the two of them fighting. “I’ve heard everything about them, met one of them, and they were all assholes.”

“Well, she’s clearly not begging Josie to breakup with you, Bryce.” I don’t know where my teasing tone came from, but I’m saying the words before I even register them. I’m not used to bantering with him. I keep going. “I think that means it is a compliment.”

Mia’s smiling face turns back to me. “Yes, thank you! Jos, you were right. We’re going to be great friends.”

“You remind me of one another,” Josie says from Bryce’s arms.

And I think Josie is losing it.

I can’t see a single thing I have in common with the woman in front of me, no matter how much I wish I could be more like her. Mia seems to be the embodiment of a female badass and might even come across a little unapproachable. That’s not me at all.

“If we both love to give Bryce a hard time, we’ll be great together,” Mia declares.

“Yes, I’m so happy we hired you, Mia. Now I get to deal with you being mean to me every day.”

“Honestly, it was the main selling point for me,” she admits with a smirk.

I’m not sure what Bryce and Carter have to offer Mia in terms of a job, but I get the sense she was needing a fresh start. Bryce and Josie look out for the people they care about; that much has already become true. I’m learning that being their friend means someone always has my back. It’s not something I’m used to, and not something I necessarily have now, but I feel myself getting closer to it. Believing I’m deserving of a something like that.

“How about Josie and Kat show me around?” Mia’s question pulls me back to the present. “I’d love to see how everything’s coming together.”

Reluctantly, Bryce releases Josie. “That’s fine. I have a clinic I need to get to at one of the schools.”

“Clinic?” I question, unsure what he means by that.

“It’s like a swim lesson for kids thinking about joining a team,” Mia explains. “Bryce leads them in a series of sets and teaches them other techniques they can use and then runs them through some drills. A lot of schools and teams will jump at the chance to have someone like Bryce teach their kids.”

I glance at Bryce, who shrugs. “It’s a good way to get some money coming in until our club is up and running. Carter and I will also run some clinics or camps in the summer, so it’s extra practice for that.”

I don’t know why, but I didn’t think Bryce was earning an income right now. I thought all of this was being funded by the money he earned as a professional. Now that I know he’s working, at least in some regard, it explains why he’s rarely home on the weekends and why that’s when Josie wants someone to hang out with.

“Okay, show me around!”

AftershowingMiaaroundthe whole complex, Josie invites me to join the two of them for dinner. Desperate for a night out with friends, or at least people who could become friends, I readily agree. I can’t remember the last time I’d gone out with people who weren’t work colleagues or my boyfriend. Having a social life has never been a major concern of mine since I’ve been too focused on pleasing my mother and getting Thomas to take me seriously as an employee.

On the rare occasions I did go out with people my own age, they’re usually Will’s friends, and they made sure I knew I was the odd one out. I didn’t have a medical degree or a fancy office in downtown Charleston. I didn’t fit into whatever mold they thought a doctor’s girlfriend should fit into. I haven’t hung out with Will’s friends for over a year, and he hasn’t made a single comment about it.

Hours later, as I sit in a fun industrial bar with a margarita in front of me and the menu in my hand, I can’t help but feel like I’ve missed out on something fundamental. Mia and Josie chat amicably about the menu with the easy confidence that comes with years of friendship that tells me they’d be perfectly comfortable in total silence.

Silence scares me.

My phone buzzes at my elbow with another text from Will. He’d called me while I was getting ready, wanting to complain about his day. He hadn’t been too happy when I cut him off, telling him I had plans tonight. Especially because it was with people he doesn’t know. I ignore it.

It buzzes five minutes later, once the server has taken our orders and collected the menus. I glare down at it, silently willing him to leave me alone. When I want to talk to him, he can’t be bothered, but the first time I have plans, he wants to be involved.

“If you glare at that phone any harder, it might burst into flames.”

A faint blush coats my cheeks as I flip the phone to rest face down on the table. When I look up, Mia is grinning at me over the top of her margarita. “Sorry, my boyfriend won’t stop texting me even though I told him I’m out with people.”

I try not to cringe at my use of “friends”. We probably weren’t close enough for that, yet. Even Josie and I weren’t quite there.

“I didn’t know you have a boyfriend,” Josie comments, looking intrigued.

“Sounds a bit possessive to me,” Mia retorts.