Page 5

Session 04:

"The Dinner"

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"She's genuinely annoying," I told Kaia for the hundredth time, even if it was already the next day after everything with Dr. Leclair had happened.

I came home last night and spilled all the details to my best friend who laughed it all off for me.

Meanwhile, I had a straight face—the only straight thing about me.

When Kaia realized how irritated I was, she offered to fuck me for a distraction, but I didn't even want that.

Now it's the next day and I can't stop replaying last night in my head, growing more and more annoyed.

Dr. Leclair definitely had the upper hand and that isn't sitting right with me.

"I think last night was productive—now you'll at least know what you're walking into tomorrow," Kaia tried to tell me, but all I could do was shake my head.

I should've stayed curious.

"At least she flirted with me though," I pointed out, analyzing my outfit in my bathroom mirror.

Since we're only heading over to Zion and Sarai's for dinner, I pulled on a charcoal black cropped jacket and a pair of flare sweatpants.

"Exactly, now no more therapy," Kaia said, leaning off the sink to follow me out of my bathroom.

She dressed just as relaxed as me, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and Alo leggings.

"I hate to say it but this was a pretty good idea," I said, sliding my feet into a pair of slippers.

Kaia flashed me her usual smile, "I know," she murmured.

I rolled my eyes, "Never mind, I take it back," I mumbled as we walked out of my room past the open living area.

"You can't," Kaia shot back as I grabbed my keys from the front table.

"Can too," I argued back, opening my front door and walking out with Kaia following behind me.

"I already heard you say it, so you can't," Kaia still decided to argue with me as we walked down the hallway toward the elevators.

I rolled my eyes as we grew closer to the elevators, deciding not to argue with her further or we would quite literally go back and forth for hours.

Kaia pressed one of the elevator buttons, causing one to ding open immediately.

The elevator ride was short, the shiny doors opening on the parking garage level where I unlocked my car nearby.

I turned the seat warmers on as soon as we got seated in the car, cranking up the heat as well given how fucking cold it is.

And rainy.

It's always rainy here, but I find the contrast nice compared to California.

The drive to Zion and Sarai's was around ten minutes, listening to a PartyNextDoor song before the entire playlist shifted to Chase Atlantic.

That's when Kaia and I began singing our lungs out, holding fake mics in our hands.

I had to multitask singing and steering, something I'm very accustomed to after how many late-night drives Kaia and I have.

The vibe was perfect as we pulled up to the familiar student apartment complex.

The lobby was always filled with at least a few people either studying or on a Zoom call.

Sarai told me the co-working area is typically full so some people come down to the lobby.

Personally, I would stay in my apartment or go to a cafe.

"Sarai," Kaia smiled as Sarai opened the door for us, "Buzzkillington," my best friend mumbled in a monotone voice when she noticed Zion.

"Hurricane Kaia," Zion mumbled in the same tone as her, briefly side-hugging.

Zion had started calling her Hurricane Kaia due to her recklessness and constant partying.

While they have different lifestyles, they're actually really good friends.

They just don't typically hang out often due to their separate goals and personalities.

The only time they do is in group settings or if Zion and Sarai actually want to go out and drink.

"Libby," Sarai smiled as I briefly hugged her.

"What did you guys make us for dinner?" I asked as I pulled back from our brief hug and walked into the apartment.

"Rigatoni," Sarai said as she let the heavy front door shut.

"Hey, Libs," Zion said as I approached him for a brief side hug.

"Tell me there's garlic bread," I whispered to him as Kaia naturally walked over toward the kitchen island where the bottle of unopened wine sat.

"There's garlic bread," Sarai whispered over my shoulder, clearly hearing my loud whisper.

"Good, I need the extra carbs," I determined as we all walked over toward the kitchen where Kaia was now twisting open the bottle of wine, "This ass isn't going to grow itself."

Kaia rolled her eyes, "Your ass already looks fucking great," she told me, causing a smile to break out on my face.

"It does, doesn't it?" I said, doing a little twirl as I arched slightly to emphasize my ass.

"You better work girl," Sarai jokingly snapped her fingers in the air.

I placed a hand on my hip, "Why work when it's effortless?" I joked back, hitting a pose for them all.

The classic hand on the hip is my go-to.

Zion jokingly rolled his eyes, "Now you've boosted her ego," he said as Kaia began pouring the dark red liquid into each of the glasses.

I placed my other hand on my hip, "It's impossible to boost now," I determined, hitting a different pose, "It's reached maximum capacity."

Sarai nodded with a smile, "Queen behavior as always," she determined as I picked up one of the filled glasses Kaia had previously poured.

"You get it," I said as Zion and Sarai both picked up their glasses to take a sip.

Kaia managed to take a longer sip—basically, a gulp before she ventured over to the dining room table where a pack of Uno cards was.

"How hungry is everyone?" Sarai asked as we all naturally walked over to the dining room table, "The pasta and garlic bread are in the oven if you want to play Uno now and eat later."

Kaia sat down in one of the chairs at the small round dining table, "I say Uno first—wine is always better on an empty stomach," she pointed out.

I nodded in agreement, "I'm not that hungry right now too," I said, sitting down in the chair beside her.

"Okay Uno first—just no shots for the losers," Zion specified with a narrowed look at Kaia as he sat down, "Kaia," he emphasized, knowing she had convinced us to incorporate shots in our last Uno game.

"Yeah, we're planning to try this cycling class in the morning," Sarai agreed with Zion as she sat down beside him.

Kaia dramatically rolled her eyes, "Lame," she said as she began shuffling the cards, "It's your last Thursday without classes or assignments and you guys still don't want to embrace it," she pointed out, reminding me of my classes that start Monday.

I can't wait to finish school, I swear.

"We can have fun without overly drinking," Zion corrected her as Kaia shuffled the cards even more.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's just better to let loose, you know?" I said, taking Kaia's side mostly because Zion and Sarai were a united front as a couple.

But I kind of agree about not drinking too much tonight.

I'm just not in the mood.

But if I was, I would definitely propose shots as well.

"See, Libby agrees," Kaia said as she began passing out the cards face down, "But I guess we're on chill tonight."

Sarai nodded, "Let's just vibe," she said in agreement, grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.

As Kaia finished passing out the cards, Sarai got some R&B music up to play in the background.

With the wine and Uno, it was a very chill evening, especially with how many rounds of Uno we played.

I could really only have a glass of wine since I planned to drive Kaia and me back to my place later.

Kaia as usual, drank numerous glasses—almost five in total, leaving her wine drunk and excited to eat.

My appetite wasn't always huge whenever I wasn't drunk.

Typically, I could barely finish my meals, but I always tried to eat a decent amount so I wouldn't get unhealthily skinny.

I have a really fast metabolism so I struggle to put on more weight, and not eating would make that even harder for me.

"Libby you should tell them about the bar," Kaia said, her words loose but not completely slurred.

I rolled my eyes at her words, feeling both Zion and Sarai glance over to me expectantly.

"What happened at the bar?" Zion asked me as he chewed on his food.

I sat my fork down in the bowl, "Nothing, really," I quickly lied, giving Kaia a narrowed look for spilling anything about what happened.

She always gets reckless when she's past tipsy.

"You're mad—I can tell you're mad," Kaia frowned dramatically, "But I feel... like it's such a good story," she added, bringing her wine glass to her lips.

I smoothly snatched the glass from her hand, "Yeah you're done," I mumbled in irritation, setting the glass down with a clatter.

"Now I want to know the story," Sarai admitted, taking another bite of her garlic bread.

I sighed dramatically, "It's nothing. I just went to a bar that I heard my therapist goes to and planned to—"

"Hold on," Zion cut me short with furrowed brows, "How did you know she went to that bar? And why did you go?" he asked in confusion.

"I looked her up online," I stated nonchalantly because it's not that big of a deal, "And I went to flirt with her so she wouldn't accept me as a patient when she meets me tomorrow."

Sarai laughed slightly, quickly pressing her hand to her lips to hold back her amusement, "Libby that's insane," she said as she chuckled again, "But like your kind of insane so it's okay," she added, even if Zion shook his head.

"Did she flirt with you?" Zion asked, taking another bite of his rigatoni.

"Oh, she flirted with her," Kaia added with a loose giggle, "Very graphically."

I rolled my eyes again, shaking my head at Kaia's unnecessary addition to this conversation, "It was very brief—and mind you, it was Ki's idea," I purposely added, narrowing my eyes at my best friend.

"Okay but what will you do when she asks about you being at the same bar as her?" Sarai asked, clearly more amused by this than her boyfriend.

Zion is naturally a more serious person.

"I'm just going to play it off as a coincidence," I calmly stated, leaning back in my chair.

"A big coincidence," Zion added, shaking his head, "But I guess that's on you, Libs."

I shrugged, "I mean, it's not that bad—Ki is making it sound bad," I said, glancing back over to my best friend who was now fully engrossed in eating her pasta.

I swear she gets on my nerves sometimes, but I love her.

"It's sort of bad—or maybe more weird," Sarai said, dipping her garlic bread into her pasta sauce, "She's going to think it's weird if she knows that you did it on purpose."

Zion nodded, "Yeah, I wouldn't tell her anything about that part," he said, setting his fork down to take a sip of water, "Especially if you want her to drop you as a patient."

I smiled slightly, "Yeah, she'd keep my crazy ass if she knew," I said with an amused laugh.

"Mommy Maris would be sooo pissed off if she knewww," Kaia singsonged with a loose smile, lazily poking my arm.

I pushed her finger away, "Stop calling her mommy Kaia, it's weird," I said, not even wanting to imagine my mother in that way.

"She's so mommy though," Kaia whispered, poking my arm yet again as I rolled my eyes.

"The point is, I got this—okay guys?" I said, my tone entirely irritated as I stood from the table.

Maybe I do want a fucking shot.

"We'll drop the topic, Libs," Zion said as I grabbed my bowl and walked over to the kitchen.

"Yeah, Libby, come back," Kaia said in a dramatic tone with a frown.

"I'm just ready to head home honestly," I said, turning on the sink to rinse my bowl out.

I don't know why I'm so pissed off—maybe it's because Kaia didn't need to share my information like that and now she's calling my mother mommy.

Wine drunk or not, it's still fucking annoying.

"We'll clean up the rest, don't worry about it," Sarai quickly said as I put my bowl in the dishwasher before closing it shut.

"Okay, well thank you for dinner," I said as I walked over to the table again, grabbing Kaia's hand to get her to stand.

"Dinner was very cutesy—very demure guys," Kaia said, flashing them a loose smile.

Sarai smiled at Kaia, "Best compliment," she said as Zion shook his head, "Do you need help with her?" she instinctively asked.

I quickly shook my head, not wanting to trouble them, "It's good, I got her," I assured them.

"You sure?" Zion asked as I slung Kaia's arm over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm good honestly," I said again, earning a nod from Zion.

"Good luck with her then," he determined as Sarai stood up to grab the bowl Kaia had left on the table.

"Thanks," I sighed as I tried my best to walk us both over to the door—with Kaia trying to keep up with a simple walking pace, "I'll text you guys."

"Roger that," Sarai said as I quickly slid my slippers back on while Kaia struggled to get her platform Uggs on.

So I said fuck it in my head, deciding to just grab her Uggs and let her walk to the car in socks.

There's no way she would be able to walk on thick platforms anyway.

Walking itself was hard for Kaia, even as we took the elevator down to the lobby and walked out to the guest parking lot.

I let out the biggest sigh of relief when Kaia was finally seated in the passenger seat of my car.

But that was honestly the half of it.

After the short drive, I had to get Kaia up to my apartment and also take off her makeup as she laid in my bed.

Then I had to get her under the covers and leave a bottle of water on the nightstand.

Luckily, she was wearing sweatpants and leggings so I didn't have to change her.

But I was still beyond tired and ready to go to bed.

And tomorrow, I can finally get this therapy idea out of my life—along with Dr. Leclair.

Hopefully, my mother will back out of my life too.