'M' is For: [Ch12] Careful What You Wish For - Part 1

Mixed up the scheduling dates, so this one is coming out a little later than usual! Thanks for your patience. -Y

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Over the two weeks that Missy and Thomas were gone in Spain, the old barre crew were left to our own devices. Adrienne had stopped coming out, presumably busy with other, more important things, and now our little group consisted solely of Kiara, Danielle, and myself. Feeling adventurous, we tried a few different spots for our post-workout drinks. We discovered a pretty decent Thai restaurant around the corner with creative cocktails and a good selection of sake. A Mediterranean joint two blocks down had a wide selection of flavors of hookah you could try.

Missy rarely messaged us personally, but we were able to follow her travels on Instagram. By all accounts, she was having a great time. The villa her parents were renting had an Olympic-size pool, and the nightscapes in Barcelona were well worth the envy. We gossiped enthusiastically about Missy and her family, trading what we knew about her big-shot father and former beauty queen mother. We talked about other things, too, like the tattoo Kiara was thinking of getting and Danielle’s concerns about her new nephew. We had a good time together, and I learned to better appreciate Danielle’s subtle but cutting sense of humor as we became friends.

The time seemed to go by quickly, and all too soon, Missy and Thomas returned. We didn’t have long to wait: within a few days of getting Missy’s update that she was back in town, she was organizing a get-together dinner for us.

The first thought I had upon arriving at the restaurant was that Missy and Thomas had certainly gotten their time in the sun. Missy’s skin since I’d met her was never without some shade of tan, but now she and Thomas were both positively glowing. The tan looked devastatingly good on Thomas. I had to consciously avoid looking at him too long, because my eyes wanted to linger.

Over dinner, Missy was effusive in her praise about the trip to Spain.

“The views were absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t believe it! And the food was divine. I tell you, if you want to eat well, go to Barcelona.” Missy wrapped her arm around Thomas’s and cast him a coy look. “Who knows—maybe next year Thomas and I will go back on a little romantic vacation of our own.”

“I would love to go,” Kiara said enviously. “It’s like totally on my bucket list of places to visit.”

“How are your parents?” I asked.

Missy glanced at me with a look of unexpected hostility given what I had considered a fairly run-of-the-mill question. I froze, wondering what it was I had said. “They were fine,” Missy said, and she gave a breezy laugh. “Daddy was on his phone the whole time, but luckily that didn’t stop Francine and me from enjoying the weather. Seriously, out of the fifteen days we were gone, we had maybe like three days of rain. We were so lucky.”

“That’s great…” I glanced at Kiara and Danielle to see if they had noticed anything. Danielle was bent over her phone, tapping away, and Kiara was busy helping herself to another fried croquette. Had I just imagined it?

Missy went on to tell us about their adventures getting lost and attempting to use Thomas’s phrase book to find their way back. Her usual animated spark was back in her eye, her wry self-effacing smile tugging at her lips, and she had us doubled over with laughter at their escapades.

Still, over the course of the meal, I gradually became convinced that something had changed. In between the jokes and the conversation, she would lapse into silence, staring moodily off into the distance when she thought no one was watching. And her reactions were unpredictable. When Kiara excitedly told her about some of the other places our barre group had tried while she was on vacation, real anger flashed across her face.

“Why would you do that without me?” Missy demanded.

We stared at her, at a loss for words. It had never even crossed our minds that this would be something Missy might get upset over. It was so uncharacteristic of Missy to lose her temper like that, especially at Kiara, who we all agreed was the sweetest person in our group.

“I’m…sorry,” said Kiara uncertainly. “We just thought…”

“You just thought,” Missy mocked. “Well, maybe don’t. God, I can’t even leave my friends alone before they start doing things without my permission.”

Later, Missy apologized to Kiara for it, and Kiara accepted her apology, no questions asked. But all of us noticed it. Unconsciously, we all started to tread more lightly around Missy, choosing our words just a little more carefully.

Thomas and I got lunch that next week. By that time, our kiss felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. I could almost believe that it hadn’t really been a big deal at all, except for the fact that I couldn’t quite suppress the electric jolt that shot through me whenever I came across him…or the fact that we both wordlessly agreed to eat out instead of taking our lunch back to the rooftop. I waited until we were both seated and already started on our food before posing the question to Thomas.

“Is everything okay with Missy?”

Thomas hesitated just long enough to convince me that something had happened. “I...I don’t know,” Thomas finally said slowly. “I’m not sure it’s really my place to say.”

I bit my lip. “Okay. You don’t think…maybe…it’s because of what happened before you went to Spain, do you?”

“No,” Thomas said. “It’s something else.” He didn’t meet my eyes, and a heavy silence fell. I had broken our unspoken agreement not to talk about our kiss. I sat there, pink-cheeked, trying to make sense of what Thomas was saying and not saying. But Thomas didn’t leave me to ponder for too long. He pulled himself together to ask in a lighter tone, “So, any plans for this weekend?”

I made a little grimace, setting aside my ruminations for later. “Well, this time it’s my turn to travel. I’m going home for the weekend to celebrate my birthday.”

“You’re kidding me… It’s your birthday? This weekend?”

I laughed at Thomas’s astonished expression. “Yeah, on Sunday.”

“Everyone’s going to want to celebrate it, you know,” Thomas told me earnestly. “I can’t believe you haven’t told anyone!”

“Well, nobody asked. And, I don’t know, I don’t usually make a big deal out of it.”

Thomas shook his head. To my surprise, he was smiling a little. “Of course not. But it’s not just about you, is it?”

Somehow, I had a feeling he was right.

Sure enough, that evening, I got a text from Missy on my phone. It was the first time she’d messaged me directly since she’d left for Barcelona, and it was strange to realize that it felt a little strange.

Your birthday’s coming up on Sunday?!! Mal, we HAVE to do something for it.

I wish, but unfortunately I’ll be gone this weekend, I replied back, though I suspected she already knew that if she’d heard it from Thomas.

I waited as Missy typed back her response. We’ll figure out a time! When do you leave?

Friday after work. I’m planning on catching the 5:40 bus, so probably going to head out a little early.

So we’ll plan something for Thursday. Get excited!!!!

I rolled over on my mattress, suppressing the urge to heave a deep sigh. I had no issues with a casual celebration between friends. In fact, going out to La Casita with the gang would have been great. But I had a feeling that Missy wanted to turn it into a whole event. I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why the idea of an evening oriented around me made me squirm. I just hoped that it would be quick and painless.