A1: The Don (GirlxGirl)

Chapter Seventeen

Delaney|

The ride to L.A. was normally a 45-minute drive, at least in a perfect world with no traffic and idiotic drivers. Tonight, however, traffic was crazy and the GPS had us scheduled to be at the venue in an hour and a half. Luckily, Andy claimed she planned everything out perfectly and that'd we'd make it in time for the show plus some time to spare. She explained that we had our own private booth and we wouldn't have to wait in a long and excruciating line. When she told me that, I nearly jumped out of the car and into traffic. It was just too good to be true.

Not only was I going to see Drake, but I was going to see him with no interruptions. I didn't have to worry about people bumping into me or screaming in my ear. I could just watch him perform with Andy by my side and that sounded like heaven to me. "How did you land these tickets?"

"I offered to pay this guy quadruple what he paid for them and he gave them up with a little more negotiation. He also wanted a pound of weed so I got him that too. So, I guess, my business experience helped me get them," Andy responded. She explained it as if her 'business' wasn't exactly a highly illegal and corrupt way of life. I laughed at her. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just really happy right now," I told her before grabbing her free hand. I held it tightly and looked out of the window at the cars that were stuck in traffic along with us. Some little kids were annoying the f-ck out of their dad. He was looking in the rearview mirror and yelling at them as they laughed. I shivered and looked out of the front windshield. If everything went well between Eric and I, that could've very well been me. I guess, I kind of lucked out. Now that I think about it, I wasn't close to being ready to be a mother. I didn't even have my life together.

"So, tell me about your day," Andy told me as she put the car in park. There was no need of keeping her foot on the brake. It looked like we weren't moving any time soon.

"I went to breakfast with Mia. That's about all."

"Really? On my birthday, I'm stoned and drunk by 10 AM."

I giggled before shrugging my shoulders. "I don't like my birthday as much as I used to."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I caught Eric cheating on my birthday and that basically tainted it the past two years. Also before that, I didn't really like celebrating my birthday either. It just reminded me I was one more year closer to having to figure out what the hell I'm going to do with my life. My birthday just makes me feel anxious for the future and sad when I reminisce about Eric, but for some reason I think this one is going to be special." I gave Andy a reassuring smile before kissing her hand.

She gave me a short but meaningful smile. "If you spend all your time worrying about your future then you're really going to hate your past. You're going to look back and see how many birthdays you wasted and how much time you spent being stressed out and regret it. I know I can't tell you what to worry about and what not to worry about. We're all programmed differently. I just want to say that I believe in you and I think you shouldn't worry about a damn thing. Also with Eric, that dude is a f-cking sucker. Don't let him ruin your birthday."

"You're right," I told her with a nod. "You know, he wants to hang out with me next week." I probably shouldn't have told Andy that, but I would've felt guilty if I didn't. I'm not sure why but I felt like she had the right to know. "I told him that we could. I guess we're going talk over things."

"Really?" She didn't same neither upset nor cool with it. It seemed like she wanted to say something but she was biting her tongue.

"Yeah, but like I said, there's no way I'm ever getting back with him. The cheating was a big deal, but we're not made for each other. I realize now that we're so different. We would've never lasted. He was kind of like a safety net for me. I knew he'd keep me in line and we'd be successful together, but I didn't love him as much as I thought I did. So, I guess we're just getting closure. I still want to be friends with him, but he might just cut me off. Part of me kind of hopes he cuts me off for good. We should've never dated. We were like best friends at one point."