Teresa Hopkins
A childhood friend of mine was back in town for his wedding.
He got a few of us together for a get-together and brought his fiancée along.
The moment his fiancée walked into the private room and saw me, she frowned.
Confused, I stood up to introduce myself.
"I'm a friend of Asher's from elementary school—we grew up in the same neighborhood. It's great to meet you."
But she just scoffed.
"So you're Asher's 'girl best friend,' huh?"
"Dressing that provocatively—are you trying to show me up?"
I was completely floored by her comment.
I looked down at what I was wearing.
My skirt went past my knees, and I only had on a little makeup.
How is this provocative?
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Asher, seeing things were going south, quickly stepped in to play peacemaker.
"Hailey's just really direct, she doesn't always think before she speaks. Don't take it personally..."
I wasn't an idiot; I could feel the hostility rolling off her.
But all our friends were there.
Asher was getting married in two days.
After twenty years of friendship, I couldn't be the one to ruin the party.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to explain to Hailey.
"You're reading way too much into this. Why would I need to show you up? Asher and I are just friends. Everyone here can tell you that."
But Hailey just sneered.
"Friends? Please. There's no such thing as a 'platonic' friendship between a guy and a girl."
"It's just an excuse to be flirty and keep something going on the side."
Before I could even get a word in,
she pointed at the necklace around my neck.
Her expression turned even sourer.
"Wow. And you say you're not trying to one-up me? Where'd you get that limited-edition necklace?"
"How come it's the exact same one Asher gave me?"
she said, pointing to the one around her own neck.
"Wearing the same necklace to a party on purpose, and you still say you're not trying to start something? Do you get some kind of sick thrill out of this cattiness?"
The words caught in my throat, like a fishbone was lodged there.
I was speechless for what felt like an eternity.
She scoffed. "Feeling guilty, are we?"
I was about to lose it.
I shot a look at Asher, but my hands were tied.
I couldn't very well tell her that her own fiancé thought gift-shopping was too much of a hassle, saw the necklace I posted online, and just asked me to buy another one for him.
They were getting married in two days.
It wasn't worth starting a fight over something so petty.
I took another deep breath and decided to let it slide, just this once.
"Don't read into it, it's just a coincidence..."
"Hmph. I don't believe in coincidences. Nothing is ever a coincidence!"
The words were barely out of Hailey's mouth when Asher, who'd been playing mute the entire time, finally spoke up:
"...Babe, it really is a coincidence, I swear!"
He held up his hand earnestly.
"Cross my heart..."
His puppy-dog expression made Hailey crack a smile.
Pouting, she finally took her seat.
She'd made such a scene during our very first meeting.
The awkwardness was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
I retreated to the farthest corner of the room.
All I wanted was to find an excuse to leave.
But to my dismay, Hailey had me in her crosshairs.