Why Can't We Be Friends (Outro)

"Why can't we be friends
Why can't we be friends
Why can't we be friends
Why can't we be friends
The color of your skin don't matter to me
As long as we can live in harmony
Why can't we be friends
Why can't we be friends
Why can't we be friends
Why can't we be friends" Why Can't We Be Friends by War

No matter how hard I tried not to think about it, J-Mike's comments stayed in my mind all day at work Friday. I focused on my job to keep my emotions in check, but I had a sickening feeling that would not go away. I spent my lunch, picking at a sandwich and going through my phone.

Trevor texted and let me know J-Mike had made it to the airport and was on his way back to D.C. Amber also posted Showtimes to the Studio Movie Grill for Magic Mike XXL on Facebook. She tagged me, Sammy, Jordan, Gigi, Dino, Serena, and Rocky. She asked us to let her know who was coming because there was a deal on Groupon and she wanted to secure the tickets. Jordan sent me a text about the movies, asking me if I wanted to get together to watch the original Magic Mike. I ignored them for the time being and finished my lunch

At the end of the day, Adil pulled me aside right before I was getting ready to leave.

"I wanted to let you know why I have you closing with Dr. Clayton." Adil started.

I was still in my probationary period, so my schedule could change weekly. Even though my schedule stayed the same, I always checked. I was so distracted, I didn't even think about it. I was glad Adil brought it to my attention.

"Dr. Clayton is my 2nd in command. He's in charge when I'm not here. That being said, don't hesitate to come talk to me if he's doing anything out of policy." he instructed.

I thought to myself what an odd request that was. I wanted to question him about it, by then I remembered he was not my friend. He wasn't even my colleague: he was my boss.

I nodded. "Of course, Dr. Fahri."

"Thank you Dr. Harris. I'll see you Monday." He said, giving me a smile. I forced a smile and checked my schedule before I left.



After work, I took Justine out for a walk. Normally, I would wait til the sun started to set so we weren't walking in the heat of the day, but I didn't want to be trapped in the apartment with my thoughts.

We got in my car and I googled a dog park in Plano. I ran around and played with Justine. Even though I gave her all my attention, my mind strayed to Trevor. The sickening feeling remained, but now I was beginning to feel anger too.

I was mad that he didn't tell me the truth about his mom. I told him I didn't want to know and at the time, I believed I didn't. Trevor led me to believe her feelings were similar to my dad's. His mom's feelings about us were nothing like my dad's and it really pissed me off he could put them in the same category.

Then I felt overwhelming guilt. I saw how upset he was when we came back from Wichita Falls from mother's day. He was ready to marry me in spite of his mom. He was now sacrificing his relationship with his mom because of me. After his dad passed away, they were all each other had. I felt not only guilty about coming between them, but guilty for being angry at Trevor for not telling me.

My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. Jordan was calling. I couldn't complain about her not calling and then blow her off, so I answered.

"I just got off work and I was seeing if you wanted to have a Channing Tatum movie tonight." She offered.

Before I could say anything, she continued. "Tori's going out so I have the place to myself. I have Magic Mike, The Vow, Step Up, stuff for nachos and popcorn at home. I was going to go pick up drinks, more food and another movie.  What's your favorite snack and Channing Tatum movie?" She said, quickly. When she finally took a breath, I could get a word in.

"21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street." I replied.

I knew she was just trying to gloss over the whole picture incident, and I was letting her get away with it. For now. Besides, I wasn't able to deal with Trevor right now with my conflicting emotions, so I needed some space. Hanging with Jordan provided that.

"I forgot about those. I'll get them." She said brightly.

"No, I got it and I'll pick up drinks and snacks. Send me Tori's address and I'll be there soon."

"Ok!"

I went home and jumped in the shower. Afterwards, I pulled on yoga pants and a t-shirt. I fed Justine before I texted Trevor my plans.

Me: Hanging out with Jordan tonight. I already took Justine out and fed her.

Trevor texted back as I slipped on my flip flops.

Trevor: Ok. Chris and Peyton invited us out. Bring Jordan.

Me: Jordan planned a Channing Tatum night at her place but y'all have fun

Trevor: Ok. I'll let you know where we are at if you change your mind.

Me: K. C u later

 After a quick stop at the grocery store, I navigated to Tori's apartment.

"Hey Girlie!" Jordan squealed letting me in.

"Hey Jordan." I said.

"What all did you bring?" Jordan laughed, taking a few bags from me.

"My favorite snacks." I replied. We set up the nachos, popcorn, Raisnets, cheese/pepperoni/cracker tray, oreos, soda and Palm Breeze wine spritzers in front of the tv in the living room. I knew I was emotionally eating. I planned to give myself just the weekend of binging.

"Ok, what movie do you want to start with?" Jordan asked.

"The movie that made me fall in love with him: Step Up!"

We snacked and watched the first movie. Jordan was a fan of his romantic movies like "The Vow" which we watched next, I enjoyed his comedies like "21 Jump Street". I laughed so hard at the movies I teared up, causing Jordan to make fun of me.

"I can't help it. I love Channing Tatum. I swear, he is my dream guy." I said, wiping my eyes as I checked my phone. It rang during the movie. When I saw it was Trevor, I ignored It. He didn't text or leave a message, so I assumed it wasn't important.

"Really?" Jordan said, as she put in the last movie Magic Mike.

"Yeah. He's gorgeous but he seems so down to earth and he doesn't take himself too seriously. If I was to create my perfect man, he would be it." I explained.

"Funny. Sounds like you just described Trevor." Jordan smiled at me.

I frowned as I thought about my dream of being with him was his mother's worst nightmare. So much so, she cut him off.

"No, Trevor has his faults." I muttered.

"Like?" Jordan asked, joining me on the couch.

"Like the whole fake proposal thing." I said, getting my mind of Trevor's mom and bringing up the picture in a round about way

" Derek wasn't thinking about getting engaged 6 months into our relationship- pretend or real. Look how much thought Trevor put into a fake proposal. I can't imagine what he's real proposal will be like." Jordan pointed out.

"6 months or not, it was embarrassing. How would you feel if someone tricked you like that?" I asked her.

She nodded. "I understand. I thought you thought it was funny. "

"I didn't, that's why I didn't want it posted."

"My bad."

"It's cool.

We were silent as we watched the movie. After the Pony dance scene, I turned to Jordan. "Unfortunately, Trevor not that built nor can he dance like that. Channing's got him beat."

Jordan laughed. "Greedy! You can't have it all!"

"If I was creating my perfect guy I would!" I smiled. "What about you?" I asked her.

Jordan thought about it. She opened her mouth, than stopped before starting again. "I don't know. I'm still trying to figure that out. I'll start with Channing's abs though."

"Back off bitch. He's mine!" I threatened her.

It was 1am in the morning when the movie  ended. Granted, we did replay a lot of the dance scenes more than once. I decided to spend the night with Jordan so I texted Trevor to let him know. I figured he was out or sleep, so I was surprised when I got a text from him after Jordan and I got set up to sleep in the 2nd bedroom.

Trevor: Need me to come pick you up?

Me: No, I'm ok. Just spending time with Jordan. Goodnight.

He texted me a cute picture of him and Justine in bed. He captioned it:
Goodnight. We miss you. Love you.

Jordan came in from the bathroom so I laid down in bed with my phone. I stared at the picture as I struggled to fall asleep.

The next morning, I woke up around 10am. I had no idea what time I dozed off the night before, but sleep didn't come easy. I dragged myself out of bed, wishing I could take a hot shower. I felt gross having to put back on my old clothes.

"Just get something out of my closet." Jordan suggested, eating on her bed.

"I can't fit your clothes."

"We're the same size." She exclaimed.

I went to her closet and pulled out a dress. I looked at the tag. "This is a 4. I wear a 6."

"The only thing bigger on you is your boobs and butt."

"Exactly. I don't want either one hanging out."

She pulled out a denim skirt and a halter. "Try this one. If it doesn't work, I have a t-shirt from Derek."

After a shower, I tried it on. My butt was fine, but my cleavage was way more than what I normally showed.

"Yeah, I'll take that shirt." I said, joining Jordan in the bedroom.

"Ha. I got rid of all his shit. You look great anyway." Jordan said, handing me a nutrigrain bar.

We sat around awhile before deciding to go shopping. I was heading to my apartment first and I put my phone on my car charger. It died sometime in the middle of the night. I waited til I got to a red light to turn it on. I had missed calls but before I could get to them, my phone rang. It was Forrest.

"Can I borrow you for 30 minutes?" He asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm thinking about putting an offer on a house. I need a second opinion."

"Text me the address and I'll be there." I told him.

I explained what was going on and offered to drop Jordan back home.

"No way. Shopping for a house is more fun than shopping for clothes. I wanna come." Jordan protested.

We made our way over to the house in Lewisville. Forrest and his realtor Chad met as at the front door.

"Ladies, why don't we take a walk through?" Chad offered with a smile after introductions were made. Jordan followed right away and I waited for Forrest.

The house was nice 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths. Chad gave his spiel, telling us the age of the house, recent work done, how long it's been on the market, how close to the lake. Jordan looked over everything critically, opening cabinets, pointing out water damage and ugly wallpaper. I keep my opinions to myself and studied Forrest. He seemed content, but not really excited about anything. He was more subdued. I didn't know what to make of him.

"Tell me what you're thinking?" Chad asked us at the end of the tour.

"I don't know. Is this what you want Forrest?" I asked.

He gave me a little shrug. "The only requirements I had was in my price range and close to my job."

"Let me rephrase that. Can you see this being your home?" I asked.

He looked pensive again, before Jordan answered. "It can be, with some work." She went on again, giving Forrest recommendations and advice and I rolled my eyes.

"His home Jordan, not yours." I told her. Jordan shut up and Forrest rubbed his beard.

"I agree with Jordan. It can be with some work. I want to make an offer." Forrest finally said.

Jordan and I went outside to wait as Chad went over the next steps in the process with Forrest. When they finished, Jordan exclaimed that we should go celebrate. Forrest had his game to go to but said afterwards we could go out. We made plans to meet at Texas Land and Cattle before we left. Jordan and I decided to to head to the mall in Lewisville rather than drive all the way out to Fort Worth.

After walking around and picking up some great end of summer clearance deals, we went to my apartment to get ready for dinner. I already texted Trevor the plan since I hadn't talk to him all morning. He was home when I got there. I let Jordan take the bathroom while I headed to the bedroom to get dressed.

"Did you have fun last night?" Trevor asked me.

"I did." I responded shortly as I changed into a new dress that I just bought.

"What did y'all do?" He questioned, his eyebrows raised when he saw I needed a pair of panties because I wasn't wearing any.

"I told you we watched movies." I said, moving away from him so I could stand in front of the mirror. I played with my hair, contemplating what I was going to do with it.

"New dress?"

"Nothing gets by you." I said teasing my hair up into a ponytail. When I sounded bitchy to my own ears, I continued pleasantly. "It was on sale for $10."

"Probably 'cause the holes in the side of it. I can see your boobs." Trevor said.

"You have something against side boob?"

"I have something against you showing your side boobs."

"I'll keep my arms down the entire night." I said, putting on silver hoops and cute silver sandals.

 When Jordan finished, I joined her in the bathroom to do my make-up.

"Chad was kinda cute huh?" She asked me.

I ignored her and the hoe tour of 2015 she was embarking on.

We left and Trevor offered to be designated driver. That ended up being perfect considering we waited at the bar for a table large enough for us all. Jordan and I drank strong margaritas with jalapenos in them. Jordan spotted Chad and waved him over.

"Good to see you two again." He said, politely before I introduced him to Trevor.

"How do y'all know each other?" Trevor asked me.

"He's Forrest realtor. He got Forrest a great house two exits from Lake Lewisville." Jordan said, flirtatious as I downed the rest of my margarita. I wanted to tell her to drink hers and stop acting so thirsty.

"He made me work for my sale. It's always harder to find a house for someone who doesn't know what they want." Chad said.

"We won't have that problem. Lily already has a list." Trevor teased me.

"Y'all are in the market?" Chad asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Yes." Trevor responded at the same time I said, "No."

Trevor looked at me, confused. "What do you mean no? My lease is up at the end of August."

"You're going to take the interview in Austin, remember?" I reminded him of the job opportunity he talk to J-Mike about but not me.

Common theme with him recently.

"That's not guaranteed. We should be looking at houses."

"Why? So I can fall in love with a house and we end up moving to Austin?" I scoffed, and ordered another margarita, turning from him.

"It's a process. Let me get you my number and we can at least get the process started whether you decide to move or not." Chad said, pulling out his phone.

Thankfully, Forrest and some of his teammates showed up and joined us at the bar. After everyone was introduced, most of the guys ordered drinks while Forrest stuck with ice tea.

"How'd y'all do? Why aren't you drinking?" I asked.

"We lost and I'm trying to cut back. I'll have a drink at dinner." He responded.

"Aw, what happened? Did you botch a hike and lose the game for us?" I taunted him.

"Never. Blake blew it on a field goal." Forrest smiled at Blake.

"Don't put that on me. It was 50 yards outs. Let's talk about the field goals I made." Blake declared.

"Those don't matter. You have one job to do Blake!" I shook my head.

"That's what I said." Forrest laughed.

Our table was ready and we sat down and ordered food. Trevor sat by me and unfortunately, Chad sat next to him, still trying to make a sale to us.

"What's on this list?" He asked us with a smile.

I took a huge gulp of my third margarita as Trevor answered. "She wants a single story, open floor plan, a backyard for our dog and a breakfast nook." Trevor said, grinning at me.

"That's not too bad." Chad replied.

"That's not all." Trevor went on listing things that I preferred. Like how I loved that Rocky had two living areas, the media room at his uncle's house and my brother's bay windows. A bunch of little things I've mentioned in the past, a lot of things I said before we were together considering a house.

"Sounds like y'all are gonna have to build a house." Blake commented.

"Can't do that in a month." Jordan smiled.

"I'm up for the challenge. Let me see what's available." Chad said.

"You two want to buy a house? In a month?" Forrest asked me.

"Apparently." I said, sucking down the rest of my drink.

Trevor looked between Forrest and me before focusing on me. "Maybe you should slow down." Trevor warned me.

"I'm good." I waved him off.

And I was. It was the first time all weekend Trevor's mom's comments weren't on my mind. I drank, ate and chatted merrily while hanging out with Forrest's friends.

I nodded off on the drive home and didn't fully awake until Trevor pulled me out of the backseat. He held me as best as he could as I stumbled up the stairs. I was able to kick off my sandals without Trevor's help and collapsed on the bed. I didn't wake up until Trevor was shaking me gently the next morning. Even then, I groaned out in pain. My drowsiness overpowered the pain and I fell back asleep.

I don't know how much time had passed before he was waking me up again.

"Lilypad, you can't sleep all day. You won't be able to sleep tonight and wake up Monday morning."

"I don't gotta wake up Monday morning. Duh." I snapped pulling the covers over my head.

"What do you mean-"

"Stop fucking talking. Your voice is giving me a headache!" I complained, putting the covers over my head.

"Those shots are giving you a headache." He muttered under his breath.

"Shut up!" I yelled. I didn't remember taking shots.

"Take some medicine and I'll leave."

I uncovered myself and took the pills and glass of water from him. I swallowed the pills and chugged the water before I cut my eyes at him, expectantly. He looked sad, but got up from the bed and left. This time, when I laid back down, I couldn't go back to sleep. I felt too bad about how I acted. I looked at my phone and it was already noon. I was meeting the girls for the movie at 3pm. I went ahead and took a quick shower before changing into jeans and a t-shirt.

I went to the living room to find the sandals I wore the night before.

"Where are you going?" Trevor asked me.

"Movies with the girls. I told you that."

"We need to talk when you get back."

Urgh. "Goody." I said, sarcastically before I left.

He said nothing and watched me leave.

I headed to the movie theater, even though I was a couple hours early. I called Serena on the way.

"Do you want to meet at the movie theater early?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll see you there in 30 minutes."

I got to the movie theatre and sat at the bar so I could order food. The bartender informed me of their "Sunday Funday" special that included all you can eat one topping pizza. I immediately ordered a sausage pizza and water. I was working on my pizza when Serena arrived.

"Hey, I would offer you some but it's all you can eat and I'm sure it's frowned upon." I said as she sat down.

"That's ok, I think I'll wait for the movie. Why did you want to meet early?" Serena asked.

"You tell me. Amber said we needed to clear the air." I said.

"Amber asked me a question and I gave her an answer. In the future, if I need to speak to you, I will." Serena replied.

"The last time we spoke at EJ's birthday party I felt like you had a problem with me. I assumed it was the whole Forrest thing."

"No. I found out everything about you and Ethan and it was still on my mind." Serena said.

"Ok... I don't really get what you're so upset over." I said.

"Like I said before, I don't like that feeling  everyone knows something I don't."

"You understand that's completely up to Ethan. I have no control over that."

"I do but it doesn't change how I feel about it."

"The fact that he told you is huge. He didn't find out about it until last year. It was never my intention to tell him."

"It wasn't his intentions to tell me. I found the card." Serena admitted.

"Oh..." I said, understandingly. "I don't know what else to say. If it makes you feel better, that's the end of the saga of Ethan and me. We're just friends. We barely even see each other now."

"Ok." Serena nodded.

"Ok." I repeated. "Are we good?"

"Yes. How are you? It's been awhile." She asked.

"Hungover. Apparently I took shots last night that I don't remember. Other than that, I'm great." I said.

"Yeah I saw that on Facebook. You and Blake." Serena said.

"Ew, I should have known he had something to do with it. I haven't been on Facebook. Anything embarrassing?"

"No, looks like y'all had a good time."

I nodded.

"How's Forrest doing?" Serena asked.

I sat back, surprised. "On the surface, he's fine. Just looked at a house the other day. I think he's okay or at least getting there."

Serena nodded. "Part of me wants to reach out, but I don't know if it'll do more harm than good. Rachel is my best friend. I don't know how to be a friend to him now."

"He doesn't talk about her or what happened so I really don't know. I'll ask though."

"Thanks."

We sat and caught up, chatting before the girls arrived. Sammy showed up first and gave me a cautious glance. I just smiled, showing her that everything was fine. Amber came next. Jordan and Dino came right on time. Rocky and Peyton showed up together a little after them. It was the first time that I've seen Rocky since our falling out. She looked tired or maybe not interested in being there, but I didn't dwell on it. I waved to acknowledge her presence before I turned back to Dino and Jordan.

"How bad was I last night?" I asked Jordan.

"You basically did the opposite of everything Trevor asked you to do. In fact, that's how we got you home: He got frustrated and was like "fine, stay at the bar and take shots. Find your own way home." Then you said, "No. You take me home." Trevor deserves a medal after dealing with you." Jordan explained.

"Or an apology." Dino chimed in.

Urgh, I know.

I pushed the thoughts of my impending apology away and enjoyed the movie. Nothing like all you can eat pizza, a signature cocktail inspired by the movie called the "THE GRIND" and strippers to bring us all together. After the movie, we all giggled and Sammy, Rocky, Jordan and I recalled the time we went to a strip club together.

"We went with my ex's sisters and made her get tea bagged by a guy that looked just like my ex and her brother." I laughed.

"Y'all are awful." Peyton exclaimed.

"Did Jasmine think he looked like him?" Serena asked.

"Yes, She was disgusted. I dated him too. They could have been brothers!" Sammy laughed.

"Y'all dated the same guy?" Dino asked, shocked.

"Kinda." I shrugged.

"She dated him after I fucked him." Sammy explained.

Dino made a disgusted face.

I smiled. "What's a guy between friends right?"

"That's right. Hoes over bros." Sammy agreed. We laughed at each other.

They made plans to go shopping or get their nails done but I begged off, knowing I needed to apologize to Trevor.

As friends, we could never stay mad at each other long. We just apologized and moved on. I was expecting the same. It didn't happen that way.