Free Abandon by Cassia Leo Page A

her cheekbone. “Drive safe.”

    Sliding my leg off my bike, I pull my phone out of my pocket and check the screen. It’s the first thing I do when I come off my motorcycle and the text I find makes me grin. Chris texted me a few minutes ago to say that Senia and Claire will be joining us at the pancake house this morning. I want to know what they had to do to get Senia to come here.
    I tuck the phone into my back pocket and hang my helmet from the seat hook. Then I lean back against the bike and wait. An entire breakfast with Senia attempting to keep the baby a secret from Claire and Chris. This should be interesting.
    When Senia arrives, she looks pissed, as if she’s been forced to come here, and she ignores me until we’re seated at the semi-circular booth. When Chris and Claire both guess each other’s breakfast orders, I try to make a cute guess about what Senia will be ordering.
    “Hey, I’ll bet I can guess what you’re ordering,” I say to Senia. “The stuffed French toast.”
    She looks up from her menu and turns to Claire. “Do you hear someone talking to me?”
    “You heard me loud and clear last night,” I reply with a grin.
    Claire looks up from her menu. “What is he talking about?”
    Senia finally looks in my direction and the glare she’s pointing at me could slice me in half. But, somehow, it’s not Senia’s glare that gets to me. It’s the subtle outrage in Claire’s question.
    I’ve always tried to keep my feelings about Claire to myself. When she and Chris were together the first time, before we went on tour last year, I managed to keep my comments about Chris being whipped to a minimum. The truth is I’ve always kind of envied what Chris and Claire have, though I’ll never admit that to anyone. But it’s not really the love that I envy, it’s the trust. The feeling that no matter how bad you screw up, there is always someone who will accept you and love you for who you are; not because they have to, just because they can’t not love you.
    I thought I had that with Ashley, but it turns out I didn’t know shit about her. You can believe you’re destined for someone – you can share the most gut-wrenchingly intimate experience with someone – and still not know a damn thing about them. And there is irony in learning that you can’t trust someone you love because it makes you stop trusting yourself.
    The waitress arrives in time to ease the tension and take our food order. Once she’s gone, Chris whispers something in Claire’s ear and I find myself glancing at Senia’s hand, itching to grab it and announce our secret.
    Suddenly, I realize Chris and Claire are having a discussion about living together over breakfast and right in front of Senia and me.
    “Of course I want to live with you,” Claire continues, “But are you sure you want to live with me?”
    “Wait a minute,” Senia interrupts their conversation. “Are you moving out?”
    It’s as if Senia and I – and this entire restaurant – don’t exist, the way Chris and Claire gaze into each other’s eyes. “I’ve never been more sure of anything,” he replies.
    Claire grins hugely as she turns to Senia. “I guess I’m moving out, but not until the end of the semester.”
    “That’s eleven days away,” Senia pouts. “I have eleven days to find another roomie?”
    “I’ll pay your housing for the next semester,” Chris offers. “Not just Claire’s half. I’ll pay it all.”
    “You don’t have to do that. I’ll pay it,” I say, watching Senia for her response, but her eyes are locked on Claire.
    “It’s not the money,” Senia insists. “My dad will cover Claire’s half.”
    All I can do is watch in silence as Claire contemplates her options. “I don’t want to leave you alone,” she says to Senia.
    After everything Senia and I discussed last night, I just want to yell at her to put Claire out of her misery. I wait a moment before I open my mouth to say something, but Senia beats me to