Chapter 5

Audrey stood before the canvas, paintbrush in hand, studying her work closely.

“Just a little more, and I am done,” she murmured, adding a small arc to the top of her sketch.

“Where the hell is this boy? Can he not hear the doorbell?”

“James! Go get the door! I know you can hear it!” Audrey yelled from her room.

“I am on it!” James shouted back from downstairs.

“It is Alex!” he called out a moment later.

Audrey hurried downstairs and spotted James already deep in conversation with Alex. Without wasting another second, she rushed over and pulled Alex into a quick hug.

“You did not tell me you were back!” she said, pulling away from his embrace.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Alex replied, looking at her as though he were seeing her for the first time.

“Well, you certainly succeeded,” Audrey said with a smile. She glanced at James and shot him a side-eye. “And you could not even offer him a seat?”

“He literally just got here,” James replied, rolling his eyes.

“Please, come sit down,” Audrey said, ignoring him as she gestured toward the couch in the living room.

“Thank you,” Alex said, handing Audrey a small gift bag. “I got this for you.”

“Aww, that is so thoughtful of you!” Audrey said with a giggle as she accepted the bag.

“Audrey, you look like you have lost weight,” Alex said, studying her face. “What has been going on? What have I missed?”

“Nothing much. Just the usual ups and downs of life,” Audrey replied, settling onto the couch opposite him and placing the bag beside her.

“A lot has happened, actually. Did she tell you about her breakup?” James interjected, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“He was not talking to you, loudmouth!” Audrey snapped, shooting James a dirty look.

“He will find out eventually, so why not now?” James replied calmly.

“What? Your relationship is over?” Alex asked in surprise, leaning forward. “I have only been gone for a month, and so much has happened already.”

“Yeah, we are done. And do not worry, I have gotten over him. It has been two weeks already,” Audrey said, rolling her eyes.

“You are sure you are over him?” James asked, shifting farther away from her as though preparing for trouble. “Because I caught you staring at his picture three days ago, and you looked like you were about to cry.”

“I do not know who brought you into this conversation, James!” Audrey shot back, tossing the bottle of water in her hand at him as he ran upstairs.

“Do not mind him, Audrey. He has no idea what it means to lose someone you love,” Alex said, his eyes fixed on her.

“Now, tell me. What happened? Did you finally realize he was not right for you after he put a ring on your finger?”

“The asshole cheated on me. Apparently, he thinks I am not good enough for him. So I left him to find someone he thinks is good enough for him,” Audrey replied bitterly.

“He is such an asshole!” Alex exclaimed, leaning forward and reaching for Audrey’s hand. “How could he cheat on you? After three years?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I am really sorry he did that to you. He is not worth your tears.”

“It is fine, really. I am over him now,” she said, gently running her hand over the back of his. “Anyway, what about you?”

“You left me here while you went off to enjoy yourself in Italy. I would have had it out with you if you had come back empty-handed,” Audrey joked.

“Since you refused to come with me, I decided to go alone. It is not like you were paying for the trip or anything,” Alex replied with a smirk. “And what was your excuse again? Oh, right! ‘My fiancé will not approve.’”

He mimicked her voice, making Audrey burst into laughter.

“No, do not do that!” she protested between laughs. “That is not how I said it. Besides, you forgot that I have a job.”

“Right! But that was not your first excuse. You flat-out told me your fiancé would not approve. You did not even consider the fact that we have been friends since high school, long before you and Dennis even started dating.”

“Yeah, I know. I am sorry about that.” Audrey paused briefly before adding with a teasing smile, “Besides, I cannot keep going on vacations with you all the time. How are you ever going to find yourself a girlfriend if I am always in the picture? The last time we went to Pittsburgh, people mistook us for a couple.”

“I do not blame them for thinking that only couples can go on trips and vacations. What about friends?” Alex asked with a frown.

“Do not mind them,” Audrey said with a laugh.

“I have really missed you,” she added, her smile softening.

“So, tell me, what was Italy like? I hope you had a blast.”

“Well, I tried to. But almost everyone there seemed to be traveling in pairs.”

“As you should have been, too,” Audrey teased.

“Please, Audrey, do not start. I know exactly where you are going with this.”

“Oh, do you?” Audrey said, raising an eyebrow. “You really should give love a chance, Alex. You might experience something you have never felt before.”

“The way you feel now, right?” Alex mocked.

“Stop it!” Audrey laughed. “Things did not work out well for me, but that does not mean they will not work out for you. There are still faithful people out there. You will never know unless you try.”

“At least I got to experience love before the asshole started acting up, and I do not regret it. But as far as love and relationships go, I am done for now.”

“I see. You are finally giving up on love,” Alex said.

“Do not get me wrong, Alex. I am not giving up on love. I am just not open to it anymore, at least not for now.”

“I hear you, miss. Now, enough about love.” Alex exhaled. “Let us go grab some coffee.”

“All right. Give me a few minutes to change,” she said before hurrying upstairs to her room.

“How is your business going?” Alex asked as they strolled down the street.

“What business?”

“Your art business. Or are you no longer selling your pieces?”

“Oh, I am, and it is going really well. People love my work,” Audrey said, taking a sip of her coffee.

“I told you they would,” Alex bragged.

“Yeah, you did. And thank you for advising me to turn my passion into a source of income. I doubt I would have thought of it myself.”

“You are welcome. What am I here for if not to push you?” Alex said with a smirk.

“The painting you gave me for my birthday attracted so many admirers. People kept asking where I got it and even begging me to sell it to them.”

“Oh, so that is why you kept pestering me to start selling my paintings.”

“Exactly! And look how well it is going.”

“Yeah, you have always given the best advice,” Audrey said appreciatively.

After they finished their coffee, Audrey glanced at the time.

“I think we should head home. I do not want to stay out too late. I have a morning shift tomorrow, and I still need to get ready.”

“Yeah, me too. I literally just got back this morning, and I have not even unpacked yet.”

“You are going back to work tomorrow?” Audrey asked.

“No, not right away. I just got back. Do I not deserve some rest? Besides, I still have a week left before my leave ends.”

“Who needs to rest after coming back from vacation?” Audrey teased with a smirk.

“Me!” Alex exclaimed, laughing.