My Boyfriend Traveled with My Bestie novel · Chapter 1 of 24
Chapter 1: The Group Chat
Susanna picks up Colson's phone to find her own and opens a group chat of everyone she loves planning a Hawaii trip and agreeing to hide it from her; she smiles, says she understands, emails yes to a job in Seoul and books the flight, and Daphne texts her 'Brunch Sunday? Miss you!'
I couldn't find my phone, so I picked up Colson's to call it.
A group chat banner slid down over his lock screen before I touched anything.
It said "Fourth of July Hawaii Trip."
I tapped it without thinking.
The newest message was a mirror selfie from Daphne, my best friend since freshman year.
She was wearing a long white sundress and holding up two fingers.
Eli, my oldest friend, answered first. "Looks great."
Then my little brother Toby wrote, "Wear that to the beach and you'll get some great shots."
Daphne sent back a smiley face.
Under it she wrote, "Don't forget to hide the post from Susanna when you upload it~"
I stood in the middle of our living room and read that line four times.
Colson, Daphne, Toby and Eli were all in the chat.
Everyone I loved was in that chat except me.
I scrolled up.
Cape Cod at Thanksgiving.
Disneyland over Labor Day weekend.
Charleston for Memorial Day.
The chat was two years old.
Every one of those weekends, Colson had told me he was away on a work trip.
Every one of those weekends, Toby had told me he was picking up extra delivery shifts.
Every one of those weekends, Daphne had told me she was home with her mom.
And I had believed all three of them.
Three days ago I'd asked Colson what he wanted to do for the Fourth.
He had winced like I'd stepped on his foot. "I've got a work trip, babe. I'm so sorry. I'll take you somewhere next time, I promise."
I'd said it was fine.
I marked the thread as unread so it would look like nobody had opened it.
Then I put his phone back on the couch cushion, face up, exactly where it had been.
My own phone turned out to be under a pile of laundry.
I sat on the edge of the bed and opened my email.
Six months ago, my company's Seoul studio had offered me a transfer.
I'd said no, because Colson and I had a lease and a house fund and a plan.
The offer was still sitting in my inbox with a note on top: "Open until we hear from you."
I typed a single word:
"Yes."
Then I opened a travel site and booked a seat on the morning of July 3rd.
The bathroom door opened.
Colson walked out with a towel over his head, rubbing his hair with one hand.
He crossed to the couch and picked up his phone without a second thought.
When it unlocked, his whole face softened.
He started typing, grinning at the screen.
I stood in the bedroom doorway and watched him.
It took him almost a full minute to look up.
"What?" he said.
I smiled at him. "What are you grinning at?"
I reached for the phone like I was teasing.
He yanked it behind his back.
The smile dropped off his face so fast it left a mark.
"Nothing. It's a coworker. We're planning the Fourth of July work trip."
"Colson, are you really going away on a work trip over the Fourth?"
He blinked.
Then he nodded, fast. "Yeah. I hate it. They schedule everything on holidays."
He came over and pulled me against his damp chest.
"The travel allowance is five hundred a day, though," he said into my hair. "I'm doing all this for us. For our future."
He leaned back to look at me.
"You understand, right?"
We had been together four years, since the fall of junior year.
We used to split one pizza and drive to the coast on gas money we didn't have.
I looked up into his sincere, wet-haired face.
"Yeah," I said. "I understand."
He kissed my forehead and went to find a shirt.
I still had my own phone in my hand.
I opened my banking app and looked at the house fund.
I had put in eighty percent of it.
My brother's rent was due on the first, and as always, it would be paid on the first.
I had signed as his guarantor two years ago and never once been asked for a dollar.
I'd always thought he was just better with money than he let on.
My phone buzzed.
It was Daphne. Not the group chat. Me.
"Heyyy bestie!! Brunch Sunday? I miss you!! Love you x"
Four heart emojis.
I stared at it for a long moment, then typed back, "Can't wait."
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