Anders lifted his brow, an arrogant gleam in his eye before turning back to Chloe. “Well? What do you say? Are you going to be a fucking idiot, or are you going to pack your shit and move to LA?”
“Is he always this rude?” Chloe asked, her eyes wide, a small smile twitching at her lips. As brash as Anders was, it was nice to have someone lay things out in a no-nonsense way. He wasn’t being her friend; he was being sensible and smart. His words caused a feeling of calm to wash over her and the indecision twisting inside her to settle.
“Always,” Josie sighed with an eye-roll. “But he has his moments.”
Chloe smiled at them and mimicked Anders’s stance. “Well then, let’s quit standing around and pack this fucking shit,” she said, her voice low in an attempt to sound like Anders.
A beat of silence passed before Anders and Josie burst into laughter. “What the fuck am I getting myself into?” Anders sighed, taking a box from Josie’s outstretched hand.
“You have no idea,” Josie answered, shooting a wink in Chloe’s direction.
Pushing the hair from his face, Anders nodded. “Where do I start?”
“There,” Chloe said, pointing to the small bookcase.
Turning in that direction, Anders paused and looked at Chloe. “For the record, if Reid’s the good guy you believe he is, he wouldn’t have kissed you if it didn’t mean something. Good or bad, guys have a hard time admitting they’ve gotten fucked up over a girl.” Anders threw a glance at Josie and smiled. “Believe me, I know. We can be stubborn as fuck.”
For the remainder of the day, Anders’s words played on a loop in Chloe’s mind. She knew on some level Reid’s feelings went beyond friendship. That, however, wasn’t the point. She couldn’t let whatever was going on between them stand in the way of her career. The fact that she’d considered not moving to LA, brief as it was, proved that when the tour resumed, Chloe would have to set some boundaries.
Spending all her free time with Reid would have to stop. It was how she got herself into this mess in the first place. No matter how much her feelings had changed, Reid was her friend first. She didn’t want to lose that. All she could do was hope that, with time and distance, she would be able to sort through her feelings and accept things the way they were.
It was late afternoon when the trio finished packing Chloe’s life away. All that remained were stacks of nondescript boxes with different rooms scribbled across the tops. “So what’s next?” Josie asked, looking around the room.
Chloe sighed and leaned against the wall. “The movers will be here in the morning. Once they finish up, I’ll meet my landlord to turn in the keys. After that, I’m going to see a few friends, then I’m off to spend a week of quality time with my mother before flying out to LA where I’ll hopefully find all my stuff waiting.”
Josie cringed. “A week? What on earth possessed you to do that?”
Chloe’s shoulders slumped and her eyes fell shut. “I still haven’t told her I’m moving,” she muttered.
“What?! Chloe, she’s going to have a stroke,” Josie sputtered.
“From what I’ve heard, that might not be a bad thing,” Anders chimed in absently, his eyes closed as he rested his forehead on Josie’s shoulder.
“Anders,” Josie chided, even though Chloe could see that Josie was contemplating that outcome.
Chloe chuckled. “She’d still find a way to use the good side of her mouth to tell me all the ways I’m ruining my life.”
Anders’s eyes popped open and Josie gasped as Chloe shrugged. “She’s my mother and I love her, but she’s horrible.” Chloe looked at Anders and raised her brow. “What I wouldn’t give to see you two go head-to-head.”
Josie laughed and Anders smirked as he snaked his hands around her waist. “Could you imagine? Your mother, ‘Ms. High and Mighty and Offended by Everything’ in the same room with Anders, ‘I’m Going to Break the Record for How Many Times the Word Fuck Can Be Used in a Conversation’? You wouldn’t need to tell her you’re moving; Anders would definitely give her a stroke.”
“I’m a fucking master conversationalist, Josie,” Anders retorted, affronted.
Chloe covered her mouth and giggled. “You two alone are reason enough to move to LA.”
Anders rolled his eyes. “Before Josie, no one in their right fucking mind would have said shit like that.” He leaned forward and looked at Josie over her shoulder. “You’re making me fucking likable, Ivy. Quit it.”
Josie opened her mouth to protest, but Chloe beat her to it. “Oh, don’t worry. Your reputation is safe. Over the course of the day, you’ve insulted my home, called me a fucking idiot, and suggested my mother having a stroke would be a good thing. And those are just the highlights. Your jerk tendencies are still going strong.”