“Well I don’t really have secrets either.”  That’s a flat out lie and I know it, but it’s not like the truth is going to be any easier for me to dish out to him.  If I’m going to delve deep into my past with anybody it’s going to be Justin, and I don’t even know when I’ll be able to.  “I’m staying with my friend, Susan.  Is that better?  Am I not so secretive anymore? Do you want the address too Trace, just so you know I’m not lying or anything?”

“Actually yeah, an address would be great,” he says smugly.  “Then I could dump Justin’s ass off there so I can have some peace tonight.”

“You’re an ass,” I inform him.  “And he’d hate it here anyway.”

“Why? Is your friend Susan some really freaky porn star?”

“Why? Do you think you might know her then?” I say, sarcastically.

He laughs out loud.  “You really crack me up sometimes, Mel.”

“Great.  Where’s Lynn anyway? I thought she was there helping out too.”  A sense of alarm rushes through me, thinking something happened between Lynn and Justin that made her angry enough to go back home.  I seriously hope that’s not the case, because they’ve just started to get back on track.

“She’s here, and she slept here last night.  Paul flew out this morning though, and they’re at dinner right now,” he tells me with a tired yawn.  “She said something about them staying at a hotel tonight too.  Not something I wanted to hear about from a woman that’s practically my mother either but...whatever.”

I sigh.  “Is he really that miserable without me, Trace.  Or was he just bored? I know how restless he gets sometimes.”

The blaring of the tv in the background gets softer, as if Trace has stepped into another room.  I hear a door close, and I become a little tense.  Obviously, he’s alone and out of Justin’s earshot, and I’m terrified of where this conversation is about to go.  

“Maybe I shouldn’t be asking you this, Melanie,” he begins, a small amount of hesitation apparent in his voice. “You’re a great girl, and you know...even though we haven’t known each other for all that long I’d like to think that you’re one of my friends now.”

I smile a little.  It’s nice to hear that from him, because it means that the past in is the past now.  He can trust me and I can trust him, and that’s a great thing since we both care about Justin and want to hang around him as much as we do.  “I consider you a friend, too,” I say softly.  

“I just...,’ he pauses and sighs.  “Are you guys getting into something?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I’m taken back a little by his question.  Is it that obvious?  Do I really let myself go that much when I’m with Justin? Does Trace see me blushing and smiling so much that he thinks I’m crazy?  God, I wish I could be better at being subtle about things.  But it’s been too long, I don’t know how to hold feelings like this inside of me because they fill me with too much pleasure.  

“I just know how he is when he likes a girl, that’s all.”

“He doesn’t like me,” I point out, quickly.  “He’s just way too dependent on me, and that’s not good.  That’s why I came out here for the weekend.  I thought he could use a break.”

“It’s not dependancy, Mel,” he says, seriously.  “I know it’s not that.”

I’m getting really nervous and I know I need to end this conversation before I admit something to Trace that I don’t want to. Like that I’m in love with his best friend, because really...I know that wouldn’t go over well at all.   “Look, my friend is waiting on me and it’s rude of me to keep standing here talking to you.  I have to go.  Just put up with him for another night, Trace.  I’ll come there in the morning and make you both breakfast okay?”

“Breakfast?” His voice brightens up at the idea.  “Well I guess for breakfast, I’ll put up with him for another night.  But you owe me a favor.”

“We’ll see about that,” I chuckle.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I get to pick whatever I want for breakfast too, Mel.”

“Goodbye, Trace.”

I hang up, but my smile doesn’t fade.  It’s nice to have a friend in him now.  I can trust him, I realize.  If I have a big issue with Justin, I feel like I can go to him about it and he’ll understand.  I don’t have to worry about him bitching at me or anything like that.  So I mean, I guess if I really felt the need to I could tell him how I feel about Justin.  Maybe he’d have some good advice.  But as for right now, I’m not going to push the subject on him.  I’m not quite sure how he’d react, and I don’t want to get angry.  It’s just good to know I have that person to confide in when the time comes.  For now though, I’ll put it all out of my head the best I can.  I have one more more night of peace, tv, and ice cream before the shit hits the fan all over again and I’m going to use it to my advantage.

“All good?”  Kerri looks up at me as I enter the room, and lifts the remote to the tv she she can start the movie for us.

I nod and plop down beside her onto the sofa, reaching into the box of fudge pop bars that Kerri holds out for me.  “I’ve never been more ready.”  

She laughs out loud.  “Who knew ice cream could be so exciting?”