Chapter 2- Santa Claus never liked me , I was always on his " Embarrassed of list . " Gosh ! Soph , you are the craziest whacko ever ! " Trish laughed , holding her stomach as she heard my entire " Wrong Number " fiasco . " You ….. rambled to a complete stranger ?! " She shrieked and burst into a fit of laughter . I rolled my eyes . " Very mature Trish . " But she laughed harder , till tears were starting to form in the corner of her eyes . So , I whacked her stomach to shut her up . " Ow ! That hurt , you i *** t ! " She complained hitting my arm which earned her a smack on her head . " Stop ! " She chuckled and got up going to the kitchen as the oven's timer rang indicating the souffle's were ready , but before going she hit my shoulder . " Hey ! " " That , was for flicking me on my head . " I muttered profanities under my breath . " I can hear you ! " 1 don't care ! " 1 played with Tango while Trish puttered around the kitchen . Trish and I though twenty five , weren't the most mature people on the planet when around each other or our loved ones . She was a chef , she ran her own bakery and catering business , while I was an editor at a famous publishing house . For us , maturity was just plain overrated . The smell of freshly baked chocolate chocolate souffle's got me salivating . Did I mention they were my favorite things in the world ? Next to tandoori chicken ? e as she was wiping the plate's , I decided I sneaked up inside the kitchen with Tango behind me , and when I saw Trish's back to me as to steal one soufflé of the tray . " Nu - uh - uh , don't you dare pick that up , you sneak , or you will earn a spank from me for being naughty . " Trish warned . My eyes . widened . How did she know ? Did she have eyes at the back of her head or was she this freaky twin who could read my mind ? But , meh , I'm still taking the soufflé . As if on cue . " know what you are thinking , you are not picking anything . You don't want Santa to put you on his naughty list . Trish chastised , like I was her kid . Her being a mother must've been resulting in her obsession in being creepily right , and let's not forget the entire kid talk she was giving me . Trish often gave her " baby talk " to me , subconsciously . I rolled my eyes . " Hey ! In my defense Santa never liked me , I was always on his " Embarrassed of list . Trish turned around and sighed dramatically . " God , Soph , my son , is better than you . " I grinned at the mention of my godson Marvin . He was an adorable little guy . At five years of age , he was my world . " Yeah , yeah , I know , I should be setting examples yada yada yada ." Trish rolled her eyes and smacked my hands away and took the souffle's from me . " Wait till Marvin gets home . Alex said he was picking him up ." favorite guy in the I pouted , though I agreed . Alex was our best friend and Marvin's godfather . Alex and his boyfriend Blake often babysat Marvin . They were engaged and being around Marvin only prepared them for the future as they were planning on adopting a kid , once they get married this fall . Alex was a fashion designer and Blake was a model , so those two guys met courtesy their jobs . Now , before you start imaging them as the gay best friends that chick flicks liked to stereotypically image with lip gloss lips and painted nails , nu- uh , I'm killing the image , right now . Alex was almost always sharp and dressed business like , while Blake gave out the gorgeous bad boy look , till , this date , half the female population mourns them being gay . Alex had been our friend since college and Blake too joined our little gang after we graduated and they started dating . They were amazing , kind people and I loved both of them to bits . I walked to the living room and pulled out my editing work from my bag . Ryan's picture in my purse made my heart sink like titanic . I blinked back the sting of tears and crumpled the picture , sighing . I grimaced at my weakness . Jerk or not , I still was hurt , It's not nice when your favorite dream comes crashing down in the end … Ten minutes later , the doorbell rang and Alex entered with a bouncy Marvin hanging by his pinky finger . Alex hugged me . " Hello love , how's your little heart ? Do you want me to kill Ryan ? I can make it look like an accident . " I chuckled , " No need , he's better off alone , Anyway , you better freshen up . Trish baked souffle's . I'm dying to eat . " Alex laughed and pinched my nose . " You glutton . " I winked . " Forever " Marvin was removing his shoes , his grey eyes lit up when he saw me " Aunt Soph ! I got a big star in recitation ! " He squealed , emphasizing his point by waving his hands around . I smiled and ruffled his blonde hair . " That's my boy ! Come on , mommy cooked something to celebrate ! " " Yay ! " He cheered and we raced to the kitchen with Tango hot in our heels , barking . Trish nearly knocked down the plates in surprise . " Hey ! No running in the house ! Soph ? Teach my son something good , will you ? " " Aw , man you're no fun . I pouted . " Aw , man you're no fun ." Marvin mimicked . Trish narrowed her eyes at him , before glaring at me . " Well , I'm your mommy , and with a crazy aunt like Sophie around , someone has to be the less fun person ," Trish defended herself . " Anyway , peanut , how was your recitation test ?" "I got a star ! " Trish's frown replaced a smile as she kissed his cheek , bending down . " Good boy , now , I want you to ant you to wash your hands . I made chocolate souffle's " " Yummy ! Come Tango , let's wash ! " the little guy squealed and dashed off . " You've got your hands full , with hyper people . Alex commented , giving Trish a hug . Trish sighed , wiping her hands in her apron . " Marvin's fine , Soph is the one I worry about . " " Hey !" They chuckled . I helped Trish remove the souffle's from the tray as Alex set the plates . " So .. Where's Blake ? " " He had his fitting for the upcoming Vogue fashion week , I just finished my first set early and this time Blake isn't walking for my designs , so it'll take him time . He'll join us for dinner though ." " Okay , then dinner it is . We all lived in different houses , but we made it a point to have dinner together once a week or plan something out , it used to always be Alex , Trish and I but since Blake moved in with Alex , the tradition included him too . Alex nodded . " Anyway , I still can't believe the Ryan and the entire foursome thing . That boy has a nerve , I would totally kick his pea sized balls for you Sophie , just let me ." The tug returned , but I masked my hurt . " No , he's … he's just not worth it Alex , I mean , whatever , I didn't mean anything to him , I'll move on .. find , someone better , bet successful in it and have cute little babies , while he'll continue being the sick person that he is , right ? Alex leaned from the counter and gave me a hug . " I'm proud of you sweetheart ! ' Trish smiled . " Okay , Ryan aside , Alex , you won't believe what this silly billy went and did that night . " Trish started . Alex's eyes grew wide . " You cut yourself ? Did a one night stand ? Got pregnant ? " I rolled my eyes , what was it with people jumping into the worst conclusions with me ? Maybe , perhaps because you are the century's biggest disaster magnet ? Let's ignore my conscience . I smacked Alex . " Have some faith ! I'm not like that ! " Alex calmed down . " You're not , I'm sorry ." my eyes . I rolled my eyes . " No , she went and ranted , to a complete stranger on the phone . She whined all about her heartbreak and made a complete fool of herself , A plus for Soph on the embarassment test ." I narrowed my eyes at her . " Gee , thanks Trish . " Alex was laughing his ass off , I glared at him murderously . " What , exactly did you do Soph ?" Trish completed the story and in the end both of them were laughing their asses off . " Wow , guys thank you for that shot of self esteem 1 snapped , glaring at them . They sobered up . " Sorry love ." Alex apologized . " Whatever ." Trish looked behind me . " What's taking Marvin so long ? " As if on cue , Marvin came down all clean , with Tango . " What took you so long , peanut ? Marvin gave her an innocent look . " Tango wanted to play with soap . " Trish facepalmed . " I don't even want to think of the mess I'll have to clean in there , and I'm pretty sure it was you who wanted to " play " with soap , not Tango ! " " Not ! " Trish shook her head. " Nevermind . Go in and uncle Alex will plate your soufflé and do not drop one bit on your new shirt , otherwise mommy won't be happy , peanut ." Marvin nodded and followed Alex to the dining room . Trish turned to look at me . " Look , I'm sorry , Soph for teasing you , Ryan is a w *** e , he wasn't the one for you . You always have hit some rock hard's , but not once did I see you fall in them , you always come out stronger and that's what I love about you . Be it your dysfunctional family , your embarrassing days or Ryan , you always shine Soph , you don't let it affect you , and I admire that , you should know , that I'm there for you no matter what ." I smiled at Trish , no matter what , no matter how hard life could get , I had her and Alex and I could count on them . Thugged Trish blinking back the tears I had promised to not spill . 1 was not going to waste another tear drop on Ryan , and that was it . Trish pulled back smiling . " Now , Ryan aside , let's pig out on souffle's " I grinned at her . We walked in to find Marvin gobbling up the souffle's with Alex . Trish grimaced at the chocolate smeared across her son's shirt . " Why do you have to feed your shirt too Marvin ? Eat properly , or today , you'll earn an earful from me . Trish scolded , I winced knowing she had called him " Marvin " not peanut , so she was getting worked up Alex rolled his eyes , knowing Trish was getting mad . " Cut him some slack Kristina . He's a little kid , he's allowed to do that . Loosen your disciplinarian side ." Trish glared at Alex , she didn't like being called by her full name . " But- " " Shut up and get your mama bear ass on the chair and eat , I don't need you terrorizing my Godson . " Trish muttered under her breath how we were spoiling Marvin but sat down anyway . The souffle's were delicious . Trish was just the next Donna Hay . After we finished eating . Alex left for home but promised to join us for dinner , as Trish went to clean Marvin's shirt and the soapy mess he had made after sending him to do his home work . The little guy was a handful . I decided to not go back home and stay till night , so I took Tango for a walk and came back to finish my editing work . I sat in the balcony finishing my last editing set , when my phone flashed . It was a text message from an unknown number . I frowned at the screen . Hi , how are you holding up ? I pursed my lips , the only person I knew with that letter " A " was Alex but he just met me so it wasn't him plus I had his number saved . How dense was 1 ? Who is this ? -Sophia My phone beeped again . Oh pardon me , I'm Austin . Austin ? The guy you dialed by mistake last night ? I don't expect you to remember me though .. My eyes widened . Austin ? Why did he message me ? I was the girl who very embarrassingly ranted herself to him . And forget . him ? Hell no. " Oh , I'm sorry , I mean , your's was a wrong number and all but why would you text me ? Do you usually text girls who call you by mistake ? I mean , I'm just an awkward person who rants her heartbreak to strangers … don't get me wrong , I usually don't do that , mean , duh , who does . Except me , I guess . But not usually , and thank you for asking about me , I'm holding up fine … I guess , I mean , heartbreaks are difficult to get over . That is , if you are a person who likes having long term relationships..anyway Hi . Sophia Less than a minute passed and my phone beeped , wow , he was fast . You rant in text too ? -Austin I blushed . Why do I keep doing this to myself ? My phone beeped again . Oh , I don't " usually " text girls who dial me by mistake , but in your case , I was curious , and I bet my hat you are blushing ) -Austin S - How did you guess ? Are you a spy ? A - Maybe . Beware xD S- Stalker . A - Psh..you wish , I would stalk you . I grinned s stupidly at the screen , S - So , Austin , are you on kak A - No . S - F ******* Twitter , Snapchat ? A - No , no and no . I find those a waste of time , though I am on E - book sites . S- -So you are a book worm ? A - Yes , you can call me that..I guess . I grinned , wider , if that was possible , another we had in common ! S - Well , good to know you are one of my kind . * cough * Your kind ? " cough * S - You know , the nerdy person who reads books and stuff . A - uh , no . You are sadly mistaken , yes , I do enjoy reading books . But I'm not nerdy , I never was S- How old are you ? I suddenly felt like a teenager on a chat site , hoping that the other person was close to their age . A - Like , I'd tell you ! I pouted , what did he think I was ? A pedophilic stalker ? S- 1 feel offended . That was such a lie , I was still grinning like a fool . Liar , I can feel your cheesy smile through the screen . I gasped at the screen . S- Now , who's the stalker ? I mean . Seriously , what's with you being so creepily accurate ? You are like my best friend Trish at being right , though she chastises me like I'm her son Marvin , my godson . A - You speak a lot , don't you ? S- Maybe .. A- Anyway , it was nice talking to you , I'll talk to you later , but I have to get back to work now or else my staff would think that I'm lazy . My stomach fluttered a little for no reason , then I realized he said " work " which meant he was as old as me or perhaps older , but he mentioned staff so he was an owner , probably an entrepreneur or something like Trish, I wanted to ask more , but I didn't want to over step my boundaries . S- Goodbye ???? I shut my phone with a wide grin on my face . Something told me , that this was a beginning of a new blossoming friendship .