My girlfriend Erika and I were having the time of our lives as we drove across the country side on our road trip vacation. She was my best friend, someone I could be totally authentic with. We had each other’s backs in hard times but almost every day together was good.

Erika asked me to stop at a gas station to use the bathroom. My phone’s wifi was being weird, so she handed me hers to use her map app while she went in.

We shared phones casually and I’d never snooped on her before. But when I saw a text in her group chat with her girlfriends I was too intrigued to leave it unchecked:

“So happy you’re enjoying the trip together. He’s such a great guy, I seriously love y’all together so much. Hopefully he’ll pop the question on your trip and we can start planning the wedding!!”

My heart warmed at the message. Jess had always been a loyal best friend to Erika. Another message from Jess popped up, this time in a one-on-one text:

“He’s the perfect hubby for you. So much different from the last few jerks who didn’t know how to appreciate you.”

“I’ve got the same weakness and I’m happy we’ve matured enough to move past it. Those arrogant fuck boys got away with so much just because they have huge dicks 😂”

Suddenly I felt my stomach drop. I didn’t know how to process what I was reading and part of me felt I should put the phone down. I guess this was the girl version of “locker room talk” and Jess only wanted to talk about it directly

“I am curious though, do you ever miss sex with your exes? Like Bruce? 😉 I know you never took him seriously but he was so sexy. I always got jealous when you told me how mind-blowing he is in bed. He’s the one who converted you into a size queen after all!”

I put the phone on Erika’s seat but the texts remained on the front of her screen.

“Isn’t it funny how the qualities that made him unsuitable long-term are part of why he was so tempting? I remember you felt so bad about craving sex from a guy you had no feelings for. Honestly I’ve felt that way recently with the new guy I’m seeing. Maybe if you there’s a good time on your trip we could chat about it over a call?”

Erika came back to the car with snacks and drinks for both of us. She looked so sweet as she got in and kissed me before picking up her phone.