Young love. I remembered those days… Then Cole flashed in my head—the image of him standing there, watching me, waiting as I walked toward him. My mouth watered, and my stomach flipped over on itself.
Cole, whatever his last name was, affected me and in a big and intense way. And thinking of his invitation, I knew I couldn’t do that. My body was tired after just one brief meeting with him. If I ran with him, next to him the entire time—my hand pressed into my stomach, trying to forcibly calm the nerves.
A server distracted me, reaching for my glass to refill it.
“Could I get the bill?”
“It’s on the house.” He set my water back down.
“What?”
But he turned and moved on to the next table.
Sia slid back into her seat at that moment. Folding her hands over each other, she leaned in close. “I’m so sorry, again. I know I apologized before, but this really was supposed to be our lunch, and you had no idea he was coming. And then you had to sit and endure our whole gushy-gushy stuff just now.” Her hands pressed against her chest. “I’m not that selfish friend. I don’t want to be. I owe you HUGE. What can I do to make it up to you?” She sat up suddenly. “Friday night! I have Friday night off for once. No event. No fundraiser. No showcase. Nothing. We should do a slumber party. You. Me. Lots of wine.” She winced, then waved that away. “I’ll be back on the wine bandwagon by then. Ooh. Can we do that? Are you up for it?”
“No Jake showing up in the middle of our slumber party?”
“Only if we start drinking tequila. You know how I get frisky when I drink that stuff.”
“No tequila.”
“Just wine.” Sia beamed at me.
I nodded. “Just wine.”
“And pajamas. Nice, big, comfortable pajamas. Nothing tight or constricting.”
I shook my head. “Definitely not.”
“Then it’s a best friend, Friday night, slumber party date.” She reached for her purse and raised her hand in the air. “And lunch is on me.”
“I tried.”
“What?”
I motioned. “Lower your hand. It won’t matter.”
“You asked for the bill?” She scanned the table. “Where is it? You didn’t pay it already, did you?”
“I asked for it, but the server said it’s on the house.”
“Are you serious?” She sat back, hitting the back of her seat with a soft bounce. “This place isn’t cheap, and I’ve never had my bill…” A light bulb went on. Her eyes lit up, and she sat upright. “That hostess from the other night! She must’ve recognized our reservation and said something ahead of time. I bet it was her. Man, if it was, I really need to pay her back. I’ll reach out to a designer who’s looking for models, give her name. That was really nice of her.” She was in awe. “I’ve never had a hostess be that nice before. Usually they try to network by offering to work for free at an event or something. Yeah, I’ll make sure to get her a job because of this.”
I reached for my own purse. “Mystery solved.”
Once we stepped out onto the street, Sia linked her elbow with mine and pulled me close to her side. We walked that way, like we had the other night, back to my building. She only had another block to go for her job, and we paused outside the front entrance. “Next lunch is just the two of us. I promise. Wait. Was there something you wanted to talk about today?”
An image of Cole appeared in my mind—my seared memory of him in the elevator, watching me as the doors closed. The blood on the floor from his comrade. Him running. Him waiting for me as I finished my last lap. “I’m Cole.”
My fingers closed over her hand, and I cleared my throat. “Nope. Nothing.”
“You sure?”
“I wanted to hear about you and Jake, but I got one better. I saw it first hand, like a private Broadway show.”
She groaned. “Again. I am so sorry.”
“I know. I’m just torturing you now.”
“Okay.” She twisted around, peering up at my floor. “So, if I don’t talk to you all week, plan for Friday. It’s a definite for me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Today’s Friday.”
“Wha—” Her mouth opened and stayed there. The wheels were turning in her head. Then she smacked herself in the forehead. “I meant next Friday, and holy shit! I’m insinuating I won’t be around all weekend too. I am so—”
Our arms were still linked. I unlinked them, but pressed both my hands over her arms. “Stop. I know how you are with your guys.”
Her eyes closed tight, but she opened one. “Really?”
I nodded. “I’m an adult. I’m thirty years old. I can manage just fine. Heck—” I tried for a joke. “Maybe Dawn and I will meet up for drinks tonight.”
Sia laughed, relaxing. “You can take up knitting.”
“I’ll be her real knitting soulmate, not a pretend one like you.”
“Don’t tell her my lie,” Sia whispered.
“I won’t.” I shoved her forward, gently. “Now go. Have fun. Have lots of sex, and if we don’t talk before next Friday, I’ll meet you at my door. I’ll be the one wearing pajamas already.”
“Okay.” She moved forward, reluctantly, then turned around. She pointed at me. “Slumber party.”