“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Preston chalked up and tossed the bag to the side. “But she’s so perfect. Right now, before I’ve really talked to her, she stays perfect, you know? There’s nothing annoying about her, nothing that would make me second-guess asking her out.” One side of his mouth tipped up into a half-smile. “I don’t know that she hates Christmas or sleeps in mud or is in the witness protection program. She’s just this beautiful, vessel of potential. Once I start getting to know her, all of that goes out the window.”
We were all three quiet for a minute. When Sophia spoke, her voice was soft.
“I totally understand that, Preston.” She slid an arm around him and laid her hand on his shoulder for a minute. “I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, and she’d be lucky to have you in her life. And you should do things your own way. Take your time. There’s no rush.”
“Yeah, I agree.” I sighed. “But I need some Preston fodder for the column. I’ve written so much about my ups and downs that people are asking what’s happening with you.”
“Are they really?” Wonder and surprise-filled his voice. “Huh. What the bunnies do they want to know?”
I grinned. “They want to know more about you and what you’re doing to get cuffed before the holidays.”
“I can totally give you a run-down of my philosophy on that,” he offered. “I want to give the people what they want.”
“Are you getting lots of fan response, Harry?” Sophia looked at up the wall, assessing the next climbing problem. “What’re they asking?”
I thought about some of the questions and decided to keep things vague. “Oh, you know. Stuff about Preston and me and all that. It’s pretty cool. I get at least twenty or thirty emails a week.”
“Maybe you should do a Q and A column and answer some of the readers’ burning questions,” she suggested. “That way, you’re not having to do it all individually.”
“Soph, you’re brilliant.” I wrapped her in a quick, tight hug before I stepped back. “I wasn’t sure what to write this week, because I talked about Tyla last week, and next week I’ll report on that date. I’ll make this myeverything you wanted to know about The Cuffing Seasonpiece.”
Sophia’s cheek went pink. “I live to serve.” She reached to grip a hold and began climbing.
As Preston and I followed her, I bumped him to get his attention. “Did you notice that? When you were talking about the juice bar chick, Sophia was totally supportive. She didn’t give you any griping about dating her. Not like she’s done with me every single time I talk about a woman.”
Preston cast me a long glance, rife with knowing and a tiny bit of . . . was that pity? And before lifting himself further up the wall away from me, he only smiled enigmatically and tossed a comment over his shoulder.
“Why do you think that is, my boy?”
5
“Are you sure I look all right?” I looked down at my dark green T-shirt and jeans. “We’re going to be outside, I guess, since it’s a park, but I also don’t want to look like I didn’t care what I looked like for our date.”
Sophia didn’t even look up from the cups she was washing in her kitchen sink. “Yeah, you’re fine. You’re great.”
“How do you know? You didn’t even look.” I turned again to face her full-length mirror.
“I don’t have to look. You’ve been wearing the same clothes since you walked into my apartment twenty minutes ago. It was fine then. It’s fine now. Why are you so nervous about this date?”
“I’m not nervous.” The denial was knee-jerk. “I want to look good for Tyla. She’s not a college student or just out of school. Tyla’s a woman, with a career and a business.”
“Don’t I just know it.” Sophia muttered the words, but I heard them nonetheless.
“Soph, what’s up with you?” I turned to face her, crossing my arms. “Seriously. You’ve been in a perpetually pissy mood for over a month now. What’s going on?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She dried her hands on the dishtowel, keeping her back to me. “I haven’t been any different than I normally am. It’s you who’s changing. This whole cuffing season thing is making you a different person.”
Privately, I disagreed, but I wasn’t going to take on that argument. I’d been raised by a mom and sisters, and I knew when to fight and when to just keep quiet. “I’m sorry if it feels that way,” I began, hunting my way through a tactful response. “Maybe it’s that we’re all changing. College is over, and we’re trying to find the way forward for the next part of our lives.”
“Maybe.” Sophia began sorting through piles of stuff on her counter, still not looking me in the eye.
“I mean, we’re all working in jobs that don’t necessarily love, waiting for our break to move into something we do enjoy. You’re at the coffee shop until you get enough photography gigs to support yourself. Preston is at the juice bar until his climbing sponsorships come through. And I’m at stupid Allister’s until I make enough on my writing. We’re all in limbo, sort of.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She finally met my eye. “You seem like you’re ahead of us now. Writing the column gave you a step up.”
“It’s temporary,” I pointed out. “And it won’t mean much if I can’t translate the visibility into something permanent.”Maybe that was it, I thought. Sophia was envious that I was getting my big break. It made sense. “I’m sure something huge is going to happen pretty soon for you, too, Soph. You’ll land a job and get to ditch the coffee.”
“I’m not worried about that. I like my life now. I meet interesting people at Espresso Wishes, and the hours there are flexible for when I do get photography work. I love that I get to climb with you and Preston regularly. I like my little apartment.” She swept her gaze around the room. “I have good friends I can depend on. What more do I need at this point in my life?”
