“You don’t believe in fate?” Sharise asked. “What about Jason?”
Jason was Carlene’s fiancé.
“That wasn’t fate. That was me getting him sprung with what’s between my thighs.”
Sharise gaped at my friend. I burst out into laughter before covering my mouth with the napkin. Carlene tended to say the first thought that came to her mind.
“Is that what happened with you, my dear BFF?” Carlene asked. “Did you get that big ass man sprung on that snatch of yours?”
I playfully tossed a crouton from my salad at her. She caught it and popped it into her mouth.
“You’re a mess.”
“True.” She shrugged.
“We’re …” I stopped to try to figure out how I wanted to describe what it was that transpired between Brutus and me. “We connected way before any of our clothes came off,” I confessed.
Both of the women at the table frowned.
“You slept with him like what …” Sharise paused, glancing between Carlene and me, “two days after meeting him?”
With a roll of my eyes, I murmured, “More like three. But that’s not the point. Yeah, we have excellent physical chemistry.”
I stopped talking as our waiter delivered our meals. We ate in silence for a while.
“So, there’s more than just the physical between the two of you?” Sharise asked, looking at me with concern in her eyes.
“Yes,” I assured her.
Her gaze lingered on me for a few beats longer. “You know it takes more than good sex to make a relationship work.”
I made a disgusted sound at the back of my throat. “No, I didn’t know that because I’m some kind of idiot.” Sarcasm dripped from my tone.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” She held up her hands. “All I’m trying to say is that you and relationships can get …”
“Finicky, non-existent,” Carlene so kindly added.
I gave her a deadpan expression.
“Don’t look at me like that. You know it’s true,” she defended. “You have a bad habit of hiding behind your work when it comes to relationships.”
“I don’t have a job anymore,” I reminded her.
She snorted. “You’re about to open your café, which I can’t wait for. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you started using your new business as an excuse as to why this relationship won’t work.”
“Or it’s the wrong timing,” Sharise added.
With a tilt of my head, I stared at my sister.
“What? Carlene’s right.”
These two weren’t even close friends like that. Yet, here they were ganging up on me.
“All I’m saying, sis,” Sharise started as she reached across the table to pat my hand, “is don't let your fear of relationships have you running away from something that could be great.”
I shook my head. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them that out of Brutus and me, I wasn’t the one who was the workaholic. But I held back because they were right. I was the one who, for the time being, was out of work. That would change in a few weeks.
Less than a few weeks. Since I came back earlier than I originally planned, I was able to move up the renovation timeline. If things went according to my plan, I could open the café two weeks earlier than anticipated.
