He nodded at me, and said, “Go. They’re just dicking around. I doubt they even have notes on the design.” As we turned to leave, Patrick called, “Keep your phone on, Asani.”
*
A few margaritasand a thorough leg massage were my new Thursday night requirements. Wonderfully absent of bros in tight t-shirts, shots, and electronica, this was exactly how I wanted to spend my time. I adjusted the pressure on the chair’s massage settings and swallowed a groan.
“I know, right?” Lauren sighed, clinking her glass to mine.
“Yeah. This is going in the rotation.”
“So worth it,” Lauren said. “Especially when you don’t have time for anything and you’re running around with your hair on fire.”
“Speaking of hair on fire, how’s the wedding planning coming?”
Last we spoke, Lauren was the picture of chill but altogether too many of my college and grad school friends went from completely calm to completely batshit crazy while planning their weddings. I continued wondering when Lauren would drink the bridezilla Kool-Aid.
“Good. Really, it’s all good, and the biggest variable is whether my brothers will be able to make it.” She signaled to the young man pouring refills, pointing to our glasses before flicking her gaze over her phone. “They’re deployed, and it’s up in the air whether they’ll be back. Sometimes their missions are…unpredictable. But I’m sure it will be fine.”
I studied her, watching her teeth sink into her bottom lip and her head bob as if convincing herself.
“So anyway,” she continued. “What’s new with you?”
Hm. There was a lot of new in my life. I nodded to myself, and drank my margarita, thinking about all this newness. Amazing apprenticeship where I was learning more than I thought possible. Great colleagues who were smart, funny, and swore like sailors. A new city to explore, and more good eats than I could consume in a lifetime. A few more pairs of tall boots added to the collection—as if I didn’t have enough Wellies or riding boots to wear a unique set each day.
And one incredibly hot architect with the most expressive hazel eyes I ever encountered and entirely too much talent in and out of the bedroom.
“Mmhmm. Yep, about that dreamy look you have right now. So how is Patrick?”
Holding my breath, I slowly swiveled my head to face Lauren, and found her smiling at me with her chin propped on her fist. There was no way she knew. Not possible.
“What?” I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.
“I knew it! I knew it that night we all met up at Twenty-First.”
She knew and the tequila started rebelling against my stomach. Despite the alcohol warming my blood, a cold sweat broke out across my skin. If Lauren knew, Matt and Shannon knew, and that meant everyone knew. Everyone knew and they were going along with this little act to pretend they didn’t and I was the apprentice who slept with the managing partner. Where was the cheesy soundtrack for that cliché?
“What?” I repeated.
My stomach roiled. I tried to calculate an appropriate tip for vomiting in the footbath.
Lauren smiled and nodded patiently. “There’s something going on between you two.”
This wasn’t happening. This was a hallucination bred of tequila and sugar scrubs, and it wasn’t happening. I leaned forward and focused on my breathing to keep my stomach contents in place. “Who—I mean, where did you hear that?”
“I didn’t hear it anywhere, I just noticed things. Though you confirmed it all with that deer-in-the-headlights look, my friend.”
“No one said anything to you?”
“No,” Lauren replied. “Sweetie, we’re friends, right? This is between us.”
A breath I didn’t know I was holding whooshed out, and I slumped back. “What do you mean, you ‘noticed things?’”
Lauren frowned, gesturing toward me with her margarita glass. “The way you were sitting tonight. You were leaning toward each other. And you kept looking at each other, and having little talks with your eyes. I’ve never seen Patrick do that. And he kept trying to be all smooth and touch you when he thought no one was looking.”
Mr. Smooth’s ears must have been burning, because he decided to text me at that exact moment.
19:51 Patrick:still want to take you to bed. im back at my place. come over whenever
19:52 Patrick:or ill go to you
