“I brought dinner.” Her brown eyes sparkle with more than she’s telling.
“And?”
She picks up two brown sacks from the breakfast bar and walks with them to the coffee table. “Fine. I brought you dinner and came to get the gossip.”
“What gossip?” I missed girl brunch on Sunday, but she would have texted me if anything good happened.
“Well for starters. You listen to rock when you’re in a heavy thinking period.” Damn, my best friend knows me too well. "You could start with that, but I also want to know why the door was unlocked, how you almost broke your ankle, and why you didn’t need my help when it happened.”
I open my mouth to answer but close it again, not sure where I should begin.
Aspen pulls a long submarine sandwich from one of the bags and cocks her head at me raising both her eyebrows. “And don’t try to pull anything over my head. I’ll know if you're lying. I also know Ryland was here Sunday and Monday ‘helping’ you.” She makes air quotes around helping and winks. "So don’t think you can avoid that one either.”
I shrug and peel off the top of my sandwich to check, but it’s perfect. Turkey, cheese, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and pickles with light mayo. “I forgot to lock the door. You need a code to get up here.” I remind her of the keypad locking the stairwell entrance, but I do not admit since Ryland leaves his unlocked for me every morning I’ve started to do the same for him.
“Well, be careful. It’s not a good habit to get into. Think of what Ben would say.” She sounds identical to her overprotective brother. Pen blames his behavior on his job as a San Francisco police detective, but as her only family member and an older brother, he’d be overprotective regardless.
“Why aren’t there any cucumbers on your sandwich?” We’ve ordered the same subs since college.
She chews her bite and swallows before answering. “Oh. I’m not eating cucumbers anymore.” She shakes her head before I press for more information. "Don’t ask. Seriously.”
A part of me wants to continue with this line of questioning, but I decide to move on and get her inquisition over with. I update Aspen on my almost fall down a flight of stairs, but leave out the reason for my distraction. The crush on Scott lasted a hot minute, there’s no need for us to analyze it to death. And she will. Aspen’s bound to see it as a sign I’m ready to enter the dating field full time. I disagree. I’d rather share a straw with James than go on another blind date.
She stares at me, her head moving to different positions as if a new angle will reveal an untruth. “You’re sure there’s nothing more?" she probes, her brown eyes beady and narrowed in my direction.
“For sure.” I wipe my hands and throw the wrapper from my sub in the original bag.
“I feel like there’s more. You know I’ll find out, right? One way or another, I always do.”
“Not a thing. I promise.” I shake my head at her ridiculousness and laugh, but inside I’m a tad bit nervous. Aspen’s like a blood hound on the hunt when she thinks there’s more to a story.
