CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I may have a crush on Jackson, the redheaded guy from Accounting,” Amanda confesses while she stares out at the foggy morning view from our spot in Buena Vista Park. The smell of cinnamon lingers between us, evidence of our sugary brunch meeting.
“I knew it!” I throw my crumpled napkin in her direction. It doesn’t make it anywhere near my intended target. “Last week I saw you talking to him by the break room. You were doing the whole giggling school girl routine.”
Amanda blushes.
“Men are fucktards,” Marissa comments before her head turns to me. Her eyes flicker when she remembers I recently finished a gush fest on Finn. “I mean except for Finn." She rushes to get out, “I’m sure he’s a great guy, who won’t lead you on for four years then months before your wedding get caught fucking a co-worker under a desk.”
I’m pretty sure there were no desks involved with the Cody situation, but Marissa has hit the angry phase of this breakup and it’s best not to correct her at this point in time. Plus, she’s out of her sweats. Her dark wash jeans with the fluffy light pink sweatshirt are a huge improvement. We have to look at the positives.
“Sorry, Pen.” Marissa stabs her empty Styrofoam container with the plastic spork, sending half the utensil through the lid. Thankfully, she’d already finished off the delicious contents and no French toasts were harmed in her outburst. “Don’t tell Finn one of your friends is a man-hater. It might reflect poorly on you. One of us deserves a chance at happiness.”
I want to offer her some kind of comfort, but Marissa is not the hugging type so I settle for a few soft pats on her back. “You have best friend status, Marissa. Finn has to love you.”
She throws herself back on the grass with her arms stretched above her head. “The last time you pulled best friend duty with me he dumped you. What kind of influence am I?”
And now she’s spiraling. I hate when she starts the self-hate, but I’m out of ideas on what I can do to bring Marissa out of her funk. I fear this is one of those “time heals all wounds” situations. Why didn’t I aim when I threw that glass at Cody?
With no more help to offer Marissa, I sigh and stare toward the bay. At the base of the hill, a tall guy with jeans and a long sleeve green shirt stands with his head tilted in our direction. There’s writing on the front of his shirt, but I’m too far away to make it out. His dark brown hair flops to the side as his hands skim through it. His head scans the hill and I slide on a grin when he spots me next to Amanda. Finn starts to walk in my direction and my stomach flutters in anticipation.
“Hey you,” I call out and wave. Why do I still get nervous around him? “This is our secret spot. No boys allowed,” I joke.
“Sorry. I came to whisk you away for the afternoon.”
He holds out a hand to help me up. I field Amanda a look before I stand. I hope she can see the apology on my face. I hate to ditch her with Marissa when she’s obviously going to need some girl comfort.
Always intuitive, Amanda waves me off with a smile. “You two go, have a good day. I’m thinking Marissa and I are going to visit with Ben and Jerry.” The three of us share a love for the popular ice-cream brand. I can never get enough Chocolate Fudge Brownie, even if the name isn’t as cute as Chunky Monkey or Half Baked. It does not help the situation that the famous duo has a store location a few short blocks from this hill. Marissa perks up at the thought of visiting her favorite ice-cream store so I don’t feel as bad leaving Amanda in charge of her.
“You like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream?” Finn ask as we’re half way down the slope. The grass is still a little slippery from the morning dew, so I’m focused on not slipping and taking us both down in some dreadful Jack and Jill retelling.
I latch onto his arm to steady myself and feel his muscles through the thicker material of his shirt sleeve. “Who doesn’t love Ben & Jerry’s? Weird people, that's who.”
Finn laughs at my answer but doesn’t continue the conversation.
At the bottom of the hill a bright yellow cab with the Y street sign logo on the side waits for us. Finn walks to the back door and opens it to usher me in.
“A cab? There is never a cab anywhere near me when I need one and you have one at your disposal?”
“You have to know the secret.” Finn slides in behind me. “Call ahead. He picked me up at the comic shop. It’s not as nice as Jake, but it beats the hour it would take us to walk to our next stop.”
His admission doesn’t give much away. You can walk pretty much anywhere in an hour from our spot in the park. He won’t tell me, but I try anyway, “Where's our next stop?”
“I have to swing by the office and pick up an envelope.” He surprises me with an answer although an unhelpful one.
I’m still new to the city so I sit in the cab poised to watch the beautiful architecture pass us out the cab’s window. Finn fills me in about each restaurant or store as we pass. He could be his own walking tour guide with his extensive knowledge of the area.
The cab slows next to a huge cobalt blue building. It’s at least three stories tall and spans a city block. Three rounded window seats protrude from the building and run from the bottom to the top to give it its own Queen Anne vibe. A beveled edge runs the course of the roof giving it detail. It’s magnificent.
“Stay in the cab. I’ll be quick.” Finn is out the door before I start to beg him for a peek at the inside. He walks in the front door, disappears, and less than a minute later is back, a white business envelope in his hand. The cab door shuts behind him and we’re off.
“I had them waiting for us at the front desk.”
“I thought you said RDA was a small company? Why do you need such a big building?” My nose is as close to the window as I can get it without making actual contact as the driver pulls away from the curb. I’m in love with the place already. What would it be like to work in a building with such history every day?
Finn’s head moves to my window and he watches the building as we drive past. “It’s not all offices. The first floor is work space with room to grow and the top two floors are apartments for employees to live in.”
