“Ah, didn’t anyone tell you that’s not possible when you’re pushing thirty?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me. When I was a kid, I thought I’d have it all sorted by the time that birthday approached. Married, kids, house. The whole shebang. But look at what happened,” she says, holding her arms out from her sides.
“There’s nothing wrong with not having everything figured out by thirty.”
“I know, I’m not saying there is. I just thought my life would have gone a different way.”
“It’s impossible to predict. You’ve just got to roll with the punches and accept the direction you’re taken.”
“Well, I’m grateful for this turn,” she says, pausing chopping veggies and turning to look at me. It isn’t until her eyes lock on mine that I realize she hasn’t properly looked at me since she emerged. Her embarrassment levels are still sky high, but she’s fighting it.
“Me too,” I agree.
“I really am sorry for this morning. That was a major oversight on my part. I promise it’ll never happen again.”
I give her a hard glare for daring to apologize again, but she doesn’t back down, and this time, I don’t chastise her for it. She needed to say that, so I’ll let it go.
Once our coffees are made, I lower hers beside her before retaking my seat and watching her prep our brunch.
A question dances on the tip of my tongue, and in the end, I can’t keep it in.
“Do you want to hang out with me today?
Freya’s head whips around, shock covering her face as she stares at me.
“Uh…”
Nerves flutter in my stomach. I shouldn’t have asked. She’s busy and?—
“Yeah. Okay,” she breathes.
“I haven’t told you where we’re going yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. I trust you.”
The words hit me like a truck, and I’m forced to sit back a little as they settle inside me.
Sure, people have said it to me before. But I’m pretty sure it’s only ever been teammates or coaching staff. Hearing those words coming from Freya hits differently.
She has no reason to trust me, not really. I’ve given her a job and invited her into my home. I’m the one who’s done the trusting. She doesn’t even know me, and yet she’s blindly joining me on my afternoon plans.
“Wow, that’s…”
“Brave?” she asks with a laugh.
“I guess you’ll find out in an hour or so.”
She studies me for a beat as if she’ll discover the answer to all her questions in my eyes.
When she realizes that I’m not going to spill, she turns her attention back to her cooking.
“Areyou going to tell me where we’re going yet?” she asks over an hour later as we head to the other side of town.
“Nope. But we’re nearly there.”
Her eyes are everywhere as I pull into a mostly empty parking lot behind a rundown building.
“I’m so confused,” she muses after we’ve climbed out. “There’s nothing here.”
