"I called you three days ago," I reminded her, leaning against the bathroom counter.
"No, you texted me saying, 'can't talk, at work.' That doesn't count."
I smiled. "How's ATL treating you?
"Hot, busy, and full of men who think flight attendant means available for dating. The usual. I'll be back by the end of theweek. How was the cook-off? Did you scare away the children with your judging face?" Kia laughed.
"What? My judging face is appropriate."
"Your resting face makes babies cry, Li. Don't even try it."
I laughed. Kia always had that effect on me, especially when we were kids.
"Anything interesting happen, or was it the same old chili with different labels?"
I hesitated, my thumb unconsciously finding the scar on my arm again. "I met someone."
The squeal over the phone made me wince and pull it away from my ear. "Wait. What? You actually interacted with a human female? Voluntarily?"
"It's not that big a deal," I scoffed, even as my mind flashed back to the kiss with Gisselle.
"Oh, it absolutely is. What's up? Do you like her?"
"Yeah, she's an architect. Her name is Gisselle, and I kissed her tonight."
There was a long silence at the other end of the phone. I checked whether the call had dropped. "You kissed her on purpose?"
"No, I tripped, and my lips fell on hers," I dryly responded.
"Don't get smart with me, Liam Andre Crawford. I'm making sure I understand the situation. My brother, who hasn't shown interest in a woman since forever, tells me he kissed someone? Yeah, I'm interested. Sho nuff finally got some moves!"
I groaned at the reference. "Do not start. We're not twelve anymore."
"Who's the master?" she shot back, completely ignoring me.
"I'm hanging up now."
"No, you're not. You called me for a reason. Tell me about her."
I sat on the edge of the tub. "I don't know much about Gisselle. She's new to town, and I saved her from a fire a few weeks ago."
"Wait, you kissed a woman you rescued? Isn't that against a firefighter's code?"
"It wasn't like that. She came to the station to thank me, then I ran into her in town and invited her to the chili cook-off. After the cook-off today, I walked her home. I saved her from being hit by a truck, and I kissed her right on the street." I laughed.
"Damn, your dry ass needs some attention. When are you going to see her again?"
"I hadn't thought that far ahead."
"Bullshit. You think everything through six ways to Sunday."
She wasn't wrong. "It's complicated."
"Only because you're making it complicated. Text her tonight. Something simple like 'I had a good time' or 'I would love to see you again.' Then invite her to have coffee, something easy."
"I know how it works, Kia."
"Do you? Because you've been using your job as an excuse to avoid living for years now. Li, it's okay to let someone in."
