The next morning, I call Evan. He picks up almost immediately.
“Hey, Mel,” he says. He makes a sound that’s somewhere between a yawn and a stretch.
“Did I wake you?” I check the time. “It’s 10:00 a.m.”
“On aSaturday,” he reminds me. “But no, I’m fine. How did it go last night?” He moans out another stretch. “I’ll make the coffee. You spill the tea.”
“It was…hmm. I’m not really even sure where to start.”
“Intrigue. I like it.”
“He stood me up for dinner.”
“He didnot!”
“But that was just the beginning of the night.”
“Okay…”
“So, I get there just shy of seven, and I wait a little bit and he doesn’t show up, and I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, right? Like, he must have had issues on the subway or something like that.” I take a sip of my own coffee and realize it’s gone cold. “So, finally, I order myself dinner because, not for nothing, I was hungry. And I eat it—alone, mind you—and pay the bill and head for the door.” I place the mug into the microwave. “Just then, it starts to pour, and I’m like, ‘Great. Perfect. Justwhat I need.’ I’m about to go make a beeline for the train station when I look across the street, and Evan?”
“Yeah?”
“He’s just sitting there, on the steps of a church, in the rain.”
“Seriously?”
“So I go over and I’m confused, right? I ask him what he’s doing and he tells me he couldn’t go in and yadda yadda yadda. Long story short, he kissed me.”
“In the rain? On the steps of a church?”
“Yes. Well, on the sidewalk.”
“Wow.” I hear his Keurig make thatyour-coffee’s-just-about-donegurgle. “What did you do?”
“I kissed him back, and then his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Analise Renda.”
“No,” he seethed.
“Yes! And then I left.”
“Hold up. Why did he kiss you? I mean, not that you’re not, like, a total catch. Just saying.”
“Don’t say that in front of Oliver,” I reply. The microwave beeps, and I take out the mug.
“Oh my God, don’t even. I’m so mad at him right now. Some gym rat slid into his DMs yesterday so I Gram-banned him. It’s drama city over here. But back to you.”
“Well, don’t crucify Oliver for being hot. It’s not his fault. Plus, he’s as loyal as a puppy dog. Go easy on him.”
Evan sighs. “I like the tension. Leads to excellent makeup sex.”
“Fair enough.” I take a careful sip of my reheated coffee.
“Anyway, you were saying.”
“Right. So I guess it would help if I tell you the whole story.”
“Uh huh.”
