“Are you sure? What if you meet and it’s like an online-friends- to-real-life-lovers situation and then—”
“The plan is simple.” I lifted a finger, interrupting her segue into romance novels. “We’re not going to meet. We’re never going to meet. And I’ve told her so. I like her where she is, exactly how she is.”
“Oh.” She scrunched her lips up on one end, and I assumed she was withholding all her questions.
But there was no way to explain why I needed this internet stranger to confide in when Claire was always ready to listen. I didn’t know how to tell her that, while all I wanted was for my friends to be happy, it was hard seeing them expand their own personal lives without me, and Lily was… mine and somehow completely unaffected by anything going on in or around my life.
Besides, no real person could ever live up to the Lily I had in my mind, and I didn’t expect them to. She was perfect. I definitely wasn’t anything like my online persona.
“I’m presenting at a transportation conference in a couple weeks,” I said, hoping to change the topic.
Claire’s face lit up, despite not knowing anything about the conference or engineering. “Ooooh, when? Where? Can I come?”
“It’s in LA, and pretty last minute, so I really don’t expect you to join,” I said, amused. “I need to double-check the date, but it’s on a Friday.” I blew out a long breath. There was a mixture of nervousness and excitement at the thought of presenting my research.
“Awesome,” she said. “Presentations are your thing. Which is weird for someone who doesn’t like talking.”
I chuckled and shook my head. It was a little different when I had the opportunity to prepare what I’d be saying.
Claire raised a brow. “So, you said you’d tell me about your new intern in person. What’s his deal? Is he awful?”
“She’snot awful. She’s…” How was I supposed to describe Elizabeth? “Interesting.”
“How so?”
I bit into the muffin and thought about Elizabeth while chewing. Where should I begin? “She’s wearing butterfly clips.”
Claire squawked. “Is that a problem?”
“In my office.”
“Mmm-hmm. How dare she? A criminal offense, really.”
“As an engineer, it…” I said, struggling to find the point I was trying to make.
She shook her head. “You’re full of crap sometimes.”
I tutted, swallowing hard and taking another big bite. “She hums.”
“At least she doesn’t sing.”
“She doesn’t eat.”
“What do you mean? Everyone eats.” Claire bit into her muffin.
“She doesn’t. I’ve seen her drink coffee, plenty of it. But never eating. At lunchtime, I’m the only one chewing in the office.” I crumpled up the brown paper bag. “No snacks, even.”
“She could be trying to lose weight.”
“She looks great as is.”
Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say.
Claire’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. “Maybe she’s trying to save cash. Engineers in these internships can’t be getting paid too much, can they?”
“She doesn’t need the money.”
“How would you know?” Claire crossed her arms.
