I took a sip of my drink and decided there was no point in dragging it out. “I ran into Terrace Guy today.”
Sam’s eyes went so wide I thought they might actually fall out of his head. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me.”
“Terrace Guy. The guy from three years ago. The one-night stand you never shut up about.”
“I don’t talk about him that much.”
“Gianna, you literally compared every date I tried to set you up with to him. Remember Marcus from Contracts? You said he was nice but he wasn’t Terrace Guy.”
“Marcus talked about his ex for forty-five minutes straight.”
“Okay, fair. But still.” Sam leaned forward like this was the most interesting thing that had happened all year. “Start from the beginning. Where did you see him? What did he say? Are you seeing him again?”
“I ran into him after class. We got coffee. And yes, we’re getting dinner.”
“Dinner.” Sam repeated the word. “You. Gianna Pearson. Who hasn’t been on a date in two years. Are going to dinner. With Terrace Guy.”
“His name is Archie.”
“I don’t care if his name is Prince Charming, you need to be careful.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Careful?”
“Yes, careful. Men are a disaster these days, Gi. They’re all walking red flags hiding behind nice smiles and good cologne.”
“You’re a man,” I pointed out.
“I’m the exception. And Tyler, obviously.” He gestured at his boyfriend. “But other than us? Trash. All of them.”
Tyler laughed. “I love how you just lumped yourself into the ‘not trash’ category.”
“Because I’m self-aware enough to know my worth.”
“And humble,” I added.
“Extremely humble.” Sam turned back to me, his expression going serious. “But really. Are you sure about this? You don’t even know this guy.”
“I know enough.”
“That’s what every woman says before she ends up on a true crime podcast.”
“Sam.”
“I’m just saying. Be careful. Guard your heart. Don’t give him everything right away.”
I smiled at him, touched despite the dramatics. “I promise I’ll be careful. I always am.”
“Good.” He picked up his drink. “But if he hurts you, Tyler and I will destroy him.”
“Absolutely,” Tyler agreed. “I know people.”
“You own a bar.”
“A bar where I know people who know people.”
I laughed and felt some of the tension from the day ease out of my shoulders. This was good, sitting here with Sam and Tyler, joking about nothing important while the jukebox played something by The Cure.
