I turned toward the aisle before he could see how flushed my face was and excused myself to the ladies’ room.
The hallway leading to the restroom was lined with mirrors. I kept checking my reflection to see if I looked as manic as I felt, but all I saw was a dolled-up version of myself in a long red dress. Had I just hallucinated that entire first act? I wondered if the last forty-five minutes had been anywhere close to the same experience for him.
I washed my hands and splashed cold water on my face. I climbed the stairs up to the lobby, almost tripping twice, wondering if I should make up an excuse to leave. If I made it through the next act, my pragmatic approach to our friendship was going to be crushed.
He was waiting by the door to our section. He handed me a granola bar. “Snagged this for you,” he said with a huge grin.
I was sure I’d imagined everything.
“Shall we? The second half is the best part,” he said with so much conviction, it made me laugh.
It seemed like he was intentionally angled away from me for the rest of the ballet. Even without the physical distraction, I could barely pay attention. My body was there, but my mind was a million miles away,trying to regain the pragmatism about our relationship that had been decimated by his physical proximity.
I tucked my clutch and the program under my right arm and mimicked a sincere ovation.
“Want to grab a slice of pizza before we meet up with Perry and her friends?” he whispered.
I nodded. I needed food and fresh air.
We walked a block south of Lincoln Center and hailed a cab going down Broadway. I watched him turn on his iPhone and realized he’d turned it off during the performance, rather than just switch to silent like everyone else. I had no idea why, but something about that made me smile.
Chapter Thirty-Three
We walked into Scallywag’s half an hour later.
“I don’t think that edible knew it was going from Lincoln Center to a pub,” Charlie said as he huffed air onto his glasses to clean them.
“This dress definitely had no idea,” I said, scanning for an opening at the bar. I needed a mixed drink badly.
“If I’d known that dress was a rental, I might not have suggested we end the night at a place called Scallywag’s.”
I laughed. “It just means I won’t be dancing on the bar, which isn’t a bad thing.”
I pulled a miniature hand sanitizer from my clutch.
“How does that even fit in there?” he asked, holding out his hand for some.
“It fitsonekey,onecredit card, and this hand sanitizer.”
“The essentials.”
I’d never felt more overdressed in my life. We walked past a line of confused stares toward the back of the bar, where Perry and her friends were spread out over three pub tables backlit by hanging TVs playing the Celtics game.
“Charlie!” a brunette shouted, waving us over. Perry was almost as tall as Charlie, with tanned skin, long brown hair, and a warm smile.
Perry hugged Charlie tightly and ruffled the back of his head. “I won’t tell Mum you still haven’t found a barber in New York,” she teased as I noticed she had an even stronger Boston accent than Charlie.
“This is Sam. She works with me at the firm, but that’s where any similarity between us ends. I drew the short end of the stick, and she’s killing it.”
I held out my hand as Perry leaned in. “I’m a hugger,” she said cheerfully.
She stood back and looked at both of us. “I totally zoned out when you told me what you guys were doing earlier, but I’ve never felt more like a slouch in my life. You two clean up nicely!”
“We were at the ballet,” Charlie reminded her.
“Oh boy. I keep telling you, women don’t actually want you to try so hard.”
I felt myself blush. I realized I had no idea what he’d told her about us.
