“I very much doubt that,” she said.
Ziya raised an eyebrow. “That they’re all going into consulting?”
“That you’re afraid to ask.”
That got a smile out of Ziya. “Okay, yeah, I asked someone about it. Ask me if I remember anything she said, though.”
“And you call yourself a good listener,” Amie teased. A warm feeling was beginning to grow in her chest, like a popcorn bag in a microwave.
“Iama good listener!” Ziya protested. “I listened. It’s just that, y’know, none of it really stuck.” She covered her face with embarrassment. “Oh my god, then later she messaged me asking me out, and—” She stopped suddenly, uncovering her face. Eyes wide, she studied Amie’s expression. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned that.”
Amie shrugged. The popcorn bag had deflated, leaving a bunch of cold, buttery kernels rattling around in her chest. “It’s fine.I’m … I mean, we can talk about stuff like that. If you’re seeing someone—”
“I’m not,” Ziya said quickly, waving her hands as if trying to stop a car from running into her.
Shit.Amie thought she was past that.
“I turned her down,” Ziya continued. “I just thought it was just a funny story, because …” She looked pained as she trailed off. “It’s actually not that funny. Never mind.”
She fell silent, which was unfortunate for Amie, who desperately needed a distraction from the prickly feeling that had begun to climb back up her spine.
A couple feet and she would’ve been gone. Just like that.
Thankfully, the waiter chose that moment to return with their drinks and take their meal orders.
“Can I get the fettuccine alfredo?” Ziya asked.
“What?” Amie blurted out.
Ziya glanced at her. “Fettuccine alfredo?”
Amie flipped through the menu, trying to disguise her shock at Ziya requesting Amie’s time loop restaurant order. “I … wow, I didn’t even see that on the menu!”
“I never knew how much you loved fettuccine alfredo,” Ziya said as the waiter walked away. “Or is this a new thing?”
Amie groaned, covering her face with her hands. She heard Ziya chuckling, and felt a single kernel pop in her chest.
Ziya’s laughter died down as Amie uncovered her face. The prickly sensation wasn’t letting up, and it apparently showed in her face.
“I was just teasing you,” Ziya said gently. “You’re fine. I’m nervous, too.”
Nowthiswas new information to Amie. “You’re nervous?”
“Of course.” Ziya fidgeted with her silverware. “I want this to go well. I want us to be able to be friends.” She glanced up at Amie, brows knit together. “But if you need—”
“No!” Amie said, straightening. “I’m good. Great, even. I’m just feeling a little off, but not about this. I feel good about this.”
She hoped they could move on to a new topic, but wasn’t surprised when Ziya asked, “Why are you feeling off?”
Amie debated saying something about not getting a good night’s sleep, or getting her period, or Mercury being in retrograde. But since she wasn’t sure if Mercury was in retrograde, or what it even meant for Mercury to be in retrograde, she instead said, “You almost got hit by a car.”
Ziya looked surprised, as if she’d already forgotten that had happened. “I wouldn’t sayalmost. Sure, it was close, but I have amazing reflexes.”
Her smile dimmed as she studied Amie’s face. “It really got to you.”
“Yeah.” Amie stared at her napkin, feeling very vulnerable.
“Hm.” Ziya folded her hands on the table. “Well, I have fifteen psychology credits, so let’s put them to good use.”
