“I had the best date with Julian last night,” she admitted, biting her lip. “We have such a good time together. I feel like he just gets me, you know? We click.”
“The guy you’re not wanting anything serious with,” Mia said teasingly. “You seem half-way in love with him already.”
“Maybe I have a crush. Is that so horrible?” Cierra asked defensively.
“No, crushes are fine. But I know you, Cierra Brooks. Have for a long time. It seems like you’re really into this guy. Andnothing is wrong with that. But I just want to make sure that you’re being honest with yourself.”
Cierra looked at her friend, slightly annoyed at her accusations. “Mia, I’m fine. I’m having a good time dating. I thought if anyone would be supportive of that, it’d be you.”
“I am! I am. But, it’s just you got with Harry so quickly after everything that went down with Colton. You didn’t have a lot of time to like, process it all.”
“What was there to process? It was all pretty cut and dry, from what I remember.” At this comment, Mia sighed. It was a sensitive subject, even all these years later. But how could it not be? Cierra met Colton in college, she was a junior, he was a senior. He was nothing like any of the guys she’d been with before: incredibly hot, D1 athlete, life-of-the party attitude. When he’d first approached her at Delta Psi’s kegger, she couldn’t believe it was happening; it had felt like the moment in a high school movie when the quarterback asks the clarinet-player to homecoming, despite all odds.
How special she had felt, then, to be chosen by Colton Hastings, the golden boy of Boston University. It didn’t matter they never seemed to go on actual dates, more like late-night rendezvous when he was available. It didn’t matter that he never introduced her to his family and barely brought her around his friends. He cared about her; he just liked to keep his love life separate. Didn’t want any drama. Could she blame him for wanting some boundaries in his life? It had made so much sense, at twenty-two, to move to New York City, following him after graduation. Without distance or college jitters getting in the way of their happily ever after, they were finally going to be a real couple.
But then, one weekend, she’d woken up to a drunken voice note. Slurred words conveyed how he felt guilty, how he wished he could’ve ended it sooner and how she deserved to be withsomeone who could love her for all of her. Three months later, she saw on social media that he was engaged to a fitness model. They had been dating for over a year.
Back in the present, Cierra fiddled with her shorts, understanding the concern in Mia’s voice — she’d been the one to pick up the pieces. But Cierra had grown since then, and didn’t want to overcorrect, cutting herself off from feeling anything. “This isn’t like that. I’m not the same girl. I’m really trying to explore and just enjoy myself for once. I promise I’m alright. Can you just trust that I know what I’m doing here?”
Mia shifted in her seat, with a resigned expression. “Okay. I believe you.”
“Okay.”
The two women sat in the cramped room, both quiet, before Mia huffed. “If I drop the subject, will you still get me a souvenir?” she said jokingly.
Cierra accepted the olive branch. “Sure. Anything in particular you want?”
“Hmm,” Mia thought. “A magnet. For my fridge.”
“A magnet? Really?”
“What?! I have all these cute photo both pics of us and realized I don’t have anything to hang them up with.”
With a sigh and a grin, Cierra walked over to Mia and put her arms around her, touched. “You’re a great friend, you know that?”
Exasperated, Mia said, “Yeah, duh.”
“And yes, I think I can manage that.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ZELDA, ELLIOT, ERIK, and Nadine were already at the gate by the time Cierra arrived at La Guardia airport. Erik was sitting next to a woman Cierra had never met; she was gorgeous without a lick of make-up. They were holding matching coffee cups, laughing while watching the overhead news together. Elliot was leisurely playing a game on his iPad, munching on a flaky almond croissant, with a loving hand resting on his wife’s thigh. Zelda was furiously typing away on her work phone; her eyebrows were deeply furrowed, creating parallel lines between them that looked like skis.
“Morning,” Cierra said as she reached the merry travelers.
Zelda’s head snapped up. “Oh, Cierra, thank God you’re here. I was getting worried.”
“Babe, we don’t start boarding for another forty-five minutes,” Elliot said, his exhausted tone suggesting their morning had been far less leisurely than hers.
“I know, I know, it’s just . . . whatever. Glad you made it on time.”
“Of course, thanks for arranging the car.”
Even though Cierra’s apartment was only twenty minutes from the airport, Zelda had insisted on sending a black suburban, which Cierra had no desire to refuse. There was even a to-go coffee waiting for her on the console when the driver arrived; the cup was still hot.
“Morning, Cierra,” Erik said cheerily. He gestured to the beautiful dark-haired woman beside him. “This is Nadine. Nadine, this is Cierra.”
“It’s great to finally meet you,” Nadine said with a warm smile. “Everyone’s been going on about you,” she said while hunching her shoulders in intrigue. “I feel like I’m meeting a celebrity.”
