“I…don’t think I will,” Mel replied.
“Great choice,” Eri agreed, and they watched Mel slink out of the tent.
Elias wrapped an arm around Eri’s waist and whispered in her ear. “You’re cute when you’re possessive.”
She playfully glared at him over her shoulder, and he couldn’t help but kiss her before returning to ensure he had everything. All in all, it turned out to be a good first event. Whether they would do it again was yet to be seen.
29
Eri looked over the designs she had created. She had several, likely more than Koa would need, but she wanted to have options for the other woman to choose from. She knew how much of a big deal working with Koa was. It would help Eri reach potential clients she otherwise wouldn’t have. Having several designs also allowed her to add more to her portfolio, even if Koa didn’t choose them.
Koa had reached out to Eri the day after the event. It had quickly turned into a video call, where they discussed what she was looking for and paid a deposit for the work. They weren’t meeting until the following week, which would have given her two weeks to create merch designs, but she’d been so excited that she’d gotten it done in a few days. Eri would do some touch-ups before the meeting, but was happy with what she came up with.
She glanced at the time on her computer before saving her designs. She exited her office, grabbed the gift bag, and left her apartment.
Twenty minutes later, she pulled in behind Avian’s car. Eri knocked on the door, and when her friend answered, she held up the bag.
“Happy birthday!” she exclaimed, doing a little birthday jig.
Avian laughed, stepping aside to let her in, and they shared a hug.
“Thank you,” Avian responded.
“I didn’t just come bearing gifts,” Eri announced. “I’m also taking you to lunch.”
They entered the living room, and Eri set the gift bag between them once they were seated on the couch.
Avian removed the decorative paper before pulling out two yoga sets. One purple and one green. Eri thought it would be perfect for her to teach in. After the sets, she pulled out a small foldable duffel with her name on it, with a water bottle holder at the end. She could use it as a dance bag. Eri knew she currently used her backpack. She’d also made sure that it wasn’t something Marco planned to get her.
“Thanks, Eri. This is perfect.”
“You’re welcome. Eventually, when you open your own studio, I want to get you some with the name you choose on there.”
“I think that’s a couple of years from now, but I love the confidence.”
“The same confidence you have in me,” Eri replied. “Come on. Let’s go to lunch.”
“Do you know what Marco has planned for your birthday?” Eri inquired when they were halfway through lunch.
“I have no idea. He won’t tell me. I know he’s taking me out tonight, but he also has something planned for the weekend because he asked me to make sure my schedule was clear.”
“We both know that whatever he has planned, you’ll enjoy it.”
“I always do,” Avian responded with a smirk. “Anyway, on another note, a woman who frequents my classes told me about this Fourth of July event happening at the park. She said it’s like a carnival. The company she works for and a few others are hosting it. We should go. It sounds like it could be fun.”
Eri nodded. “I think I saw something about that on social media yesterday. But yeah, we should. We can invite Nesiah and Javier and make it a triple date.”
“That works for me.”
Eri knew they’d invite Ricardo too, but recently, unless they were hanging out in a group with other singles, he’d taken to turning down their offers, not wanting to be the seventh wheel.
“Did your mom call you today?”
“Yeah, she did. She called this morning and wished me a happy birthday. We didn’t talk long, but she wants to take me to dinner next week to celebrate.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That I would let her know if I was free.”
