When he’s gone, I take deep breaths, return to my desk, and pick my phone back up. New messages have arrived.
11
10
9
Be my lunch date?
NSYNC4eva
Think we can get home and back in under an hour?
I was thinking the bathroom stall, the copy room, your office with the door locked, but I’ll go anywhere you want me to, gorgeous
I was supposed to fit some Halloween shopping in over lunch, but thatdoessound appealing. Who am I kidding? I’ll take my first hour-long lunch break in years to fit in some extra time with this guy. The hours we fit in whenever he can sneak over aren’t enough.
I’m still contemplating how to respond whenanotherintrusion into my office happens. I hear the steps, the flip and the flop of the platform sandals, and some part of me registers who it is, but my brain already put my mouth in motion, and it’s too late to stop it.
“Jesus Christ, does no one fucking knock anymore?!”
By the time my eyes and brain have caught up with one another, my hand is over my mouth and I’m making apology eyes at my best friend.
“Sheesh!” Chrissy says. “Tough crowd. Just wanted to drop off lunch for Chance, he forgot it at home, and thought I’d surprise you with an iced coffee.”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry,” I tell her, sprinting out of my seat. “Been nonstop this morning so far.”
She’s still by the door, so I tell her to close it and come on in.
I tap out a quick response to Asher before I give her all of my attention.
Sorry. Intruders in my office again. But if you can make it to my place in less than ten minutes in that Jeep, I’ll see you there at 12:10, otherwise it’ll have to wait till tonight, lover boy
I toss my phone to the side and give her everything I have to offer. When I lock gazes with her, she’s looking at me way too suspiciously.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Nothing!” I chirp, grabbing the iced coffee that’s still full from her hand and gulping down a large sip. Fuck, this is good. Is there unicorn powder in here? Pixie dust? Fairy farts? It’s the elixir of life, and I need to know how.
“Nothing?” she echoes dryly, that signature smoky rasp to her voice.
I widen my eyes innocently, do a little frown/shrug combo with my mouth, and shake my head back and forth, staring at her.
“Okay, seriously, Ellie? You’re going to tell me there’s nothing going on in your life right now?”
The overwhelming urge to suck in a sharp breath almost wins out, but I force myself to act normal, suppress my heart that’s trying to betray me by beating right out of my chest. Lower my unbearably cheesy grin that keeps sneaking out after that text exchange to a level that’sslightlyless star-bright so that when I’m facing my best friend—who knows all my tells, yet has no idea what she isn’t being told right now—I don’t give it all away with my damn face.
“What do you mean?” I can only hope that came out as innocent and as genuine as I might’ve sounded a few weeks ago.
Chrissy rolls her eyes and scoffs. “You think I haven’t noticed that you’re giddy as fuck? That you grin every time you look at your phone for months now? That your cheeks are flushed and you look like theyouI haven’t seen in a long fucking time? The one who is alive and loving life and not just managing it like another project? You’re either secretly dating a rock star—ooh remind me to tell you about this book I’m reading—or you finally got that vibrator I’ve been telling you about for years.”
I actually snort as I laugh, then ponder my best friend’s knowing stare for a moment before I respond. “Look, I know I had gotten a little…complacentin my life with David, and honestly, it’s refreshing discovering some aspects of myself I thought I was done with since we split. I do feel different, I am trying to really enjoy life, and I am happy. But there’s no secret rock star, I promise.” I word that promiseverycarefully, hope she doesn’t ask what secrets Iamkeeping.
Chrissy raises an eyebrow at me, one hand on her hip. “So, it’s the vibrator, then?”
I roll my eyes, shove her lightly in the shoulder, both of us cracking up. “Stop! Can’t I just be happy?”
“Of course you can. And it’s so fucking good to see you like this again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you glowing like this, girl. You and David always seemed solid, but he never made you light up like this. I’m trying not to be hurt that you aren’t telling me everything, but I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready, and it’s obvious that you really are ridiculously happy. And I’m happy for you.”
