They exchanged small smiles.
“So this is hella awkward for both of us. Great,” Mabel said. “Pull up a chair.”
An hour later, Thea was flipping mics on and off and queuing up songs like a champ. They’d even managed to defrost the ice enough that Thea invited Mabel to a beginner’s yoga class that weekend.
“It’s a new gym, and I don’t have anybody to go with,” she confessed.
Mabel wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never done yoga.”
The other woman immediately backtracked. “It’s okay. No big deal. You’ve probably already got weekend plans with Aiden, right?”
Lord, exactly how many people were invested in their non-relationship? “Uh no, we don’t have plans for Saturday. We’re not dating or anything. Just friends.”
Thea didn’t seem to hear Mabel’s disclaimer. “He’s always been that good-looking, even when we were kids.” She sighed and propped her chin on her hand. “I always wondered what I’d do with a guy that pretty. I’d probably spend our time together just petting his hair.”
“Yeah, he’s a nice guy,” Mabel agreed, vaguely uncomfortable discussing Aiden’s charms.
“Nice guy?” Thea scoffed. “‘Nice guy’ is not the first descriptor that comes to mind. ‘Intimidatingly attractive.’ ‘Temptation on two legs.’ ‘Boyfriend goals.’ Not ‘nice.’”
“Eh.” Mabel knew exactly which temptation on two legs she wanted. Compared to Jake, Aiden was just… a guy. Eager for a new topic, she asked, “Hey, want me to show you how to voice track?”
That evening,Mabel and Dave climbed into the station van following their public appearance at the Toys for Tots kickoff at Beaucoeur’s outdoor mall. Dave had been unusually terse throughout the event, so Mabel propped one booted foot on the dashboard and attempted to talk him out of his bad mood. At least the van had started on the first try, so she had that going for her.
“Hey, how do you think the new hire’s doing?”
The one area where Brandon had come through was in finding a new deejay for late nights, but Dave shrugged off her question and kept driving in silence.
“I mean, Javier could be babbling in Aramaic on the air, and I’d still be thrilled,” she said. “Anything to get us out of voice tracking nights, right?”
Still nothing from the driver’s seat, so she plowed ahead. “We always chat a little when we do the handoff. He seems nice enough.”
Dave nodded, finally joining the conversation. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure he’s a vampire though.”
A laugh exploded from her throat. “He issoa vampire! Pale, quiet, thin. Are we sure Brandon found him in Arizona and not Transylvania?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me.”
She waited for Dave to continue their game with another quip, but he didn’t offer anything, so she picked back up with her one-woman show. “I bet he carries a little graveyard dirt in his pocket.”
His lips quirked, but he didn’t return the volley.
“I mean, he definitely orders his garlic bread with no garlic, if you know what I mean.” She would’ve pushed on, but when her phone buzzed in her pocket, she dug it out to read the incoming text.
“That from your boyfriend or your other boyfriend?” Dave asked.
“Neither. It’s my mom asking what time I’ll be home for Thanksgiving,” she said absently. Then, “Hey! I do not have two boyfriends.”
Dave shrugged. “If you say so.”
His easy acceptance of her denial needled her. “I don’t haveanyboyfriends. I’ve told you a million times that Aiden and I are just friends. And Jake and I are keeping things professional.”
Even before Dave’s scoff was fully formed, she admitted to herself that the last part was a lie. She and Jake’s daily texting had abandoned professionalism ages ago.
“You need to quit using Aiden.”
Mabel’s head snapped back at Dave’s sharp tone. “Excuse me? Aiden’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Right. Does he know you’re just killing time with him because you’re too chickenshit to admit that you’d rather be with Jake? Who, by the way, is still hung up on you. Have you considered that you might be hurting him every time you send another ‘professional’ text?”
