Chapter 1 – Noah
When Jenny asked me to be her plus-one at her roommate’s wedding, I thought things would be okay. Time heals all awkwardness and all that. Nope. Not even close. Small talk had never been this challenging for us. My head hurt from the effort. And I hated that we even needed small talk. Jenny and I had been the kind of coworker friends who could steal each other’s fries at lunch and race each other to the elevator on the way back into the office. Now we were practically strangers again, thanks to me.
I didn’t even know if I would be allowed back in the carpool group when I started my new job on Monday. I was still waiting for the right time to ask her because there was only one answer I was prepared to accept.
With the outdoor reception in full swing and dinner over, we were starting to look weird just standing off to the side not talking to each other. It was us and the crickets chirping by the koi pond. Oh, and the occasional ploop noise made by a fish breaching the surface. We’d already taken two mostly-silent strolls through the botanical garden and I was not about to suggest another one.
“We should dance.”
Jenny glanced up at me and sighed, like I’d announced we were on toilet scrubbing duty. She looked hot in her bright pink bridesmaid dress, even with her fiery red hair clashing against it. Personally, I’d always loved Jenny’s red hair and freckles, but I’d never told her. If watching Anne of Green Gables with my sister had taught me anything, it was that redheads did not want to talk about their hair color.
She followed me down the walkway and straight into the middle of the dance floor where the fun was being had. A Bruno Mars song blasted from a nearby speaker, loud enough to make our silence a lot less uncomfortable, but not so loud that conversation was out of the question. I was so done with safe subjects. Yes, the weather was nice in February, and that thunderstorm yesterday was pretty awesome. What we weren’t talking about was how today was Valentine’s Day, and Jenny had desperately needed arm candy. Me. I was Jenny’s emergency arm candy with none of the benefits. Not that I knew what arm candy benefits entailed, but I was for sure not getting them.
“So, on a scale of one to ten, how much do you hate me?” I asked, lightly pressing my palm into the small of her back and taking her hand. She stiffened, making me feel that much worse about tonight. I’d done this to her. I’d done this to us.
“I don’t hate you.”
“Denial must be exhausting.”
She met my eyes, looking determined. “I’m not in denial. Why would I ask you to be my date tonight if I hated you?”
“Because it’s exactly what I deserve.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. This is me eating crow. Feeling the wrath of Karma. Receiving penance. Getting a sweet serving of justice.”
She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. “Are you done?”
“Almost. This is payback. Sowing what I reap, or reaping what I sow. However that one goes. Retrib—”
Jenny took her hand off my shoulder and covered my mouth with it, cutting me off. We used to joke around like this all the time, about my lack of a filter and her overwhelming need to give me one. However, a lot of things had changed since then, including my reaction to her touching me. My whole body froze with awareness, and it didn’t escape her notice. She pulled her hand away and fisted it. “I’m not trying to give you the silent treatment. I’m just not sure what to say to you anymore.”
“I know.” I really did. Jenny had zero reasons to trust me, and she didn’t even know half of what had happened behind the scenes at work last year before I’d gotten a promotion and left for our California branch.
I guided us away from a cackling older couple and tried again at conversation. “I really like the dragon carousel featured on the website. You found that, didn’t you?”
She shrugged. “Why do you say that?”
“Just a guess. It seemed like an item you’d pick out, appealing to both adults and kids, especially those who like to read. It’s the sort of thing you keep on your nightstand and spin while you wait for sleep to come.”
“It’s too bad you’re not there to market it. Maybe it would sell better.”
“It’s not selling well?” That surprised me.
“I didn’t say that.” She smiled and raised one shoulder.
I should have known better. Jenny didn’t put her might behind products that wouldn’t sell. She had the perfect eye for it.
She studied me. “What happened to your promotion in California? Why aren’t you with the company anymore?”
I was tempted to give her the full answer, to get the poisonous feeling secrets created out of me right here and right now. But tonight was not the time for it. I had to be patient.
“It wasn’t what I expected.”
“So, now you’re working in the building west of me for someone else?”
“Yep.”
