Her eyebrows raised. “Really? Tell me about it.”
“So, as you know, I live above a coffee shop.”
“Such a good choice, by the way.”
“Right? But anyway, a woman who works there introduced herself, and knowing someone helped a lot. I went down to try the coffee.”
“Yes! I’m so happy for you.” Scarlett’s smile was a mile wide. “How did it go?”
“It wasamazing. The coffee was so good. It was just black, but I swear I could taste vanilla and orange. But not in the flavored way, in the real way, like it was a note of the coffee bean.”
“That’s awesome. And how did you feel while there?”
My smile slowly faded. I knew I was here for this kind of thing, and talking about my emotions was good for me, but I hated having to go back to it.
I didn’t want to feel as nervous as I did.
“Scared. Very anxious. For a moment, I was sure I’d have to leave.”
“Why didn’t you?”
I could still see it. Theo stared at me with a slightly furrowed brow. He’d known I was uncomfortable, and for a while, that made it all worse.
Then he spoke with a low voice and I’d caught a glimpse of that tattoo.
Miraculously, it had worked.
“Piper?” Scarlett asked. “You got lost in thought.”
“Sorry.” I shook my head and tried to put my thoughts into words. “It went as a lot of them did. I was anxious the wholetime. I was about to leave, actually. Then I ran into someone who helped. It was the last person I expected.”
“Who was it?”
“This barista. His name was Theo. He was hot, and I was a little intimidated by him at first. But he was patient and he had this tattoo that was ... It reminded me to breathe.”
“It did?”
“That was literally what it said. And that snapped me out of it.”
“That’s good.” Her lips twisted. “Though, I do find it interesting that the first thing you mentioned was that he was hot.”
“To be fair, it was the first thing I noticed.” I let out a sigh. “If he has a girlfriend, she’s a lucky woman.”
“I’ve never heard you talk about a man before.”
“That would be because I never leave the house to see them.”
“You have left the house. You went to the bar in Knoxville, but the only thing you were concerned about was slowing down to prevent any more panic.”
“I did mention that one guy. And he lives here too.”
“Oh, so you didn’t bring him up until now? Even last time, you mentioned him in passing as a kind stranger. This seems different.”
My cheeks were hot. “Does it matter? He’s not even my usual type anyway.”
“What’s your type again?”
“Kind, unassuming men who are also in my age range. This one was older with tattoos and thick arms. Plus, his hair. My God, I thought men lost their hair, but it’s so thick, and he had this beard that?—”
