“I guess you’re right,” he says.
I smirk. “I usually am. Just ask Lilli.”
“Ash could have walked you.”
I make a face at him. “I’m not a dog.”
He laughs, throwing his head back, and I hate how it makes my stomach flutter. “Ash could haveaccompaniedyou, then.” I shrug; his edit is satisfactory. “But if he had, I would have missed out on you making a mess out of the keychains.”
“You’re insufferable,” I groan, but part of me is glad there’s space in all our tension and pent-up unspoken words for this lightness.
“You’re adorable,” he says. Unlike in the store, this was clear and loud. I stop and look at him—he’s smiling at me, and it’s genuine, without wicked mockery or playful teasing. He stands confidently and nudges his head toward the hotel.
I don’t know how to process anything with this man.
10 – Eric – Then
We had stayed up so late talking. After we left Lemon Drop, we grabbed some fast food and ate in the hotel lobby. Connie, Lilli, and I connected great. I hope Lilli didn’t feel like a third wheel, although I remember it that way. Connie and I were bonding, and Lilli was there too, as bad as that is to say. She had mostly spiraled into a deep dive of social media stalking, trying to learn more about Chris. After a bit, Lilli excused herself and went upstairs to watch her vlogs.
Only after the hotel staff changed shifts did I realize I should probably head home and get some rest. Still, we talked on the phone until I parked in the driveway. Connie texted me that Lilli was snoring when she got to her room. I offered her my sympathies, but gracious Connie simply replied that Lilli couldn’t help it.
We said goodnight, and I laid awake in bed as I attempted to organize all the information on Connie.
She was something else. My head was in a whirl, like I was in the twister that lifted Dorothy’s house off the ground and into Oz. My dreams were in technicolor.
She had brought something out in me. I was open with her and transparent, something I had locked away.
In the morning, I don’t wait to see if Connie texted me first—I called her while I got dressed. “Good morning,” I say.
“Hi, good morning.” Her voice was still waking up, and it sounded breathy and soft.
“You sound sleepy.”
“Yeah, this guy kept me up all night, talking and talking,” she teased. I could imagine her soft smile, her eyes closed.
“Hmm, someone should tell that guy to calm down,” I reply.
“Nah,” she laughs. “He’s pretty cute.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. Thankfully, though, I didn’t have to, as I heard Lilli’s muffled voice in the background.
“Lilli wants to know if we can go on a double date tonight and maybe go see a play?”
That almost made me pause. I knew Connie and I hit it off last night, but we just met. Are we dating? Does she want to be dating?
“That’s a bit presumptuous, isn’t it? They haven’t even met yet,” I said.
Connie’s response was laced with playful annoyance directed at Lilli. “I know, but she said they started messaging last night.”
“Good for them. Chris can be really cool,” I told her, which is true. Chris is cool. Like, the definition of the cool kid. She’s intimidating to me sometimes, but she’s fun, not mean. Just that general “cool girl” vibe.
My phone dinged: a text from Chris. “Speak of the devil,” I said.
“Oh?” Connie asked.
“Chris just texted me and asked if I wanted to carpool. Which would be fine, except her house is on the other side of where I am.”
Lilli’s mumbling in the background continued.
