Page 34 of Some Things Never Change

Cindy’s lips curled into a smirk as she rested her face on the palm of her hand. “And so are you.”

I sent her a flirty wink. “Thanks, babe. You’re pretty hot yourself. But you need to stop insinuating that Andy and I are a thing.”

She immediately raised her hands up in defense. “I’m not sorry, Julie. You know I love a good romance story.”

I rolled my eyes playfully as I shook my head. “Then fantasize about Andy and the receptionist he’s crushing on instead.”

“Someone sounds a little jealous over here.”

“I’m not jealous! I’m just stating the obvious.”

“Please! I’d rather dream about you getting together with your hot roommate and childhood best friend than him with his crush!”

“Cindy, stop! We need to head inside for work.”

She glanced at the watch on her wrist and groaned. She quickly pulled me to my feet and then gave me a quick hug. “Okay, enough with my mouth running off! Good luck on your first day and, remember, I’m paying for lunch.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Cindy.”

“By the way, if you want to invite Andy for lunch too, then I don’t?—”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun.”

“No.”

“Julie, text him right now. Invite. Him. For. Lunch. I want to see more of you two together so I can sleep happily, knowing knowing you’re living with your sexy best?—”

“I’m going to head inside. You can come in when you’re done talking to yourself.”

Cindy let out a laugh before following behind me. “Fine, I'll rest my case.”

Chapter

Fifteen

Before I knew it, another two weeks had flown by, and it was already going to be February.

Ever since starting work, I realized I had slowly become a person I’d never thought I’d be. I’d never been a morning gym type of person before, but here I was—waking up before five-thirty—just to go to the gym with Andy every other morning. It was the craziest thing I had ever done, but living with Andy and seeing how fit he was motivated me to work on myself.

My new life naturally became like clockwork: wake up, go to the gym, shower, eat, go to work, eat, come home, have dinner, and sleep.

Across from me sat Cindy as we ate our lunches under an umbrella on the enclosed outdoor plaza on a Monday afternoon. The rain had finally stopped pouring and everyone was taking advantage of the sunshine as various groups of workers took all the tables up.

“I know you barely just got here, but I think you should really consider dating again,” said Cindy.

We already talked all morning about the hiccups with current projects and clients, and I think she was tired of venting about the weird lighting fixtures her client was insistent on having in their kitchen. She took a bite of the homemade chicken wrap she brought.

I shrugged.

“I don’t know about that. I’ve been busy getting settled here in Santa Mariana. I started flipping furniture again, and it’s been fun. So, I think I’m going to put dating on the back burner because it can wait.”

I recently stained the double dresser I was working on into this beautiful caramel brown and I also added new, rustic hardware, making her look contemporary and modern. She’s now finally in my room and has done nothing but add more character to it.

I absolutely loved the results and was glad I took Andy's advice on taking it slow with the process. Through patience, my first attempt at flipping furniture again turned out much better than I expected. I am now even more excited to find the perfect nightstand for my new project.

“I know and I’m so excited for you! What you did with that ugly dresser you found was incredible! Honestly, I can’t wait to see where you take this hobby.” Cindy smiled. “But Julie, dating’s a great way to explore a new city. You can flip your old furniture during the day and also go out on a date with a nice guy at night. Don’t limit yourself to one thing at a time!”

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