Page 71 of The Bright Side of Brooding
Katie said, “And a generous hostess.”
Bec chimed in, her eyes wide on the table in front of her. “And amazing food and drinks.”
Emily gave us a grin. “And tingles.”
We all burst out laughing at that, but we raised our glasses high, then drank. The tart, spicy liquid refreshed and cooled my mouth, then warmed my belly. I scooted to the edge of my seat and waved dramatically over the food. “Apps are chipotle chicken taquitos with cotija crema. Bacon, chicken, and pepper jack quesadillas. Chips, salsa, guacamole.”
“I love you. I’ll say it now, and I’m sure again later. But I love you.”
Emily didn’t glance at me as she piled food on her plate. Bec and Katie did the same, and I breathed in the moment. The soothing, peaceful satisfaction of feeding friends settled over me, and my heart glowed with that familiar feeling.
After a few minutes of eating and exclaiming how delicious everything was, we relaxed into easy conversation about work, updating on the latest. Since they all worked at the Ed Center, their update was short and sweet. Then they turned to me.
“The donation drive’s going decently well, I think. It’ll run through spring break, but I know most stuff will come in before people leave for their trips. So I’m within about ten days of having a solid sense of the final amounts, and then I can get it sorted.”
An anxious little spike shot up in my belly. I hoped it’d turn out to be a success. In theory, any amount of donations would be a success because it was food and boots the people receiving them wouldn’t otherwise have. But in reality, I wanted to be able to quantify the amount of donations and have it sound impressive. It needed to signal my ability to manage.
“That’s amazing. There’s nothing we can do to help, right?” Bec asked, setting aside her now-empty plate.
“No. Truly. It’s sort of on autopilot at this point. Thank you.”
They wanted to help, and instead of that grating, I felt touched. I knew they genuinely meant what they offered. But it was fairly low-maintenance.
A smoky curl of concern rose in the back of my mind, but I mentally waved it away.
“And what about Nicholas Masters?” Emily asked with a sly smile.
I gulped down the sip of margarita in my mouth, immediately nervous and excited by the sound of his name. “Uh. We’re dating? I think?”
Bec cocked her head to the side like it might give her a better view of the situation while Katie’s brow furrowed. Emily finished chewing and jumped in.
“You think?”
“Well, we went out in London. And I know he likes me.” I swallowed, my belly contracting with an anxious little zip. He definitely liked me. A lot.
Emily pointed at me. “What’s that face?”
Bec chuckled. “Nice, Emily.”
Emily held up her hands in innocence. “What? I’m just trying to get a read on this situation. We’ve got two of the most beautiful peopleevercircling around each other for months, and I want the goods. Have you kissed? No good?”
The furious blush burned in my cheeks. “We have. And… uh, very good.”
I laughed, and the smile exploded on my face. Why deny it? The chemistry between us was not an issue.
All three of them exclaimed something along the lines of “Yes!” and “Ooh!” like they were celebrating with me. The silliness of that, and yet the sweetness, struck me. How wonderful to have people rooting for me like this. To celebrate something good or fun in my life.
It threw into sharp relief how alone I’d been. I didn’t think of myself that way because I hosted dinner parties and had a social job, but I had very few people who knew me. That these women were here, supporting me, wanting to know about the details of my life, made my chest feel like someone had inflated a balloon behind my ribs. I cleared my throat of the emotion creeping up and smile at them.
“He’s just… different than I expected,” I admitted.
“Different, bad?” Bec asked.
“No. Different like… I never imagined someone like him existed. Like I was expecting a cake from a box mix and instead got something baked from scratch, with top-notch ingredients. Like he’s a little too good to be true, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
There. Got it out. I’d been circling the thought all day, but it seemed silly. He was, after all, a human man. He was kind of grumpy and a bit awkward in social situations. He could be stingy with his words.
Yeah, or extremely generous with them.
