Page 49 of Stick With Me
Me:
SOS. Going to need rescuing soon.
Pulling up the app, I scroll through the guy’s profile. He seems nice enough, but I can’t muster the same enthusiasm as my friends. Not just for this guy, but for any of the profiles we’ve seen. None of them feel right. It’s… I actually don’t know what it is. It just feels wrong. But I have a feeling I’m not leaving Ada’s place without at least giving this a chance so I relent. “Fine, we can see if we match.”
“Eeeek!” Ada grabs the phone back from me and swipes right before I can change my mind. “And you matched! What should we message him?”
“Umm. Hi?”
Natalie rolls her eyes. “You’re hopeless.” Then she turns her attention to Ada. “Let the masters work.”
“Oh God,” I groan.
Ada giggles. “He says he loves your green eyes, that they are more beautiful than emeralds,” she reads the words, deepening her voice for dramatic effect.
We turn toward each other and break into a fit of laughter. When I catch my breath, I ask, “Are we done? Have you had your fun?”
“Oh, hell no! I’m just getting started.” There’s laughter in her voice as she types, reading as she goes. “I could get lost in your ocean-blue ones.”
“You can’t be serious.” I shake my head, needing more wine for this. After opening another bottle, I refill both my and Ada’s glasses.
“Ada, I’m glad Hannah has someone with game there, in my absence,” Natalie says with a straight face.
Ada deepens her voice again as she reads, “Thank you, sweetheart. Can I take you out?” She drops the deep tone and chimes in with her own thoughts, “Ew, sweetheart, major ick. But we’ll forgive the too-early use of pet names. So, are we doing this?” She raises a brow, waiting for my answer.
“Tell him yes,” Natalie answers for me.
“You want me to go out with him after that?” I can’t hide the incredulity in my voice.
“You’re not going to marry the guy, but why not? It’ll be the perfect test run,” Natalie argues her case. “And don’t forget, youneeda plus-one.”
I take a generous gulp of wine. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it.”
Ada pumps her fist in the air and types away with the other. She tosses my phone, which lands with a soft thump in my lap. “My work here is done. You have a date on Friday.”
We sign off with Natalie, promising to get together when she’s in town. With a sigh, Ada flops back onto the couch, crossing her arms over her head like finding me a date truly drained her. She peeks out from under her arms. “You know, not all men are like your ex, right?”
“Of course.” I mean statistically speaking, it’s impossible for them all to be terrible.
I know at least one man who’s far from terrible,my stupid head—or maybe it’s my heart—offers unhelpfully.
TWENTY
I pullup to an older brick apartment building and ring apartment 2B. A woman’s voice, I’m guessing Ada, answers, and I introduce myself. She tells me she’s sending Hannah down, and through the glass of the entryway, I spot her quickening her steps down the stairs when she sees me.
As soon as she steps through the door, she practically tackles me with a hug. “Thank you for picking me up,” she mumbles into my chest.
“No problem. I take it you had a good time?” I chuckle, guiding her toward my double-parked car.
I open the door, securing her in before I round the car. She’s definitely not as drunk as I originally thought. Her eyes are clear when they meet mine, a shy smile lifting one side of her lips more than the other.
“Did I wake you? Sorry, it’s so late. I would’ve been fine taking a rideshare home.”
I really like hearing her call our placehome.
“I know, but it makes me feel better. This way, I know you’re safe.” I give her a small smile before turning my attention back to the road, which is mostly empty with it being so late.
“Well, I appreciate it.” She turns, angling her body toward me. Her fingers gently brush over my brow, and I can’t stop the wince when she prods the tender flesh. “Oh God, this looks bad. Did you need stitches?!” Her voice rises. “You said you were fine!”
