Page 26 of Fly Back to Me
Nothing new here. This is classic Jenna who reaches out to me when she’s not preoccupied at work. Or rather, with someone else.
She’ll convince me she wants to work on things and lather the effort on only to rinse the steps forward. Then repeat.
But the worst part? I fall for the act every time. She shines a glimmer of hope, and I run toward the sparkle without hesitation.
My palms drop from my head, flipping my phone face down. It’s a little past noon when I tuck my laptop in its sleeve and pocket my phone in my jeans. I stand to shrug on my leather jacket, snatching my computer before traveling toward the door.
Briefly, I flick my head over my shoulder, scouting out any pairs of eyes that might be on me. And when the coast is clear, I pad up to the same spot the mystery woman was occupying a little bit ago.
My eyes narrow, connecting a line from paper to paper to track her location, until I finally target it.
Fly back to me.
Possibilities revolve around my mind, brows drawing as Iattempt to crack the meaning like the Da Vinci code. Or some foreign sentence I’ve been summoned to translate.
An ex-boyfriend?
A family member?
A friend?
“Excuse me.”
My attention whips to the guy trying to surf between me and the expanding line at the order counter. I step aside to allow him room, the volume of the surrounding voices toppling over me like a tidal wave.
The front area of the café is now flooded with a sea of people. I swallow thickly, momentarily returning my eyes to the Post-it note that hooked me in longer than it should have.
Then I flee out the doors.
Chapter 12
Olivia
“Oww!” Lauren exclaims behind me. “Cake, cake, cake, cake.” She sways her hips through each word, arms shooting up in her cowl neck sweater dress.
I grin as my eyes find her through the full-length mirror. “Okay, fine. I’ll cancel my Brazilian butt lift tomorrow,” I tease, centering the gold buckle of my black belt. “Such a pity though.”
Lauren chuckles when I pivot to the side. I examine how my off-the-shoulder crop sweater sits on top of my high-rise jeans when she says, “Apparently, I’m going for the Ariana Grande circa 2017 look.” I spin around, and Lauren’s hand waves down the length of her outfit while she sits on the edge of my bed. And yeah, I’d say she hit the nail on the head.
High pony.Check.Tall leather boots.Check.Oversized sweater dress.Check.
My eyes flutter, the back of my hand resting under my chin. “Okay, okay, do me.”
“Hmm,” she drawls, her maroon-tipped finger tapping her glossy lips. “It’s giving a cross between Hailey Bieber and Madelyn Cline. With a fat ass, apparently.”
I place my hands at my hips, tipping my chin in victory. “The best compliment a girl can get before she goes out on the town.”
“The fact that you’re comparing ‘going out on the town’ to going to one place at six in the evening is concerning. How long has it been, Liv?”
“Too long,” I exhaust, rotating to inspect my reflection again. Then my fingers tousle through my curtain bangs before sifting through the rest of my hair. “I live to be an extrovert. What is this misery?”
“You needed to wait until you were ready. And we also need to do this your way. Early and short. Get in and get out.”
My shoulders slump on a pout, hands dropping to my sides. Then I move to my best friend, cupping her soft cheeks in both my palms as I say, “You’re the best, you know that? And you look hot. If no guy tells you that tonight, I’m clocking them in the face.”
Her eyes hood skeptically. “One unfortunate encounter at a coffee shop and you’re a changed woman.”
“Ah, yes I am,” I tease, wiggling my blush nails in front of her.
