Page 26 of Don't Remind Me
“I think I’m drunk,” I said as I pulled another crostini onto my plate. It was topped with something creamy that was too delicate to be cheese, bits of artichoke that practically melted on my tongue, and something else that gave it a zing and left my mouth watering for more. We hadn’t ordered anything yet, but Neela had brought them out to us “courtesy of the chef, “ and they were the only thing keeping me from crossing over into truly drunk territory.
I hadn’t had hard liquor in months, and two rounds on an empty stomach was asking for trouble. Based on the flush in Robin’s cheeks, she was in the same boat. Maybe this would be our “get sloppy drunk and black out on your couch” night.
That seemed like a horrible idea for a Tuesday.
“Drunk enough to spill all the delicious details about a certain ex’s older brother?” Robin asked. “You tap that yet?”
I almost choked on crostini. “No,” I coughed out before managing to swallow. “There’s nothing to tap.”
Robin snorted. “There’s a whole damn maple tree just waiting for you to climb him.”
I chuckled at the visual, but the thing my mind clung to was how little I’d thought of Jase in terms of being Alec’s brother these past few weeks. At the start of working together, I’d assumed every little thing he did would remind me of Alec, yet aside from some similar physical characteristics, they had almost nothing in common. And even the things theydidhave in common, they went about in totally different ways.
Like how Jase was as much a planner as Alec, but where Alec tended to assume the wants and needs of others and then went ahead and made one perfect plan based on those assumptions, Jase assumed nothing and instead stacked contingency upon contingency to account for every possible outcome. I didn’t even think he did it consciously sometimes; he was that proficient at it.
“It’s not like that,” I said, feeling a little weird reducing Jase to a sexy tree, even though I’d had more than one dream about climbing him. It wasn’t my fault if my subconscious was a tree hugger who wanted to swing from his branches and slide down his trunk.
Food.
It was definitely time for more food.
Robin gave me a look. “So he sends out free appetizers to the entire restaurant, is that it?”
I waved her off. “He’s just being nice because he feels bad for me with the whole note thing. Just like you.” I waggled an accusing finger at her. “Don’t think I don’t see through this weeknight drink invitation.”
She brought her hand to her chest in mock offense. “I would never. I just needed an in to this swanky spot, and you were it.”
“Ah, so you’re using me,” I said with an exaggerated nod.
“Yup. Purely selfish reasoning over here. And now that I’ve tried it, I’ll have to start living off of canned beans and frozen peas so I can afford to come back every week.”
“Wait till you try the food for the symposium,” I said. “I’m still not recovered from the tastings, and those weren’t even the finalized dishes.”
Just thinking about how good they were was all the motivation I needed to push through these next two months and all this event would bring.
More press. Probably more hate mail.
More death threats…
I took a gulp of my drink.
Robin’s eyes turned serious. “How are you doing with everything? I didn’t get to see you yesterday after it happened.”
“I’m…okay,” I said, proud to realize it was true. Yes, I was still anxious, but—and maybe this was the booze—I was also content. Right at this moment, anyway. And a bunch of other times over the past six months, if I thought back on it.
It wasn’t just the new job or this particular city or any one specific thing. It was that all of it together was starting to feel like it “fit.” Like after years of trying to wedge myself into someone else’s mold, I had maybe finally found the one that was right for me.
That was the feeling I wanted to hold on to—not the fear squirming in my belly at what might happen, but the warmth spreading through my limbs as I sat next to my friend, and the giddiness bubbling in my chest as I savored this delicious drink.
I felt alive right now, more so than I had in a long time, and I didn’t want to analyze it or worry about whether I’d feel this way again tomorrow. I just wanted to enjoy it.
Chapter Twelve
Jase
It was a good Tuesday night.We’d had a decent number of reservations on the books, the walk-ins had been steady—a nice constant flow rather than two hours of dead space followed by an onslaught of diners—and not a single person had sent back a dish.
Plus, Dani had been smiling for hours.
