Page 2 of Betting on the Best Friend
“I haven’t even gotten around to going on one date, and he’sengaged.”
Charlie frowns at his pasta, chasing a meatball that keeps skittering away from his fork. “I thought you were over him.”
“I am.” It hadn’t taken long after we broke up to realize that being with Niles had become a habit. It had been easy, that was all. Or easy as long as I didn’t disrupt his placid existence.
“Then why haven’t you started dating?”
I take a bite of my egg salad sandwich and chew aggressively, glaring at Charlie, but he only watches me, unbothered. He isperennially unbothered. “Charlie, you are beingtoochill right now.”
He doesn’t change expression. “And the reason you haven’t started dating is…”
“I’m tired of hearing that question,” I say.
“The girls have been getting on you?”
The girlswould be my three besties and roommates: Ava, my childhood best friend, plus Madison and Sami, who Ava and I collected in college. “You’d think after I found them all boyfriends they would be too loved up to harass me. But no. ‘It’s time, Ruby. You need a man, Ruby.’”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Someone at Girl Power Central said you need a man?”
“Not in those words, no. But it’s what they mean.” I huff, knowing news of Niles’s engagement will make them worse. “Youhaven’t gone on a date in at least that long. Why isn’t anyone bugging you about it?”
He pokes at his meatball. I swear, if he doesn’t spear it soon, I’m going to snatch it up and handfeed him.
“Just haven’t,” he says. “Been focusing on other things.”
“Like rock climbing.” It’s not a question. He got super into it a few months ago. He’s always been a hobby climber, but I swear if he’s not at work or hanging out with me, he’s climbing at his gym or outdoors somewhere. His shoulders have gotten bigger, and when summer hits in a couple of months, I bet his swim trunks will reveal legs as chiseled as the rocks.
I feel weird about noticing, but it’s hard not to lately. Probably a symptom of living like a hermit since dumping Niles and being around Charlie all the time, but these intrusions ofCharlie is looking goodare distracting. Maybe if he did less rock climbing . . .
A suspicion strikes me. “Is there a hot lady climber you haven’t told me about? Is that why you’re so into it lately?”
Charlie finally stabs the meatball. “No.”
“You can tell me,” I say. “You don’t have to spare me, even if you are my last single friend. I’ll be happy for you.”
He gives a small sigh. “No, Ruby. I’m not hiding a lady climber from you.”
“You should find one.” It wouldn’t be hard. Women don’t always notice him at first glance, but the minute he flashes his easy smile, they turn to putty. And there’s those shoulders now.
He squeezes his eyes shut like he’s summoning patience. “I’ll take that under advisement. Right now, the sneakers are taking my free time.”
Madison’s boyfriend is a sneakerhead, and it got Charlie interested in flipping sneakers as a side hustle. It’s kept him busy, so I get why it would be hard to fit in dating. “As a victim of the same nagging, I’ll drop it. Let’s talk about something else. Pick anything besides Niles, dating, or love.”
“The May movie night,” he says, not missing a beat. “It’s time to choose.”
Our shared love of movies led us to a regular movie night a couple of years ago. We’re almost through the wildly wrongNew York Timeslist of best movies of all time. We’ve even talked our manager, Sandy, into letting the library host a classic monthly movie night this year as long as the films have a connection to Texas. It’s perfect, because our building started life as a single-screen movie theater before being converted into the Sandra Day O’Connor branch of the city library system almost thirty years ago.
Technically, Charlie has seniority. We’re both full librarians, complete with a master's in library science each, but he’s been here three years longer than I have. He could make the film choice, and I couldn’t override him, but we always choose the fun way: for the last fifteen minutes of our break, we debate early indies—Bottle Rocket,which is a total bromance, versusIn Search of a Midnight Kiss, an actual romance. I win and we chooseBottle Rocket.
When lunch is over, we stand and clean up our picnic. I used to hug Charlie all the time. I’ve been doing it less lately because of myCharlie is looking goodwiring misfire. Don’t want him to notice and have it get awkward. But today, before he opens the door to the main floor, I fling my arms around his waist and squeeze him tight.
He closes his arms around me, and a puff of laughter stirs my hair. “You don’t have to hug me because I let you pickBottle Rocket.”
I tighten my arms for a second. “It’s not for that. It’s because you were trying to distract me from spinning out over Niles getting engaged.”
Charlie squeezes back. “He doesn’t deserve your energy. He never did.” He releases me and holds up his empty container. “I’m going to wash this out. See you at the desk.”
He leaves, and I peek at Instagram again. I know I shouldn’t, and when Niles’s face smirks at me, I shake my head.
