Page 20 of Holiday Romance
I peek up at him from under my lashes, watching him studiously ignore me like I am him. He looks different up close. Older. Granted, I’m older too, but some days I still think I look like a teenager. So does every bouncer and barman in Chicago apparently. The round face and doe eyes don’t help, and if I’m not in my heels I get mistaken for a highschooler more often than I’d like. But Andrew looks like he’s grown up. He’s lost a bit of the puppy fat from around his jaw and his brown hair is longer, swept back in a messy almost stylish way. I say almost because he still dresses atrociously, tonight wearing a blue T-shirt with a cartoon elf on the front that is extremely hard not to keep looking at.
“So, are you some hotshot lawyer now?”
My eyes snap up from his chest as he finally speaks. “What?”
“You said you wanted to go to law school.”
“I’m still studying,” I say, surprised that he remembers. “What about you? Photography, right?”
He nods. “I’ve got a job with a portrait studio on Michigan Avenue. Babies. Families. That kind of thing.”
“You like it?”
“I love it,” he says, and I blink at the simple way he says the words. “The kids especially. I’m like a kid whisperer. You’ve never seen a four-year-old sit so still.” He wipes his mouth with the napkin, his burger demolished. “You should pop by. I’ll get you a discount.”
“Oh, no,” I say quickly. “I hate having my picture taken.”
“We get that a lot. But it’s never as scary as people think.”
I shake my head, taking a sip of my beer. Andrew got both of us a drink, despite my weak protests. He’s already finished his and the rules of buying a round dictate that I need to catch up.
“My boyfriend’s sister just got engaged,” I say, feeling rude to shut him down. “I’ll put her on to you guys.”
“Your boyfriend?”
“Daniel.” I feel a burst of happiness just saying his name. I met him via an app that summer and I’m mildly (extremely) obsessed with him. He lives in an apartment near Lincoln Park and wants to work with animals. I am trying to be chill, but no. There is no chill right now when it comes to Daniel.
“We’ve been together a few months,” I say, taking another sip. “He’s… what?”
Andrew laughs as I fidget. “You’re doing that I’m-in-love smile.”
“No, I’m not!”
“Hey, own it. Law school, lover. You’re living the American dream.”
I huff, finishing the bottle before placing it down with a thump as silence descends again. Our eyes meet over the table, both of us acknowledging that this is weird, but also not as weird as it could be. Probably because of him. He was always easy to talk to and certainly seems to have forgiven me for whatever indirect role I played in him dating a shitty person.
An announcement crackles above our heads, calling our flight, and I glance around as a few other diners start to move, wondering what the polite thing to do is.
“You want to see if we can swap seats?”
“Huh?” I twist back to find Andrew watching me, a hesitant smile on his face.
“I’ll sweet-talk the person next to you. You don’t have to talk to me or anything,” he adds with a shrug. “I mean, I’ll talk to you so itwouldbe weird if you—”
“Yeah, yeah.” I smirk, thinking it over. It’s an overnight flight, but I’m wide awake, and a bit of company doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. “Sure,” I say. “Let’s see you turn on the charm.”
“Oh, I don’t need to turn it on,” he dismisses as we gather our things. “It’s always on.”
“Hmmm.”
“I’m very charming,” he argues. “Five bucks says it takes me less than thirty seconds.”
“Ten says it takes you more. And I’m pretty sure you still owe me a dollar from our last wager.”
“Oh, so you want to go there, do you?” He takes a step in front of me, spinning around so he’s facing my way as we walk toward the gate. I’d spoken without thinking, but there’s no annoyance in his expression. If anything, he looks like he’s teasing me.
“You’re the one who said you’d change my mind about Christmas,” I point out.
