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“Not a lie.” Awe and humor danced in Xolani’s eyes. “First the plane, then Rayburn, now Lantern. If this was bingo, you and I would be neck and neck.”
“I can’t believe we have so many coincidences under our belt.” Excited, he sat straighter in his seat. “Let’s try to see if we have more.”
“Okay!” She nodded eagerly. “Hit me.”
“College?”
“Michigan.”
He winced. “Georgia Tech.”
“Welp!” She threw her hands up. “There end the coincidences.”
“No, no, no. Let’s try a little more.” He wasn’t ready to give up. “High-school sport?”
“Track and field.” She added, “I actually went to Michigan on a track scholarship.”
He’d played basketball. But he was so impressed by her answer that he forgot to be disappointed that they hadn’t played the same sport. He asked, “You were that good in track?”
“I wasn’t too shabby.” She proudly added, “Look me up. I set some records.”
Of course, he had to look her up. That led to a conversation about her athletic history, and how she’d ended up working for an automotive company instead of in the Olympics. Apparently, a career-ending injury forced her to find a new path.
When he expressed his sympathy at her plight, she offered him a grin that made it clear that his pity was misplaced.
“Don’t feel bad for me.” She explained, “I only ran because I have long legs and running came easy. But I wasn’t in love with the sport. I always knew that with my crap attitude, I could only go so far. I’m glad the sport ditched me when it did, because I finally got to do what I loved. Marketing is where I was always supposed to be.”
As Barry watched her speak, he felt weirdly emotional. He knew all too well the feeling of doing something that didn’t feel right to you. He, like her, had escaped the clutches of his expected life-path and found another road for himself.
Even though he was still determined not to get involved with a coworker, he just didn’t see how he could walk away from Xolani. What were the odds that he’d find someone who had identical experiences to him and who it was so easy to relate and talk to?
On the spur of the moment, he proposed, “We should be friends.”
Xolani looked confused. “Huh?”
“We should be friends,” he repeated. When all he got was another confused look, he asked, “I’m not the only one feeling it, am I? This weird connection between us.” He racked his brain for a way to describe the feeling. “It’s like… it’s like we’re meant to be more than strangers. You’re feeling it too, right?”
She was quiet for a while, and he started to think that she might deny his words. But then she admitted, “I feel it.”
“I don’t want to ignore it,” he said. “But neither of us is interested in dating. So why not be friends?”
“Friends?” She tested the word on her tongue as if it was new to her. After a long pause while she intently studied his face, she nodded. “I guess I can do friends.”
He held out his hand. “Shake on it?”
“Sure. Why not?” Smiling, she took his hand and shook it. “Friends it is.”
6
FRIENDS? WITH BARRY? XOLANI SCOFFED on the inside. He has to be kidding me.
She didn’t want to be friends with him. She wanted to tear his clothes off and eat him up. She wanted them to get butt naked and sweaty, not friendly. She wanted to make him lose his mind. She wanted to hear him groan her name over and over again.
From the heated way he often looked at her, it was obvious that he wanted to do nasty, nasty things to her and with her too.
Friends? What a load of crap!
If she was in full control of her faculties, she would’ve unequivocally turned him down. But Barry was sincere, convincing, and very, very attractive. In her tipsy state, everything he said made perfect, beautiful sense. He was a god, and she was his loyal, infatuated subject. She would’ve said ‘yes’ to any request he made.
