Lauren said, “I only want the best for you. You are one of the smartest, most caring people I know. I love working with you. I love getting drinks after work with you. I love all the programs you’re doing for the café. I don’t want you to ever think that I don’t value that. It was just, I don’t know. Temporary insanity. Okay?”
Paige decided to believe Lauren. It didn’t solve the central issue, which was that Paige wanted to run to Josh now to talk about this conversation. Nor was it a green light to go date Josh again, because Paige had some things to work out in her own mind and heart. But if she and Josh were the sort of people who were friendly at parties but otherwise didn’t see each other much, then there was no tension between Paige and Lauren. And if Lauren really did care about and value Paige, that was pretty important.
Lauren stood. “Come here.”
So Paige hugged Lauren and felt like they’d overcome whatever conflict was here. That was, her friendship with Lauren was good, but she still felt uneasy about Josh and all of it. She was on solid footing with Lauren again but more confused than ever about what she wanted with Josh.
As she walked home that night, she pulled out her phone and saw Josh had texted her again. He had a few times over the weekend, as well, and she hadn’t felt up to responding. Paige responded.
I talked things out with Lauren, but I don’t know what I want with you. I need more time to think. Let’s take a break. Don’t contact me for a while.
She hovered her thumb over the Send button and paused for a moment. She could easily picture the look on Josh’s face when he got the text. The idea of it broke her heart. She hit Send anyway.
He responded right away. She deleted the text without reading it.
Chapter 20
Paige stood behind Evan in the entryway to a large event space.
“The decor leaves something to be desired,” said Paige.
“Picky, picky.”
“They barely tried. The red velour curtains are a cliché, there are no rugs or anything to keep our feet from aching on this concrete floor, and there is nothing like enough seating.”
“Sweetheart, the goal of an event like this is to mingle, not to sit. I thought you were an event planner. Now, come, I think I see the bar.”
Paige was coming to resent Lindsay for letting them all know over drinks a few nights before that a friend of hers was helping to plan a singles mixer in Greenpoint. Since things were all but over with Josh, she’d let Evan and Lindsay talk her into coming, because she figured it couldn’t hurt to meet someone new. But now she had regrets.
First, getting here had proved to be a trial. She’d met Evan at his place and they’d gotten on a wrong train and ended up lost in the subway system before Evan gave up yanked Paige back up to street level so they could get a cab the rest of the way. The space was done up to look like a cheap boudoir, everything red and black and tacky as hell. The vast majority of the people here were women, which was not a good sign for either Evan’s or Paige’s prospects.
“Lindsay promised there would be guys here,” Paige said as she and Evan walked up to the bar.
Evan looked around. “The one over by the pillar at two o’clock bats for my team. So does the pink shirt with glasses talking to the girl with curly hair to the left. But I think the flannel shirt and skinny jeans by the curtain over there is one of yours.”
“Why did we come?”
“It’s fun. What are you drinking?”
Once Paige had a glass of mediocre white wine in-hand, she and Evan walked around. There was going to be some kind of cooking class/demonstration in about twenty minutes to encourage the singles to socialize with one another, so a group of staff people in black T-shirts were setting up an area with cloth-covered tables and electric hot plates.
“Something is going to catch on fire,” said Evan.
“Why isn’t Lindsay here again? She’s also single, last I checked.”
Evan laughed. “She may secretly hate us. Or it’s like that episode ofFriendswhen everyone forgets to tell Chandler they’re going to a party and he ends up at a one-woman theater show that traumatizes him.”
“You can’t watchFriendsanymore. I’m taking it away.”
“Lindsayclaimsshe got tickets to a TV show taping because that beardy celebrity chef she has a crush on is going to be a contestant, but I think she got those tickets so she wouldn’t have to come here. Or she punked us. That’s also possible.”
“You were just saying this was fun!”
“I didn’t realize how slim the pickings were. Oh, well. I hope we make something edible.”
As the actual cooking demonstration approached, more men showed up, which was encouraging. Evan made her talk to a few of them. The first guy was good-looking but could only talk about cars.
“Are you a mechanic?” she asked.
