"How did you swing reservations on such short notice?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, we had Ryan call to make it. It's amazing what some of these places will do when a Detroit Pirate calls them."
Lucy was pretty sure that Sydney's description was dripping with sarcasm. Normally she would've had her own pithy response, but Sydney had thrown her off.
"Did you say Ryan?"
"Yeah," Sydney replied. "I hope that's not a problem. He just got back to town yesterday so we invited him."
Sydney started to explain how Ryan had been a good friend during the whole case with her boss and how she and Andy were excited to celebrate this engagement with him. But all Lucy could think about was that she was seeing Ryan again tonight, two months after she said goodbye to him.
"So are you OK with that?" Sydney asked.
"What?"
"You OK with Ryan coming? I know you two aren't close friends or anything, but I thought it would be nice."
Maybe not close friends, but they had definitely been close. Closer than Sydney knew about. All Lucy had told Sydney two months ago was that she ran into Ryan when they were both up there. She never told Sydney what happened between them at the cabin, worried her friend would judge her for sleeping with him. She wondered if Ryan had said anything to Sydney during that time but based on how she was acting, Lucy would guess that he hadn't said anything either.
"It's fine," Lucy said. "Totally fine. It'll be nice to see him after he's been gone this summer."
"Yeah, he's a good kid, and he promised he would clean up well."
Lucy cringed. She used to like the way Sydney talked about him like he was an immature boy who needed some guidance. She used to think of him the same way, as if he was an impressionable guy who needed some woman to smooth out the rough edges and make him into an adult. But that's not how Lucy saw him now. He knew how to take what he wanted when he was with her. He didn't need someone to coach him. And she frankly liked some of his rough edges, especially the one that made him want to screw her on the kitchen counter.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "So, uh, what time should I be there?" she stammered.
"Meet up at my place around six? We can try on outfits together and then we can take the car service over."
"Yeah, sure. That sounds great. I'll be there."
"Oh, and bring that green dress to try on," Sydney said. "Guys love that green dress. Maybe you can pick up someone at the bar."
"Green dress. Will do."
Although after Lucy hung up, she realized she couldn't really agree with the whole "pick someone up at the bar." There was only one man she wanted to see her in that green dress. She just hoped he wanted to see her too.
