Chapter Nine
“Are you sure we can’t take you to your sister’s?” Randi asked as they got ready to leave.
“No, my rideshare should be outside,” Cari said. “Thanks so much for inviting me. This was fun.”
“I’m glad you joined us,” Eden said. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Prepare to be awe-struck by Randi’s presentation.”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to it.”
Randi held the door open and they walked Cari to her rideshare. “See you tomorrow.”
Kelly hurried towards them. “Thanks again for taking Eden home, Randi.” She turned to Eden and reached for her hand. “I promise on our next date I will pick you up and take you home.”
“It’s fine.” Eden smiled.
“See you,” Randi said as Kelly walked away.
They walked to Randi’s car in silence. Once they were on their way out of the parking lot Randi glanced over at Eden. “What are you going to tell Letty about tonight when you get home?”
Eden chuckled. “Well, I’m going to tell her it was a strange night.”
“You didn’t have a good time?”
“No, I did. Part of the time it felt like we were out with friends then at times it felt like I was on a date. It was all rather confusing.”
“I’m sorry,” Randi said. “We shouldn’t have joined you.”
“Oh, no! I’m glad you did,” Eden said. “I felt kind of out numbered not knowing anyone at the table. Of course, you would’ve joined right in and added to the conversation, but you know me. I’m more reserved until I get to know someone better.”
Randi scoffed. “You were charming, as usual. I got the impression Kelly didn’t expect to have to be so hands-on with the band.”
“Yeah, she apologized several times. She warned me that she was helping them set up and might have to do a few things during their sets.”
“Are you going to go out with her again?”
Eden shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. We’ll see.”
They rode in silence for a while as they got closer to Eden’s house. “Did you have a good time?” Eden asked.
Randi nodded. “Yeah, but I agree. It was kind of weird at times.”
Eden laughed. “Thank God! I thought it was just me.”
Randi chuckled. “Oh no, I felt it, too.”
“Thank you for being there,” Eden said softly.
Randi pulled into her driveway and looked over at her. “Always.”
“Do you want to come in and go over the presentation one more time?”
Randi shook her head. “No, we can go over it in the morning. There is a fine line between being ready and practicing too much for something like this. You want it to sound natural, not memorized.”
Randi felt Eden squeeze her hand. “You’ll be great! You always are.”
Randi sighed. “I don’t know about that, but your confidence in me certainly helps.”
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Eden said. “I’ll bring you a frappucino, extra caramel.”
