Page 50 of Snowflakes and Ice Skates

“Thanks.” One of the guys from the office, the one who was wearing a Yankees’ hat, smiled at me before picking up a chip. I began to fill flutes, offering them to the reaching hands.

One of the guys took a glass from me but held on a few beats too long. I glanced up at the attractive blond and smiled. His grin grew, and he leaned in toward me. “Thank you.”

I nodded and pulled my hand away. “Sure.”

“I’m Christopher.”

“Taylor,” I respond before continuing my task.

“Nice to meet you.” He paused, then moved a bit closer to me. “Is this your place?”

I shook my head. “No, this is Cora’s home.”

“You work with Travis, right?” He nodded toward the redhead I met yesterday.

“Yeah; we’re in different departments though.”

“Cool. What do you do?”

I glanced around the room, not necessarily needing an escape but wondering why he was so interested in me. Oh, right. Duh. I’m only one of two available women here. Three guys were flocked around Cora, barely giving her space to breathe. I hoped more people would show up soon, especially women.

“Content marketing.” I smiled and glanced up to find him watching me. “What do you do?”

“Investment banking.” He sounded so proud but I cringed on the inside. He was one of those Wall Street guys. Somehow that didn’t surprise me. The many I’d run into over the years had the same air of overconfidence Christopher possessed.

“Interesting.”

“It really is…” He started in about the details of his job, but I tuned him out.

A few of Cora’s friends from her yoga class finally arrived, evening out the male-to-female ratio. I’d hoped Christopher would latch onto one of them, but he remained at my side. Bored stiff by his talking, I glanced at the time on the microwave and sighed. It was already nine-thirty. Time for the fashionably late people to arrive.

I watched the door while nodding along to Christopher’s rambling. Any other night, or time, or place I might have been interested in him. Sure, he was a bit boring, but we could still have common interests. I just had no desire to dig in and find out. I was only interested in one man, one who hadn’t even bothered to show up.

No. I couldn't give up yet. The night was still young.

I stifled a yawn and glanced up at Christopher. He was so caught up in explaining different mutual bonds that he didn’t realize I wasn't listening.

Cora met my eyes, and I widened mine in hopes she’d sense my distress. Like the amazing friend she was, she excused herself from the people she was talking to and grabbed one of the yoga women. They approached us, and my smile grew.

“Taylor, there you are,” Cora said as if she couldn’t see the entire living area from anywhere in her apartment. “Who’s this?”

She looked at Christopher, and he finally stopped talking.

I glanced at her friend and almost cried tears of joy when I saw her staring up at him with undeniable interest.

“This is Christopher, he’s friends with Travis,” I explained as if she knew who Travis was.

But she played along perfectly. “Nice to meet you, Christopher. This is my yoga instructor, Summer.” She nudged Summer closer to Christopher, and without further assistance from us, they began chatting, forgetting about Cora and me.

I slipped away with her, squeezing her arm. “How did you know they would hit it off?”

She smirked. “Summer is a total free spirit but loves the suits. She thinks they’re the yin to her yang or something. Something about balance.” She laughed. “One look at him, and I knew she’d go for him.”

“You saved me.”

She winked. “I’ve got your back.”

I looked around, realizing neither of her options had arrived either. “We’re striking out so far.”