Page 96 of Lucky 22

“So, um…what do you think?”

“About…?”

I try not to roll my eyes, but I do. “Coming to LA thisweekend.”

“Oh, uh…sure. I’ll book my flight and plan on being theresometime Friday afternoon.”

“Yay! Do you want to go out to eat anywhere special? I canmake us reservations, or we can wing it, or…”

“How about a pizza date like we used to do?”

Aww…

“I think that sounds perfect. I love you, Christian.”

“I love you, too, Ella Rose. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”

I hang up and collapse back onto my bed. I love that I stillhave an apartment to come back to when I need it. It’s comfy and familiar, andit comes with one of my very best friends.

That’s when I toss my phone down and go in search of Jen.She was out of town when I arrived, doing hair and makeup for a music video,but she should be home by now. Plus, I would love for us to get some takeoutand eat dinner in our jammies while we catch up on each other’s lives. We talkon the phone a lot, but it’s not the same as having a conversation in person.

I hear the front door open and am pleasantly surprised whenI see her walking in with a bag of what looks suspiciously like Thai from oneof our favorite restaurants.

“You’re home!”

“I am,” she says with a grin. Once she puts everything downon the coffee table, she hugs me, and I hold on for longer than usual. “Imissed you.”

“Missed you, too.” If I’m not mistaken, she’s holding ontightly, too.

When we finally break apart, we both look a littleteary-eyed.

“I was hoping you’d want to eat in tonight,” she says. “Iwas going to call and ask what you wanted me to pick up, but I was cravingThai. I hope that’s okay.”

“Are you kidding? Yes. It’s like you were reading my mind.”

“Jammies first?” she asks with a grin.

“Absolutely.”

“Meet you back here in five.”

So, we do, and it’s like no time has passed.

I grab the dishes and silverware, she gets our drinks, andwe set up everything on the coffee table before getting comfy on the couch.

“So?” she begins. “You got the voice job, huh?”

I quickly take a bite of my dinner before nodding.

“And you can’t talk about it?”

“Nope.”

“Bummer. But are you excited about it?”