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Her brow arched “The one where the chick climbed to the ceiling?”
I gave a little shrug. “You should see the bruises on the insides of my thighs. But yeah, I did it.”
“Huh. No shit. Congrats. Still doesn’t mean he could open your goddamn door.”
“No, and Caleb gave him hell about it. But they’re both harmless. I know Lucky from town and the store.”
“Yeah, but do you really know anyone? We listen to the same podcasts, dammit. Especially Asher Wainwright’s local one.” She shivered. “Small towns are only safe until some slasher moves in.”
“I know, and I’m careful, I promise. The construction crew wasn’t here all week, and I just got a little lax. It was nice not to have strangers all over the building or making noise.”
She sat back down and picked up her fork. “All right.”
I reached over and placed my hand over hers. “I’m fine. Really.” I sent a few comforting vibes her way and watched her relax by degrees.
I loved how protective she was of me. We were both on our own most of the time, and we’d defaulted to watching each other’s backs. But we both liked our space, so we’d never gone the roommate route.
We understood the need for boundaries—especially with our work. Being a healer of any sort was draining. For as many love readings we both did for our tarot clients, there were darker aspects to helping someone on their path of self-awareness. We weren’t therapists per se, but sometimes we felt like we were. A sacred space was important, and for both of us, it meant one that included alone time.
Especially when I also dealt with the public on the retail end of things at Kinleigh’s shop and to a lesser extent, the Ladybug Treasures line that was part of their storefront. I definitely needed time to decompress, and Ryan understood that, although she was a bit more freewheeling with her employment status than I was.
Last week, the reading I did for her on our tarot podcast had said she had some hot sexing action coming into her life—potentially. Then the day after that, her cards had indicated a
surprise opportunity. I’d told her she should try hanging around my apartment while the workmen were here since most of those guys were fine, but she’d yet to take me up on my offer.
Hey, two birds, one toolbelt, why not?
“So, now that you know all my dirty details. What’s been up with you?”
Ry shrugged. “Same old. April’s been squirrelly lately.”
“April?” Our mutual friend was as far from chaotic as you could get.
“Yeah. I’m not sure what’s up with her. Maybe she’s about to meet someone. The energy around her is all fizzy and frazzled.”
“April Finley? That April?”
Ry kicked back in her chair with her wine resting on her middle. “I know. April usually has a schedule to take a crap—at least I’m pretty sure.”
I snorted as I rose to clear the table. “And that’s all?”
She focused on her glass. “Yeah. I think the restlessness is just catchy. And it’s summer.”
I knew summer wasn’t exactly Ryan’s favorite season. Her mom usually made a surprise visit and threw her life into chaos. As much as she gave April shit for her orderly existence, Ryan wasn’t much better.
I refilled her glass. “How about we go up and watch a trash movie on the roof?”
“On the roof?”
“Yeah, they finished the communal space up there. Have some couches, a fake fire pit, and a projector you can hook up to whatever streaming service you have.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that I can watch FDR on a very large screen?”
I laughed. “So, I should make popcorn?”
Ryan rushed out of the kitchen to where I kept my iPad then came back. “Do we need to bring this?”
“I think I just have to log into their system up there.”
