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Chapter 12
We both had to go to work the next day, so there was no way to avoid seeing her when we got up to get ready.
I heard Natalie get in the shower and hovered by the bedroom door to listen for when she was done. I waited a long time until I poked my head out.
“Nat?” I asked and was met with silence.
I went out to the living room and saw the pillows stacked up and the blankets folded with a note on top.
Thanks for last night. I’ll see you later.
-Nat
It was pretty cold and impersonal, and I wondered if she remembered what she’d asked me.
I sure did. I didn’t think I’d ever forget.
* * *
I dragged myself to the shower and tried to wake up. Today was going to be rough. At least my job could be kind of mindless, and I had some projects that didn’t require a ton of brainpower that I could throw myself into. I think I was one of the only people on the planet who didn’t mind fiddling with spreadsheets. I found it soothing.
Coffee was my lifeline today. I chugged one cup as I hurried to get ready, and made another as soon as I got into the office.
“Did you have fun last night?” Wendy, one of the insurance agents asked, as I tossed my bag under my desk.
“Something like that,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Wendy leaned on my desk.
“Can I get details? My only late nights lately have been with a baby attached to my boob.”
We both laughed and I just told her that a friend had come over and we’d had a few drinks. The phone rang, cutting our chat short, but it was fine. I was too exhausted to do a ton of office chitchat.
Part of me wondered if I was going to see Natalie and Preston today, but I didn’t.
Somehow, I made it through the workday, even though I messed up a few emails. I was so competent at my job that I could screw things up a little bit and still be fine because I was really good at everything else.
Pretty good arrangement.
I wanted desperately to talk to someone about what had happened with Natalie and help me process what the hell that was, so I decided to head to the Pine Tree Bar and Grille and see if Esme was working. I ran the risk of seeing my brother, but since Gretchen couldn’t drink, I had the feeling she was making everyone else be sober too.
“Hey, how are you? What do you need?” Esme asked as I sat down on one of the stools at the end of the bar.
“No alcohol. Just a drink and a friend,” I said.
Esme grinned. “I can do both of those things.”
She mixed up one of her mocktails, set it in front of me, and leaned on the bar.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“Okay, so I’m not sure how to say this,” I said. “And I’m not even sure if she remembers doing it, or if I should be telling anyone…” I was babbling, but Esme just waited for me to get my thoughts together.
“Natalie came over last night, and we’d had a few drinks, her more than me, and we were talking about dating and then she just asked me to kiss her out of the blue and I didn’t know what to do.”
My mouth was suddenly dry, so I sipped at the drink, which was some sort of spicy and sweet thing full of tropical fruit. Delicious.
“So that happened,” I said. “And then she left this morning without saying anything and I haven’t talked to her all day.”
