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“I like to run on the sand,” she said. “Gives me a challenge.”
I nodded, but she didn’t leave.
“I have the day off. After everything this weekend, we had to close the bakery today to catch up.” I didn’t know why I was giving her this much detail.
“Enjoy your day off,” she said, and then she was off, running on the sand. I watched her, pretending to read my book. She moved so beautifully.
I half expected her to come back over again, but she raced back up the sand and headed for the parking lot without saying anything else to me.
I tried not to be too disappointed.
* * *
My day off left me with a peaceful mind and sunburned shoulders.
“I have some aloe,” Natalie said, going to the bathroom and pulling it out from under the sink.
“Thanks,” I said as I pulled the straps of my tank top down so I could slather the cool lotion on my crispy shoulders.
“Did you have a good day?” she asked. She was here for dinner and then was going back to Em’s. I knew they weren’t ready to live together, but they did spend so much time together it was probably a good idea. It also made me feel a little weird because I knew Em wanted to come over more but didn’t want to invade my space. I’d told them over and over that I loved having Em over and it wasn’t an inconvenience, but then Natalie would just go to Em’s cabin.
“Today was much needed,” I said, carefully replacing my tank top straps. I really should have been more careful in the sun today.
“I saw Alivia running on the beach,” I said, the words just coming out of my mouth with no forethought.
“Yeah? Was she there by herself?” Natalie asked as she minded the butter chicken on the stove. The rice cooker was going, and she’d thrown some salad in a bowl with dressing that I’d made a few days ago. Not fancy, but nice that I didn’t have to cook for myself.
“Yeah, she was running on a break, I guess.”
“Did she say anything?” Natalie’s attention was on the chicken, so I didn’t think she suspected anything.
“Yeah, she asked me what I was reading.” I wasn’t going to tell her about the stuff Alivia had said about the sexy parts of the book.
“That’s it?” she asked, looking up from cooking.
“Yeah, pretty much. It was kind of awkward.”
“Weird,” she said. “I can’t get a read on her. She’s really nice, don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t believe how chatty she was with Martha.”
Yeah, I hadn’t expected that either.
“I think she’s one of those people who doesn’t like to talk about themselves,” I said. The rice cooker dinged, and it was time to eat.
“This is really good,” I said through a mouthful of chicken and rice.
“Thanks,” Natalie said. “Sometimes I cook.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” I said.
“Do you have any plans for this weekend?” Natalie asked and I shrugged one shoulder.
“Not really. Just going to see how it goes. You?”
“I’m forcing Em to not work, so my plan is to get her to go hiking with me up north on Saturday. I just feel like we need to get out and put our phones away and just be for a little bit, you know?”
I totally agreed. It sounded nice, and I wished I had someone to do something like that with.
“You could come,” she said, but I waved her off.
