AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nolan ran into you at your dive and fended off your leering potential suitors while also fending off your rather aggressive pursuit of himself, I might add.” The sparkle in her eyes was positively glimmering now. “I could tell he wanted to leave that part out, but he couldn’t stop you from literally throwing yourself at him, puckering your lips and making smooching noises.” She chuckled. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to tease you. It’s actually quite worrisome. What if you’d thrown yourself at someone less… gentlemanly? Or whatif—”
Lilac bolted upright then, headache and dizziness be damned. The garbage can—thankfully empty—rolled off her knees to the floor. “I can’t… I don’t…” She ran to the bathroom and shut the door behindher.
Breathing hard, she pushed her back against the door. She never would have drunk like that in front of Earl—she wasn’t that clueless. But how many Earls were at that bar? How had she planned to get home? Her brain hurt thinking about it, but most of the day was gone from hermemories.
She massaged her temples and saw brief glimpses of Nolan, Nolan’s shoulder against her cheek, sweet, comfortingNolan…
A light knock resounded behind her. “Lilac?” said Frankie from the other side of the door. “Are you okay? Do you needanything?”
“I’m fine,” lied Lilac. “I’m sorry. I just… really needed topee.”
“I imagine so afteryesterday…”
Silence fell between them and Lilac actually did what she said she’d come in there to do, never mind that she’d really just run in there tohide.
After she washed her hands, she slowly turned the knob and peeked out thedoor.
“Feeling better?” asked Frankie, smilingslightly.
She nodded. A small part of her actuallydid.
“Okay,” said Frankie. “You get yourself together and I’ll make you breakfast. Text Gavin, okay? And I told Nolan I’d callhim—”
“I’ll call him,” said Lilac, determined to set it all straight. She already had enough making her dread going back to work. Heaven forbid if things were awkward between her and him. She liked him. Shehadthought about fucking him. She just… couldn’t imagine that right now. And besides, she’d probably totally screwed that up. “I don’t have his number,” sherealized.
“I do,” said Frankie with a sly smile. “We exchanged numbers last night. I wrote it down for you and left it next to your phone on yournightstand.”
Lilac found the slip of paper in question and stared at it, as if it would twist itself into an origami sandgrouse, come to life, and peck her on thecheek.
The thought was bizarrelycomforting.
“And once you’ve eaten and you’re sure you’re up for it, I’ll take you to go get your car,” she said. “Nolan said he was going back to the bar afterward and he’d clear it with the bartender to make sure it was okay to leave it. Still, I don’t like the idea of leaving your nice new baby all alone in that junky gravel parkinglot.”
Sighing as she hit the bed, Lilac cradled her phone in one hand and the paper in the other. He’d be working nowprobably.
She entered the number into her contacts, brushing aside several messages from Gavin and many more notifications, and opened up a texting box.I’m sorry, she typed.Frankie tells me I embarrassed myself yesterday. I’m so sorry and so thankful you were there to—she let her fingers hover over her screen, trying to think of how to phrase it—watch over me. I’m so, so sorry. I’m not usually like that, I swear. I hope I didn’t make working in the same building awkward foryou.
She let out a breath and hit “send.”
Then she puttered around with her other notifications, favoriting and liking pictures and posts with a numb, empty mind. She liked Gavin’s post about going back to work like a zombie on Mondays without thinking and less than a minute later, her phone rang. Gavin was actuallycallingher.
She sighed. She owed him this. “Hello?” she said, putting him on speaker and turning down the volume so his voice wouldn’t carry through the hall and to the kitchen where her aunt wouldhear.
“You…” said Gavin, as if that said it all. There was actually a hint of anger in hisvoice.
“Me,” said Lilac, her throat still scratchy. “Don’t you have work right now?” she asked. “Should we talklater?”
“Nope,” said Gavin. “I have work, but right now that work involves waiting on five different variations of a latte, which apparently passes for work at his place. And I don’t care if I was in the office of the boss man himself, I’m not letting you wiggle out of thisconversation.”
Lilac doubted very much that Gavin would have this conversation in his boss’ office, but she didn’t dare call him on it. Not with the mood he wasin.
The sounds of foam machines and chatter permeated the air from thespeaker.
“What do you want to talk about?” she asked, still frightened to saymore.
“If you’ve found out what kind of panties Tildy Tapir wears under her Ballroom dress,” snapped Gavin. “What do you think I want to talkabout?”
“I fucked up,” saidLilac.
