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Tali
Five Years Ago
Nina slidinto the seat across from me, her phone in hand. “I have news.”
I set my beer down on the table. “Well, hello to you, dearest cousin.”
She rolled her eyes. “Since when do you demand formality?”
“Teresa DiPietro drilled manners in my head from the womb.” I took in her flushed cheeks and short, choppy haircut, which appeared to be freshly styled. “You look different.” I’d been working and hadn’t been up to New York to see her in a couple weeks.
Her hand went to her hair. “I got a haircut and she convinced me to try a new product.”
“She? Was she cute?”
Nina blushed and played with her utensils, not exactly meeting my eyes. “She’s beautiful.”
My heart stuttered. We’d been down this road before. My cousin was a love addict, and she had extremely poor taste in the women she chose to heap her love upon. But there was something about the way she avoided my eyes that made me curious.
“What’s her name?”
“Lydia. We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks, but taking it slow.”
“Slow? You?”
Nina finally met my gaze. “Yes, slow. She has a little girl named Rose. I haven’t met her yet. We both want to make sure we’re serious before we go down that road. You know how badly I suck at picking the right women. But Lydia...well, let’s just say she might rival you for level-headedness.”
“I like her already.”
“Me too. I think I love her, actually, which worries me.”
“Do you want me to meet her?” I’d met several of Nina’s girlfriends. No one had been worse than Heather. There probably weren’t too many human beings worse than Heather. But still, Nina had chosen some doozies. My hopes weren’t high, but if Nina wanted me to meet her, I would. I’d also give her my honest opinion, even though she rarely listened.
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Yes, I want you to meet her. I’ve told Lydia all about you, and she’s just as eager to get to know you. In fact, she bought the three of us tickets to a concert at the 9:30 Club tomorrow night.”
I rubbed my hands together. “Oh, a girl after my own heart. Who’s playing?”
“Well, that’s the news. Turns out, Lydia was a big Never Again fan and she is beside herself with excitement that Jude Goldman is now touring solo.”
“Is he?”
It had been three years since I last saw Jude. Despite purposely avoiding all news regarding him, some had seeped in anyway. Never Again had broken up, and somewhere along the line, he’d gone to rehab. Whether it had stuck or not, I didn’t know. I also hadn’t been aware until that very moment that he was doing the solo thing.
Nina nodded, eyeing me carefully. “I looked it up, and it seems like it’s a mini-tour. He’s only doing ten shows, all on the east coast.” She reached across the table, laying her hand over my tightly balled fist. “You don’t have to go. I’m sure Lydia can sell the tickets.”
“You should go.”
“I’m not sure I should. I don’t know if I would be able to sit through his concert knowing what I know about him. I might get too pissed off and throw a beer at him or something. Then Lydia would definitely never let me meet Rose.”
I had to laugh. “So, basically, if I don’t go, you won’t, and you’ll disappoint your girlfriend. Or youwillgo, and most likely get arrested?”
Nina nodded. “Basically.”
I hissed, running a finger through the condensation on my beer bottle. “I don’t know, Neens.”
“It could be fun. We’ll do dinner and you can get to know Lydia, then we’ll go to the show. If it’s weird or painful, we’ll bail.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
