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Maddie’s feet slap against the floor as she rushes out towards me, “Elouise!”
Beckett flips his phone shut and is shoving it back in his pocket when Maddie says my name. And right when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse, I watch his eyes widen before they drop to the name tag affixed to my shirt.
My hand throbs as my heart deflates.
He doesn’t remember me.
“Elouise?” he asks, understanding dawning in his expression. Then he looks back down to the hand I’m clutching to my chest, “Are you alright?”
Laugh or cry, bitch. Time to laugh or cry.
A slightly manic laugh bubbles out of me, “I’m fine. Not the first time I’ve spilled on myself.”
“She’s not lying,” Maddie agrees, handing me a cold wet towel to wrap around my fingers.
I’m sure she’s ready to laugh her ass off at me, but being a true best friend, she waits.
Maddie makes quick work pouring Beckett’s coffee into a clean cup and putting a lid on it before handing it to him.
Beckett takes it but keeps his worried gaze on me. “You sure you’re alright?”
I bite my lip and nod, because that line between laugh and cry is still very thin.
“Thanks so much for coming!” Maddie chirps, moving slightly in front of me.
And the bestest best friend award goes to…
Beckett looks like he wants to say more but thinks better of it and takes a step back. Then with another dip of his chin, he’s gone.
I wait until the door closes behind him, then I let out a muffled scream and sink to the floor.
My head drops back against the cupboards and I close my eyes.
I can feel Maddie slide down to sit next to me. “So…” she starts, “is your hand really okay?”
“Feels better already.” I hold it up. “Thanks for the towel.”
“Good.” Humor enters her tone, “Umm, want to tell me why you thought that grown ass man was asking you out?!” She barely gets the question out before she’s bent over her knees in hysterics.
Slitting my eyes open, I squeeze the towel above the back of her neck, letting cold water droplets fall onto her exposed skin.
She shrieks but keeps laughing. “Seriously Lou, that guy was so old. I mean he was hot. But old.”
“He’s only 26.”
She cocks an eyebrow at me. “One, that’s basically 30 and everyone knows your life ispretty much over by then. And two, how do you know his exact age?”
When I sigh, Maddie sits up straighter.
“Wait… do you know that guy?” She pries.
I slowly nod.
Maddie glances back over her shoulder, like she can see through the counter to where he’d been standing just minutes ago.
“That was Beckett.”
“Beckett?” her head snaps back to look at me. “THE BECKETT?!” she shouts. “As in the man you’ve been planning to marry since the second grade?”
This over-the-top reaction is exactly what I need to tip me back towards laughter.
Shaking my head at myself, I confirm, “The one and only.”
Maddie fans herself. “Okay, I get it now. The obsession makes total sense.”
Chuckling I give her a shove. “I’m not obsessed.” She scoffs. “Okay, fine. I’m not obsessed anymore.”
Maddie picks up the wet towel from where I set it on the floor and tosses it towards the sink, missing it completely. “Well… you’re 18 now. Technically, you could date him if you wanted to.”
I close my eyes, settling my head back against the hard surface. “Never gonna happen.”
