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No, not seconds. The clock on the opposite wall says it’s nearly five in the afternoon. That means I’ve been asleep for over three hours.
I reach to grab my phone from the bedside table. Residual lethargy is no joke and my heavy hand knocks the device onto the carpeted floor of my bedroom. The action reminds me of when Royce made me drop my phone at work.
Cheap-ass didn’t even offer to fix it.
Trying to distract my thoughts, I retrieve my phone to see who’s called. I have to click through to the app. I don’t get notifications on my screen.
Why?
Because I’m one of those people who stops whatever they are doing when they hear a chime. Nat had teased me so badly, I caved under peer pressure, just the once, and turned them off for good.
Speaking of the devil, it’s her number at the top of my missed call list.
Since it’s almost time for Nat to wrap up work, I’ll wait a few minutes so we can talk via Bluetooth as she drives over here. At least I hope she still has plans to come for dinner. I’d pre-made a lasagna this morning as a “thank you” for all she’s done. I really owe her a solid for taking over a lot of my work while I’ve been out ill.
Nat is wonderful and I mean this with all my heart when I say I’m grateful that she’s not only my colleague, but my friend. If I hadn’t met her, my career at STS would have been a lot different. And now that Royce has taken over—
Just like that, thoughts of Royce burrow into my mind. I’m saved from thinking of him for a few moments when Natalie calls again.
“Hey, Nat, I was just about to call you. Are you coming over?”
Natalie sighs into the phone. “Sorry, girl. I won’t be able to make it tonight.”
“Oh, Nat.” I must admit, I was looking forward to her visit. Her son Tyler is at her parents’ for the weekend and I was hoping for a night of chick flicks and good food.
I can’t even rely on Seth for a little company. He came back from Austin yesterday and already he has a date for the evening.
Another night alone is in the cards for me.
I don’t get to feel sorry for myself for long as Nat squeals into the phone, “Big Barron asked me out.”
I mimic her squeal... or try to. I sound more like a pig instead of a cute little girl. Regardless, I taper it off when I remember my vow not to talk.
At least not a lot.
“Oh, Nat! I’m so happy for you. Where are you going? What are you going to wear? Did he call you or did you call him? Tell me everything.”
“Damn, girl. You’re more excited than I am.”
“Don’t lie. You’re probably dancing to disco right now.”
We break out laughing, and I throw in a few snorts for good measure.
“Yeah, okay,” she admits when our laughter tapers down. She then rattles off the answers to my questions without a pause. “He called me... this morning. It was so cute how he asked me out. I could tell he was nervous as his voice quavered the whole time. He said he got the courage from what you said at the bar.”
I groan. I had totally forgotten about that. Other than remembering the money I owed her, the evening was a blur. I even had to ask her the next day why Luke was looking at me weirdly. She told me what I said, biting back laughter. I wasn’t amused. I wanted to sink through the floor like butter through a boiled cob of corn.
“Don’t worry about it, Gen. He said you gave him the push he needed and to thank you. Man was worried about our age difference. Can you believe that? I’m twenty-eight and he is forty-five. Seventeen years isn’t that bad, right?”
“You don’t need validation from me, Nat. You don’t need validation from anyone. Big Barron is a decent person and I know he will treat you right.”
“You think?”
“I know.”
Nat married her high school sweetheart when they were both twenty. Paul, a long-haul trucker, had adored her and his son. They had such plans and a bright future ahead of them. Paul died in a road accident a year after Tyler was born.
Out of anyone I know, including myself, Nat deserves to be with a good man. We bonded over our different losses and a better friend I couldn’t wish for. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for me.
