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Stacey wrapped her coat tight around her and ran through the parking lot of The Pizza Place, the best pizza restaurant in town, on a chilly February afternoon. She swore winter was getting longer and longer and colder and colder. There was leftover snow, now black from the car exhaust, on the side of the parking lot. Typical winter weather in Tennessee—nice one day, some snow the next. Now it’s muddy and cold. Luckily, snow usually doesn’t last long, but the chill in the air this year was freeze your lungs awful. It might be time to move farther south. Tugging on the door, she stepped inside and welcomed the warmth of the restaurant as it seeped into her chilled bones.
“Hey, Stace!”
She looked around and smiled as she walked to the table filled with her friends, shedding her coat as she went. They came here every Sunday after church. Most of them usually meet at church first. Stacey, though, joins them here. She works hard, and when she has Sundays off, sleeping in and waking slowly, was her idea of resting, not waking up early, and heading to church.
After exchanging rounds of hugs, she settled into the only available seat at the table. “Well, look at this. I have the most handsome guy as my lunch date.” She ruffled Grant’s curls and planted a peck on his cheek.
Grant was the one-year-old son of her friend Elizabeth, and he held out his crust of pizza, wanting to share it with her. She looked at the slobbery wet crust and raised a brow. “Grant, you go ahead. I’ll get my own. Thank you, though, for sharing.”
He stuck the piece of crust in his mouth and babbled something while spit ran down his chin. Stacey chuckled and wiped his chin with a napkin.
“You know he likes you, Stace. He doesn’t ever share his food.” Elizabeth replied.
“But when he does share, it’s always with the girls. I’m training him right.” Brady, Elizabeth’s fiancé—and Grant’s dad—answered. Elizabeth elbowed him.
“I was starting to think you weren’t gonna show up,” said Kristen, her best friend, as she handed Stacey a plate with a slice of pizza.
Stacey shrugged. “You know, a long couple of days working, and I was a bit lazy this morning. I needed my rest.” She avoided eye contact as she took a large bite of the cheesy goodness. Kristen, her oldest friend, could always see right through her, and she didn’t want to talk about the real reason she was late this morning—a gorgeous blond with the most amazing smoky gray eyes she had ever seen, Tristan.
It had been a while since she and Tristan talked. Stacey met him last summer when the girls had a get-a-way weekend for themselves and spent the weekend shopping and hiking in the mountains. They ended their day at a restaurant, and Tristan was there with a friend. The guys started talking to the girls, and Tristan and Stacey hit it off.
They talked a lot on the phone since then, but Stacey never let them go out again. She didn’t do relationships. That ship had sailed. Her job as a labor and delivery nurse was her life. She worked hard to get where she was, and at times, it was emotionally demanding. She needed to make sure she was one hundred percent ready for whatever her work days threw at her, and the emotions that went with relationships always seemed to get in the way, especially when the relationship failed—which seemed to be inevitable. She was over relationships and decided a while ago that guys were just not worth it. If she was meant to be with one, it would happen without thought.
But then came Tristan, and Tristan didn’t quit.
It was back in September when they had been talking for a couple of months, and he started asking her out. She kept saying no. She wasn’t interested. He finally took the hint, and their talks turned into just occasional texting. But then she ran into him a couple of weeks ago when she and Kristen were shopping at a local outlet mall. He was with Adler, and the four of them ate lunch together, and he asked if he could call her again, and they’ve been talking since.
Fingers snapped in front of her face. Stacey shook her head. She had been daydreaming.Get focused. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
Kristen shot a look across the table at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth raised her eyes and smirked. “Something, or maybe someone, has her attention.”
“Yeah, I noticed. I wonder if it’s a good-looking blond, with smoky gray eyes.” Kristen’s voice swooned as she said smoky gray, imitating Stacey’s voice whenever she talked about the guy who she insisted she wasn’t interested in. “First, she was late. Now she’s here, but not here.”
Stacey’s face grew warm. “Whatever. You two are ridiculous. Tristan and I are just friends.” She noticed the skeptical expressions on her friends’ faces. “He might be interested in me, but remember, I…”
“Don’t do relationships.” The entire table finished for her.
She looked around, and her jaw dropped. It really annoyed her that they always felt the need to mock her. They don’t understand that she doesn’t need a guy to make her feel whole.
She brushed away all of them and went back to eating.
Jacob, Stacey’s brother and Kristen’s boyfriend, leaned over the table. “Sorry for always barging in, Stace, but this guy appeared out of nowhere—again—and we know you’ve been talking.”
Her mouth dropped. “How—?”
He held up his hand. “We hear you in your room, or you get a text and walk away.”
Stacey rolled her eyes.
Elizabeth agreed. “It’s been a while since you’ve been on a date. Your last relationship didn’t end well, and we know you think you have a terrible history with guys, but you deserve to be happy, and Tristan seems really interested.” Her shoulders rose to her ears. “Next time he asks you out, just say yes.”
Stacey looked around the table at her favorite people. They only wanted the best for her, and they all know that relationships aren’t always easy. Jacob and Kristen have been on again, off again, more times than she could count. Elizabeth and Brady had some issues they had to figure out to get to where they were now.
Stacey sighed. “Fine. The next time he asks, I’ll say yes. Does that make y’all happy?”
Her brother smirked. “It will, only if you promise.”
