AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve never felt so content in my life as I drift off to sleep in his arms.
10
KAT
Christy and I sit at a prime table on the second floor of the restaurant, next to a tall arched window with a view of the sunny street below. Our finished plates rest in front of us, and we’re sipping lattes, feeling full and lazy in the warm and laid-back atmosphere.
Brunch in the Twin Cities is an institution. Weekend brunch is a favorite pastime here, and as a result there are tons of great places to choose from. Dream Breakfast Bar is one of the newer, hotter places. It’s located in an old renovated fire station in Saint Paul. The space is funky and beautiful, filled with decor that acknowledges its firehouse past. They even kept the fire pole.
Christy is telling me about a pharmacy tech at the hospital who asked her on a date a couple of days ago. “Lance is really nice. I actually met him when I went down to the pharmacy to fill my own prescription, for ayeast infection.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “I think I picked it up at the gym. Can you imagine? Here he is, chatting me up, and then when he pulls the prescription to enter in my order, I see the light bulb go off in his eyes!” She starts laughing, her face reddening. “But you know, he didn’t say anything about it, and then when I came back later when it was ready, he asked me for a date!”
“Oh my god!” I giggle. “That’s both mortifying and very cool.”
“Right?” She widens her eyes at me in mock-horror. “I mean, it’s probably a good sign, right? That he’s a good guy? And he’s really cute, too. Not like model handsome, but he’s got one of those faces. Hot in a way that sneaks up on you. And he’s funny, which of course makes him automatically better-looking.”
“Agreed. So, when are you guys going out?”
“Next week sometime. Probably for dinner. Turns out we both really like Middle Eastern food, so we’re gonna pick someplace neither of us have been before.” She takes a last sip of her latte, draining the cup, and sets it down. “Oh, you know what else?” The esteemed Doctor Adam Latto saw me flirting with Lance outside the pharmacy yesterday when I was on my break. And now he’s giving me the total cold shoulder.”
“Ouch.”
“Not, ouch. Awesome,” Christy laughs. “At least he’s leaving me alone now. He can pout as long as he wants, as long as he isn’t a dick to me when we’re working together.”
The waitress comes up and asks if we want anything else. When we say no she leaves the bill on the table. “This was really fun.” Christy leans back, stretching. “I like this place. We should come here again.”
“I know. It’s great to actually do something other than go to work, come home, and go to sleep.” I lean back in my chair. “I can’t believe I’ve actually had two social outings in a week. That’s almost unheard-of for me.”
“Two?” Christy cocks her head. “What was the other one?”
Oh, whoops.I forgot I never mentioned my sort-of-date with Connor to Christy. Much less what happened afterwards.
“Uh, just an impromptu dinner date with a guy I used to see in high school.” I wave my hand airily, hoping to make it sound unimportant. But Christy has a nose like a bloodhound for stuff like this.
“Ooohhh, I can’t believe you didn’t say anything!” She instantly leans forward. “Who is this guy, and how did you reconnect?”
“He’s just a friend,” I lie. “I honestly hadn’t seen him in years. I ran into him outside a bar.” I shrug nonchalantly, but my body doesn’t let me get away with it. My face immediately flames beet red.
Christy’s eyes widen. “You are not being straight with me. I literally just told you about my yeast infection, so you need to give me the deets. Right now.”
I exhale. She’s right. And actually, I am sort of dying to talk about it. I end up telling her more about Connor than I plan to. I tell her about how he was my first serious boyfriend, and that he was the boy I lost my virginity to. I tell her I was crushed when we broke up, but I don’t tell her why we did. I explain that I ran into him at a biker bar when I was there to look for my brother, and that we’ve seen each other a few times since then.
“And,” she concludes with a wiggle of her eyebrows, “judging from the sparkle in your eye, he did more than just kiss you goodnight on your date.”
I stare at her. “You can tell that?”
“Are you kidding me? You’re practically glowing right now at the memory. So, dude is good in bed, I take it?”
I bite back a grin. “He’s um, better than good.”
Christy whoops, which earns us some curious glances from around the room. “I knew it! So, you’re seeing him again? Like, is this a relationship?”
“I’m not sure,” I admit. “But maybe?”
“So he’s a biker like your brother?” she frowns. “That’s hot. But I don’t know, dangerous, too, maybe. Is a guy like that long-term potential?”
“I’m not even thinking about that,” I say firmly. “He hurt me a lot back in the day. I probably shouldn’t even have let him back into my life. But for now it’s fun. So I’m just trying to go with the flow.”
After Christy and I say goodbye at the restaurant, I head to the grocery store to do my shopping for the week. I’m waiting in line at the checkout when my phone rings. With surprise, I see it’s Carla, my brother’s ex. I’ve barely said hello when she starts shouting into the phone. “Kat, where the fuck is your brother?” she demands.
