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“Is that right?” She chuckles.
“It is,” I state matter-of-factly.
“Well, if you’re so sure of yourself, why don’t you just ask her out already?”
“What if she says no?”
“Remington Jonathan Barnett. Are you actually nervous about being rejected? Put this in the record book, folks.” She spreads her arms wide. “For the first time in history, the playboy of all playboys is too scared to ask out a woman he’s clearly attracted to.”
“Ha. Ha,” I deadpan. “Mock me all you want. It’s not going to stop me from asking for your help.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Pen!” I whine dramatically.
“I am not asking out a coworker for you. I already told you she was single. That’s as far as I go.”
“You said she’s new in town.” An idea hits me. “I’m sure she probably hasn’t had time to make any friends, what with a new job and all. Why don’t you invite her out for drinks after work? And then maybe I’ll just coincidently happen into the same bar at the same time.”
“Because I’m breastfeeding and can’t drink,” she reminds me. “Not to mention, that’s way too obvious.”
“So drink water.” I refuse to be deterred.
“Because that’s not weird.Hey, do you wanna have drinks? Just kidding, I’m gonna have a water.”
“Come on. You’re always complaining that you don’t have any girlfriends. She’s around your age.”
“Technically, she’s two years younger than me.” She needlessly points out because two years issucha big difference.
“Pen...” I pout out my lower lip in true Remi fashion.
“She really made an impression on you, didn’t she?” She leans back in her chair, regarding me for a long moment.
Okay, so yeah, I’ve pretty much been able to think of fuck all else since she literally ran into me the other day, but who can blame me? The woman is a knockout. And not in the fake way a lot of women are these days, where they wear so much makeup you can’t even tell what they really look like underneath it. But in a simple, elegant, beautiful kind of way.
Not to mention, she was witty as hell, not missing a single beat when I spouted off some bullshit about being issued a ticket for texting and walking. Which, by the way, I regretted the second that shit came out of my mouth. But instead of making me feel like an idiot, she jumped right in and played along.
I’d be lying if I said the whole thing didn’t leave me feeling a bit of a certain way.
I can’t even remember the last time a woman actually made me feel anything outside of the obvious... Well, that’s not entirely true. Once upon a time, the woman in front of me had me tied up in knots. But that was a long, long time ago, and so much has happened since then that it all feels like a lifetime ago. Somewhere along the way, I found peace with her choice, and now, hell, I can’t imagine a world where she and my brother aren’t together. Not to mention, a world without my two favorite humans on the planet. My niece and nephew.
She is who she’s always been—my best friend. We’ve been through a lot in our almost twenty years of friendship, and while there are moments I regret, there’s not a single thing I would change, no matter how painful some things might have been.
“Maybe a little,” I finally speak after a long moment. “Is it weird that I’m kind of intimidated by her?”
“You?” She snorts. “I haven’t known you to be intimidated by anyone a day in your life.”
“First time for everything, I guess.” I shrug.
“You’re not alone, though,” she quietly admits. “Sheiskind of intimidating. I don’t know what it is. She’s just so pretty and put together. When she walked into this office my first day back, she made me feel like a frumpy lumpkin.”
“A frumpy what?” My shoulders vibrate with silent laughter.
“Lumpkin.”
“Pen, what the fuck is a lumpkin?” I raise a fist to my mouth to hide my smile.
“Oh, shut up.” She picks up a pen off her desk and throws it at me. It hits the arm of the chair instead and then bounces to the floor.
