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She wanted Matt Russo, but she didn’t want to.
It was as simple and as difficult as that.
She gave Arnold a weary smile. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Or the night before. Or the night before that one. Or…
Liza had been volunteering at the Promise House for just over a year and during that time, she’d become very close to the home’s director, Arnold Jackson, as well as his life partner, Johnnie. The three of them had begun their own little dinner club, meeting up at a different restaurant or each other’s home two or three times a month. Liza looked forward to those nights more than she could say, which was a testament to how lacking her social life was. Now that most of her girlfriends were in relationships, she found herself eating dinner alone at least ninety percent of the time.
She hated eating alone.
She, Arnold, and Johnnie hadn’t had dinner together since before the Snowflake Gala because of all the hustle and bustle associated with the holidays. Their next date was Tuesday night, and they had invited her to join them at their house because Johnnie had some new recipe for curry chicken he’d found online that he was dying to try.
“You sure you’re not coming down with something?” Arnold asked. “The flu has been making the rounds ever since New Year’s.”
“I’m not sick,” she reassured him.
“Hey, Liza,” Devonte said as he entered the room, spinning a basketball on the tip of his finger. She’d never seen the boy when he wasn’t wearing his beloved Celtics jersey or without a basketball in his hand.
“Hey, Devonte.” The two of them fist-bumped, their standard greeting.
“You up for a game of hoops?”
She shook her head, grinning. Most Saturdays, she took him up on the offer, but she couldn’t summon enough energy for a lousy game of Horse right now, let alone the one-on-one she and Devonte usually got into. She’d played on the girls’ basketball team in high school, but that experience did not help her when it came to playing against Devonte. “Not today.”
“Yeah, you probably don’t wanna take me on now that I’ve got these sweet KD16s.”
Liza glanced down at Devonte’s new tennis shoes and whistled. “Damn. Nice shoes. Santa bring you those?” she teased.
Devonte shook his head. “Nope. Matt gave them to me. Got us all new shoes. Let us pick out whatever we wanted.”
“All of you? You mean every kid here?”
Devonte nodded, grinning widely.
“Wow. That’s super nice.” Liza glanced over at Arnold. She knew everyone on staff, as well as the counselors and volunteers, and she’d never met anyone named Matt. “Is Matt new?”
Arnold nodded. “You could say that. He’s been by the place a few times since the gala. Apparently, your presentation really impressed him.”
It took a second before Liza could process what Arnold was saying. Because there was no way…
“Matt Russo?” she forced herself to ask.
It was Devonte who answered him. “Yeah. Dude is rich as shit, but he’s aww-right.” He drawled the word alright, making it clear he thought Matt was totally cool. “Not too bad on the court either, but he can’t keep up with me and my mad skills, y’know.”
“He’s played basketball with you?” Liza didn’t mean to sound so shocked, but dammit…she was.
“Coming back again next week.” Devonte was obviously excited to see his new friend. “Gonna help me break in my new kicks.”
“Come on, Liza. I’ve got something in my office I want to discuss with you,” Arnold said before Liza could question Devonte further.
The two of them walked together, stopped several times along the way by teens who wanted to say hello to Liza or ask Arnold a question.
Once they reached his office, Arnold gestured toward the “seen better days” couch before shutting the door. She sank down on the faded but comfy cushion, as Arnold took the overstuffed armchair across from her.
“I’m worried about those dark circles under your eyes. It feels like we haven’t talked in ages,” Arnold started.
“It’s only been a few weeks and I’m coming to your house on Tuesday. We can chat then.”
