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She nods, not looking at all guilty as she scoops up more of the appetizer. “Brian. He’s a major foodie and a major bragger. Bringing me here, he got to introduce me to an amazing restaurantandmake me die of jealousy by comparing it to food he had when he was in Venice, so it was his ideal night.”
I smile faintly. “Is he cute?”
She frowns like that’s a weird question, which I guess it is. “Um, kind of. He’s like a more pretentious Joe Goldberg, but he’s also super, super gay. I take it things between you and Jackson’s boss aren’t going so well?”
“No, they’re… as well as can be expected.”
“What does that mean?” she asks, frowning at my discomfort.
I’m anxious that this conversation could go very, very wrong, so I scoop up another bit of goat cheese and tomato sauce, but as I do, a wave of nausea hits me.
No, no, no. Behave yourself, stomach.
The last thing I need is to get sick here in front of Charity.
I will the little devil’s seed lodged in my womb to behave itself and look around to see if the waitress is any closer with my iced tea.
“How’d you meet him, anyway?” she asks, gazing at me across the table as she takes a sip of her martini.
“Um… well, I guess the first time I saw him was actually at Jackson’s office Christmas party. I don’t remember him, we weren’t actually introduced, but he remembers seeing me.”
“Aww.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, even though I know it’s decidedly not anawwsituation. I don’t know how to explain how I met him. I don’t want to tell her I blew off her bachelorette party to go hang out with my ex and his boss, but I can’t tell the truth, either.
I’m saved by Charity’s phone. She holds up a manicured finger and says, “Hold on one sec.” Then she puts the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
Phew.
That was too close. She’ll be distracted when she gets off the call, so I try to think of something to change the subject to when she gets off.
While I’m brainstorming, my phone vibrates, too.
I grab it and see a message from Calvin that reads, “Do you know your ring size?”
My eyes widen. “Um… yes? Why?”
“Just curious. What is it?”
That seems like a dangerous question, so I don’t answer it. Instead, I tuck my phone away and return my attention to Charity while I wait for her to end her call.
We have a nice lunch chatting about Charity’s honeymoon and the mountain of work she has had since she got back. I try to keep the spotlight solely on her, and only mention what I’ve been up to in vague, passing terms.
It feels a lot like lying, but I’m not ready to tell the truth.
Thankfully, despite her similarities to Calvin in some ways, one way she differs is that she doesn’t pay as close attention to me. She’s not as hung up on the truth, either, so I’m able to skate through lunch despite a few pretty obvious glaring moments that should have aroused her suspicions.
Charity pulls out her credit card at the end of the meal, but then I remember I have Calvin’s.
“Wait! Lunch is on me this time,” I say happily, grabbing the bill fold from her and digging out my pretty pink Discover card.
“Ooh, new credit card?”
“Brand-new and begging to be used.” I slap it down in the bill fold and close it before handing it back to the waitress.
“That dirty slut,” she jokes. “Hey, I have an idea. Do you still have some time?”
I nod. “Now that my meeting’s over, I’m pretty much free for the day.”
