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Nathan shrugged, oblivious to my discomfort. “Hundred-twenty-five-thousand.”
I removed my hand, staring at him wide-eyed. “Oh, is that all?”
He smiled. I’d forgotten how much I missed seeing him at ease.
“This it?” He pointed to the red door in front of us. “I’d like to get out of this frigid air sometime in this lifetime.”
At that, I had to snort. “Frigid? It’s like forty-five degrees. Wait until February.”
He shivered. “Don’t remind me.”
We entered the shop and were met by a woman with streaks of gray in her hair and small half-moon glasses. Her entire outfit from her flowy pants to her layered necklaces screamed bohemian.
“Welcome!” she exclaimed. “Charlie, right?”
I smiled and extended my hand. “Yes. And you’re Gloria?”
“You got it.” Her hand felt warm and delicate as it enveloped mine.
Before we could even remove our jackets, she handed us a glass of wine each.
“And who is this tall drink of water?”
“Nathan,” he said in a smooth voice.
“Well, excuse me. I feel unprepared. I thought you were looking to do classes for women not couples. We offer special packages that are heavy on the romantic ambiance. We can evenrecreate that scene fromGhost.” She winked at me, and I choked on the sip of wine I had just taken.
“What scene is that?” asked Nathan, raising his eyebrows as I fought to regain my composure.
“We aren’t a couple,” I said breathlessly. It seemed the gods were looking out for me on that one because Nathan seemed oblivious to the reference.
“I’m sorry, my mistake.” The mischievous gleam in Gloria’s eyes didn’t seem at all apologetic to me. “Right this way. I’ve got your wheels already set up.”
We followed her and both sat down at our station. I rolled up the sleeves on the tattered sweatshirt I had intentionally worn today. Nathan looked a little out of place in his polished black cashmere sweater. I thought about pointing that out but then realized that this outfit probablywassomething he’d wear to get messy.
He scrolled through his phone intently. His brows furrowed as he looked at something. He was likely checking email or something else equally boring.
But what if he was texting someone? It was as if the devil on my shoulder whispered directly in my ear. Could it be a woman? Did Nathan date? He must date. Look at him. But he said himself he had a hard time connecting with people. Maybe that translated to avoiding dating. Who am I kidding? Unless he was actively attempting to repel women, I’m sure he got plenty of invitations.
“Something going on with work?” I asked, hating that my curiosity got the better of me.
“Hmm.” He looks from his phone to me.
“What?” I asked, intrusiveness officially in full force.
He turned his phone to face me. I leaned in to see a Google image search that returned pictures of a shirtless Patrick Swayze wrapped around Demi Moore in front of a pottery wheel.
“You sure you don’t want to recreate this scene?”
“Oh my god.” My cheeks burned as I dropped my head into my hands. “I might actually die of embarrassment.”
He frowned. “According to the logistics of this movie, I think I’m supposed to be the dead one.”
I peeked between my fingers to see a playful twinkle in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. He was teasing me.
“Alright, let’s get started.” Grateful for Gloria’s interruption, I listened intently as she showed us how to use the wheel all while forcing myself not to look over at Nathan.
Thirty minutes later,after lots of instruction and several mistakes, I’d managed to spin a halfway decent vase. I snapped a picture to send to Lila. It might be a little lopsided, but I felt proud of this little piece of art I had created with my own two hands.
