AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He chuckled. “Coming to see the show?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“You seem awfully excited about it.”
She fiddled with her straw. “They’ll all meet me as Kev’s girlfriend. It’ll be, ‘Look at Kevin’s girlfriend, all alone, watching the show. I guess she doesn’t have any friends, or talent.’”
“Hayley.” She met his eyes as he gently said her name. “No one at Vivez would ever think of you that way.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, maybe I think of myself that way.”
Nick ate the last bite of his burger, then wiped his hands and mouth with his napkin before he spoke. “So sit with me.”
She glanced at him. “What?”
“You won’t be alone. Everyone will say, ‘Look, our favorite coworker brought a friend. She must be awesome if she’s with Nick.’”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Kevin wants me there opening night. You’ve got karaoke.”
He shrugged. “I can skip a week.”
Hayley wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “Don’t do that. Alexa told me you’ve got a three-year streak going.”
“And what’s the point of being at the bar if I could be having more fun somewhere else?”
She stared at him. “This isn’t a rule of our friendship, you know. You don’t have to do this for me.”
“Look,” he said, “this works out better anyway. I was going to go on Saturday, but this way the Becketts can come with me. You already know Gavin, you’ll love Mel, and you can throw all sorts of food at me if you want. Just give Alexa a heads-up next time you’re in, so they don’t think I’m dead when I don’t show.”
No. This couldn’t happen again. She wanted too much, and someone else was about to pay the price. Even if he had volunteered, even if his cheerful sacrifice only amounted to a few karaoke songs, Nick would be giving up his happiness for hers.
“I’m not asking you to give up your karaoke Friday,” she said.
“Oh, I won’t be going to karaoke on Friday.” He smiled. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask: Would you do me a favorand join me at the premiere that night? The Becketts will be thrilled to meet my third friend.”
Hayley laughed and felt herself relax. Nick Freeman was being her friend. Exactly what she’d wanted, and this was a chance to be a friend to him, and wasn’t this what friends did? Didn’t she want him to join her?
Yes. More so with every second.
“Give me your phone,” she said.
“What?”
She made a “gimme” motion with her hand. “You can’t cancel on me if you don’t have my number.”
“What makes you think I’d do that?” He seemed a little hurt, but he reached for his phone anyway, and her eyes widened when she saw it. “What?” he asked.
“A flip phone, Nick?” Hayley held up the phone like she was confronting an alcoholic with a hidden bottle. “Aflip phone?”
“It does what I need it to do.”
“But how do you text?” She stared at it. “How do you post online? How do you shop for stuff?”
“It does text,” he said, “and I’m not on social media.”
“I know you’re not on social media.”
“Then why did you … wait, did you try and find me?”
