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“The couch is more comfortable anyway. Besides, this has been a long day for all of us.”
Whitney just stared into her pizza. “You can say that again.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes before I decided to break the ice.
“We didn’t have much of a chance to debrief our venue options earlier today.” I sipped my drink, looking across the couch at Whitney.
“God, that feels like days ago, not hours ago.” She set her plate down on the glass coffee table in front of her before tucking her legs up on the couch.
“Well, today was a bust in more ways than one.”
I finished my plate and put it on the side table, wiping my hands on my napkin.
“You don’t think we found it today?” I asked.
Whitney gave one firm shake of her head. “Not even close.” She sighed. “Especially after learning that barnyard chic has been as big of a hit here in Ohio as it’s been in LA.” Whitney finished her drink.
I started towards the kitchen to get us both refills.
“Just water for me, please,” she asked. It seemed that hadn’t changed about Whitney either.
“Where are we going to go tomorrow? I assume you have lots of other hidden gems up your sleeves.” It took seconds to grab another beer for myself, pop the top and head back to the living room.
“I have a few ideas,” she said mysteriously.
Whitney reached out to grab the water from me.
I gave her a skeptical look as I handed over the glass.
“And do you plan on filling me in on your plans, or do I have to put a tail on you?”
A look of exasperation crossed her face. “Fine, I have two appointments scheduled for tomorrow. You can come, if you have to.”
“Good choice. Barb would be immensely disappointed if we didn’t choose this venue together.”
“Har har.” Whitney rolled her eyes.
“Oh, and I have a place I want to add to the list.”
She shot me a look of surprise, sitting up a little straighter. “Oh, really? What is it? Where is it?”
“It’s a surprise. I’ll drive us there tomorrow after we tour the other two places.”
This made Whitney visibly uncomfortable.
“Actually, I prefer to do a little recon before visiting a venue. It makes negotiating much easier if we end up liking the place.”
I shook my head. “Trust me, I know the owner. This will be a great location and we could get it for a steal.”
Whitney looked like she wanted to argue. I could see her trying to rein herself in.
“Seriously, though. It really is more helpful if I can do the appropriate researchbeforewe visit a site.” Whitney continued to argue, her face starting to turn red with frustration, and the small line between her eyebrows more pronounced.
Needing something to do, I got up and took our plates back to the kitchen. I bit into the piece of crust Whitney had left on her plate before storing the plates in the dishwasher. Normally, I washed things by hand, but with three people now in the house, it seemed easier to take advantage of the tools at my disposal.
“Why don’t you tell me about the places you want to take us to instead.” I redirected the conversation. “I have tomorrow off of work, so I’m yours all day.” I smirked from across the kitchen island and watched as Whitney scooted further back into the couch, trying to put some physical distance between us. As if that would keep me from talking to her, antagonizing her until she finally gave up the goods and explained to me what the hell was going through her head.
“Fine,” Whitney relented.
