Andi paused the recording and took a sip of water, her throat dry. Gina Holiday’s story was a little too close for comfort to Andi’s own story. While reading through the events of Gina’s life, instead of imagining the face of the victim, Andi was picturing her own. That innocent, wide-eyed girl who’d been high on the feelings of a teenage crush. That feeling of He likes me, he really likes me! coursing through her like a drug.
Ugh.
She hit the record button again. “I’m going to pause here in Gina’s story for a second. I just want to say to all of you who are out there listening to this, especially those of you who are still teenagers, that you should never feel…lucky that some guy or girl loves you—like they are somehow above you and, wow, are giving you a shot to be with them. You, whoever you are, are amazing and worthy of love. See the people you date as equals.” She took a breath. “This is not to blame the victim. I’ve been that girl who felt ‘special’—I’m putting air quotes around that—because some ‘cool’ guy deemed me worthy of his attention. It didn’t work out well. So this is meant to be more of a PSA on the importance of nurturing your self-esteem. Love doesn’t work if both people aren’t on even ground. We’re all human with good qualities and flaws. No one gets to be on a pedestal. Putting someone high up on one in a relationship makes it too easy for them to crush you.”
Andi’s phone screen lit silently with a text. She paused her recording and grabbed her phone.
Hill: Hey there. I know you’ve been swamped, but on the off chance that you still require food, want to get together for dinner tonight? I can make dragon noodles and bring them over.
Andi smiled at the invitation. She and Hill chatted or texted daily now but hadn’t had a chance to get together since their movie night almost two weeks ago because she’d been so busy. Hanging out with Hill would be a welcome respite from what she’d been doing, but then she glanced at the notes and papers in front of her and sighed.
Andi: Ooh, dragon noodles sound intriguing. But I’m still at WorkAround and have two hours left on my rental time for the podcast room. It’s booked solid tomorrow so I’m stuck here for a while.
Hill: Bummer on the late night. Maybe tomorrow then.
She started to type back that tomorrow sounded good, but then another idea hit her.
Andi: How would you feel about coming here? I’ll order some delivery and we could have dinner. I could give you that tour, too.
Hill: Yeah?
Andi: If you’re willing to come out this way. Dinner with you would be a nice carrot at the end of this stick. This podcast episode is wringing me out. Really sad story.
Hill: :( I’m sorry. And yes, I can come to you. What time?
Andi: 7:30? I’ll send you the address.
Hill: Great. See you then.
Andi texted him the address and set her phone down. She still had hours of work ahead of her and the most gruesome part of Gina’s story to get through, but suddenly, she felt ten times lighter than she had a few minutes ago.
Not only was Hill going to come out here and have dinner with her, but this also told her something she’d been wondering about in the back of her mind. He was coming here simply to hang out with her. She’d been worried after movie night that now that they’d taken semi-naked steps, it would become an expected part of their get-togethers—which may have been one reason why she’d used her busyness to turn down the last few invites—but Hill was proving that her fears were unfounded. Because they certainly weren’t going to be getting naked at WorkAround.
Andi glanced over at the spongy acoustic tiles on the soundproof walls, and unbidden images flooded her brain. Hill pushing her up against the soft wall, his mouth on her neck, his hands sliding beneath her dress, his fingers finding the edge of her panties.
A full-body flush cascaded through her, and she leaned back in her chair, her body liking the images too much.
Nope. Down, girl. Not happening.
She closed her eyes and shoved the dirty movie from her mind. She needed to keep her head together. Starved libido or not, she couldn’t afford to let her hormones fog her brain when it came to Hill. “Blinded by lust” was a saying for a reason.
They were friends.
They were going to have dinner.
That was it.
Back to work.
Chapter Sixteen
Andi grabbed two Topo Chicos from the coffee-bar counter and thanked Dwight, the new WorkAround barista, before turning to Hill, who’d arrived right on time looking like a sexy mirage in the desert after the marathon of finishing her podcast. She handed him his drink. “When you rent space here, you get two free drinks a day. My friend Jasper used to make the best iced coffees, but he’s leveled up and bought an improv theater, so now I’m working on training Dwight. He’s a sweet guy, but if you don’t watch him, he puts too much milk in everything. Luckily, he can’t mess up mineral water.”
“Thanks.” Hill accepted the drink and glanced around the bottom floor of WorkAround, his gaze bouncing from one thing to the next in the high-ceilinged, industrial-style space. The sound of clicking keyboards filled the air, and many of the hot desks were still occupied with people wearing headphones or AirPods and nursing coffee drinks even at this late hour. “So all these people are just doing their own thing?”
Andi walked alongside him, matching his slower, methodical pace and continuing her mini-tour. “Many are one-person operations, entrepreneurs, that kind of thing. Some may work for a company but work remotely and don’t want to or can’t work from home. Some have day jobs and rent a hot desk for a few hours at night or on weekends for a side hustle.” She pointed. “Alyssa over there is a social media manager for a number of popular online sites.” She nodded toward someone else. “That guy with the fedora—he’s got a YouTube channel about board games—but during the day he’s a dental hygienist. Tyra, the gorgeous woman with the messy bun, she’s got a popular beauty-based Instagram channel, but comes here a few days a week to work on the behind-the-scenes aspects of her business. She’s got a ridiculous number of sponsors, so I’m sure getting that all coordinated each week takes a lot of time.”
Hill listened intently as they walked. “You know all these people?”
Andi sipped her drink, the glass bottle already sweating even in the air-conditioned space. “Not all of them. I try to meet as many people as I can, but the hot desks rotate so much that there are always new faces. Some people’s ventures fail and they can’t afford the rent anymore. Some move on to more permanent arrangements or move into an office upstairs. Some go off the grid and hike for a year. Whatever. The first floor is very transient.”
Hill shook his head. “This makes me feel really old.”