“Sure did, and I’ll do it again if it means my son grows a pair! Tell him to give me a call, will ya? Seems he and I need to have a little chat.”
“Then call him,” I return. “‘Cause I’m not going to be your messenger girl this time. See ya later!”
Exasperated, she waves me goodbye. “Bye, Charlie.”
“Hey! Sorry, I’m late!” I call out as soon as I swing the Get Baked door open.
“No worries!” Indie replies as she hands a customer some change. “Thanks for coming! I hope you enjoy the muffins!”
Once the customer exits past me, I approach the counter and grab an employee apron off the hooks lining the side wall behind the register.
Wiping off the fingerprints on the glass counter, Indie asks, “So did you get your phone?”
“Yeah, but how did you know about that?”
“Levi stopped by to let me know in case I texted you or anything.”
“Well, that was…thoughtful of him.” My face blushes as memories of the night before rise to the surface.
“I thought the same thing. Don’t get me wrong; he’s always thoughtful but,”—she wags her finger at my face—“your reaction to his name is a little out of the ordinary this morning. Are you guys doing okay?”
The knowing look with a side of mirth painted across her face makes my cheeks redden even further.
“Uh…yup.” I pop the ‘P’ at the end. Ass vibrating and reminding me of my insane assumption last night with Levi, a giggle bursts out of me as I pull my phone out of my back pocket.
I think I’m gonna die from embarrassment.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: Levi says you’re a kickass texter. I told him he’s full of shit cuz you still haven’t responded.
“Liar,” Indie teases, bringing my attention back to her. “Are you texting him?”
“No. It’s his friend, actually.”
“Seriously?” She doesn’t bother to hide her surprise.
I nod.
“Ooo…things just got interesting. Fill me in!” Resting her elbows against the counter that separates us, her eyes shine with intrigue.
“You’re as bad as Suzette from Forever Grey! Nosy little buggers.”
With a wicked cackle, she says, “Damn straight. And don’t you forget it. I learned from the best.”
“The best?”
“Sophie and Natalie. Natalie’s the girl you replaced,” she clarifies. “And you don’t know Sophie that well because your shifts don’t usually overlap, but when those two girls get together, it’s like the Spanish Inquisition. They can smell a lie––and the latest gossip––from a mile away. I guess it rubbed off. Now.” She claps her hands. “Chop, chop. Fill me in! Who’s the friend?”
“The friend is Conner.”
“Aaand?” she prods.
“And he’s been trying to get my number for a little while now. Yesterday, I gave Levi permission to give it to him.”
“Why the hell did you do that? I thought you….” Her voice trails off, and she clams up, debating whether she should finish her sentence or not.
“You thought what?”
Pursing her lips, she mutters, “I thought you had a thing for Levi.”
“Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.”
“Then why give his friend your number?”
“Because Levi doesn’t have a thing for me,” I explain.
Eyes narrowed, she hums, “Hmmm…,” before setting aside the rag and tapping her foot against the floor.
“Hmmm?”
“I just…hmmm.”
“Spit it out, Indie. I’m dying here.”
“Let me ask you this. If Levi tried anything with you, would you pursue it?”
I’m pretty sure I’m the color of a lobster as soon as the words tried anything slip past her lips.
“Did he try anything?” she presses, her lids lower to tiny slits of suspicion.
“Umm…yes and no.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Details, Charlie! Gah! No wonder Natalie and Sophie were so frustrated with me,” she adds under her breath.
Laughing, I ask, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“When I first started seeing Rhett, those girls said it was like pulling teeth to get any details out of me, and I finally see where they were coming from. Now spit it out, Charlie!”
“Fiiine. We sorta, maybe kissed last night. But it wasn’t a real kiss—”
“How was it not a real kiss?” Indie interrupts, confused. “Did your lips touch?”
“Well yes—”
“Then it was a real kiss.”
“No, because it was for…research purposes?” It comes out more like a question than an answer, but I can’t think of a better description of what our kiss was.
“Research purposes?”
“Yeah. He asked why I wouldn’t give his friend, Conner, my number, and I told him it’s because I get too nervous around the opposite sex. He mentioned how I’m not nervous around him and asked if he could help me get more comfortable with other guys.”
“So, he offered to kiss you?” Indie’s voice is laced with disbelief, and I can tell she’s sitting on pins and needles, fully invested in the story.
“Yup.”
“And then you kissed?”
“Yup.”
“For research purposes?”
I laugh, dryly. “Sure did.”
“Hmmm…,” she hums for what feels like the tenth time in this conversation. “How was it?”
Covering my face, I try to find my voice, but it’s gone into hiding––along with my pride.
“That good, huh?” she teases.
I nod, still refusing to look at her.
“Was there tongue?”
“Indie!” I squeal.
“What?” Raising her hands in surrender, she gives me an innocent look. “I’m just trying to figure out what he might’ve been thinking.”
“Fine. Yes. There was tongue.”
“How long did it last?”
I look up toward the ceiling and try to come up with a ballpark estimate. I replay the encounter until I’m positive the tip of my head and all the way down to my toes is the color of a tomato.
“That long?!”
“I didn’t give you a number yet!” I argue.
“Which means you had to do the math! If it were a two-second kiss, you’d be able to say two seconds like this!” She snaps her fingers. “Which means it was a hell of a lot longer than an experimental kiss that was only meant to make you more comfortable around the opposite sex, which is a bullshit excuse in the first place, by the way.”
“It sounded pretty logical at the time,” I offer, sheepishly.
“I’m sure it did. But let’s be honest. If you’re in love with him, which you obviously are, then he could’ve said he had to make out with you for a challenge like the ice bucket one a few years ago, and it would’ve sounded just as logical to you. Only this time, you have to make out with your platonic best friend and film it in an effort to save the whales or something instead of helping people understand ALS.”