“Oh no,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “He wanted to hear about me?”
Gia nodded, biting her lip. “Yep. Such an awkward segue too. I was telling him about work and he’s just like, oh wow, interesting. Anyway, how’s Annie?”
“Smooth as always.” But at that moment there was something I wanted to know, something I wasn’t sure how to ask.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I didn’t tell him anything important, like that you’re dating someone or that you moved.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”
“Of course.”
She shook her head. “But he kept prying, asking about you, trying to figure out if you were seeing anyone.”
“What?” I asked, totally shocked. “He asked you that directly?”
“Not dead-on like that – he wasn’t being that blunt. But he kept trying to bring the conversation back to you, asking if you’d made any new friends in town – that kind of thing.”
“So gross. First, he breaks up with me, then he wants to know about my personal life. That’s so Andrew.” I shuddered. “I mean, that’s my coffee shop. If I hadn’t been doing something else, I might’ve bumped into him and been all kinds of awkward.”
“But you didn’t!” she said, her eyes lighting up and a reassuring smile on her lips. “I took the bullet for you! Aren’t I a good friend?”
She was being silly, but the answer was a most definite yes. “Thanks,” I said, taking her wrist and giving it a squeeze. “If he knew I was here…”
“Of course,” she replied. “But what do you think he would do if he knew? Like bad stuff?”
“Not sure. More that he likes to keep tabs on people, have them neatly arranged in his mental file. More than anything, really, I just don’t want him to know anything about me. I’d rather just put everything about him behind me.”
“Smart,” she mused. “Because you’re right – you deserve to move on. He had his chance and he blew it.” She grinned brightly. “Now this big fancy doctor guy can have his shot.” Her eyes flashed mischievously as she mentioned Duncan. “So…”
She was fishing for information, and as much as part of me wanted to keep it on the down-low while things were in the just-starting-out phase, she’d earned it by dealing with Andrew for me.
“We’re going out tomorrow,” I confessed. “And he also invited me to a Christmas party at his office in Denver this Saturday.”
“Are you serious? Two dates in the same week, and a Christmas party? Annie, this is huge!” she squealed.
“It’s not that big of a deal, right?” I was trying to convince myself more than anything in some attempt to temper my expectations.
She leaned forward and looked at me out of the tops of her eyes, her mouth flat, everything about her expression saying come on, now. “A Christmas party is huge. That’s him showing you off to everyone he works with.”
“But doesn’t that just make me arm candy or something?”
“No way. Arm candy is some girl a guy takes out for one night, nothing more. You’re something else. You two have gone out a few times, already. And well, you know… you’ve…” She lifted her eyebrows at him.
I blushed at her mention of my sex life. And yeah, it was nice to know I had a sex life.
“Speaking of which,” she said. “How’s all that?”
“Gia!” I said, laughing and giving her a playful little swat to the arm. “Come on.”
“What?” she asked with a shrug. “Just looking for all the info, here. You’re a journalist now, remember? You should get used to prying.”
“He’s great. I’ve never been with a guy like him before. Then again, not like I’ve got a huge pool of dudes to compare him to.”
“Well, now you’re a hell of a lot tougher and wiser than you were before. You’re ready for a guy like Duncan.”
“But what if he ends up being just as bad as Andrew?”
“Then you’ll know what do this time. You’re ready, either way.”
I smiled, Gia’s words making me feel a hell of a lot better.
“Anyway,” she said. “I’ve got an idea – I bet you’ve spent almost the whole day cooped up in this little apartment, right?”
“Something like that.”
“Then let’s get out and enjoy the night. There’s this awesome little wine bar downtown, perfect place to celebrate your new job. What do you say?”
“Alright, let’s do it. But no getting hammered – not interested in being hungover on my first day.”
“Smart as always,” she said, getting up. “Let me freshen up. Be back in a sec.” She squeezed my leg as she rose from the couch, went into the bathroom, and shut the door.
And I didn’t even have a moment alone before my phone rang, and I saw Duncan’s name on the screen. I did my best to suppress the smile seeing his name caused. After taking a look to make sure Gia was still in the bathroom, I threw on my coat and stepped out onto the tiny balcony that overlooked the street. My place wasn’t anything special, especially compared to Duncan’s palace, but I did love that little balcony and the view it provided.
“Hello?”
“Evening,” he said. “How are you?”
More happiness bubbled up inside of me. “I’m awesome, actually.”
“As much as I’d like to think it’s my call making you feel that way, I’m guessing it really has something to do with your interview.” He was being sardonic, but he wasn’t exactly right – I was thrilled that he’d called.
“It kinda-sorta does,” I said, still grinning ear-to-ear. “I got the job!”
“Are you serious?” he asked excitedly. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you, thank you,” I said. “I do my onboarding tomorrow, and right now I’m celebrating with my friend, Gia.”
“In that case, I won’t keep you. But I hope you’ll still have time for our evening tomorrow. It’s not just a date now, after all – it’s a celebration.”
“Definitely,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye through the glass door, I spotted Gia stepping out of the bathroom. “Anyway, we’re about to head out.”
“Of course,” he said, clearly not bothered. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Can’t wait.”
“And congratulations.”
We said our goodbyes and hung up.
After so much struggle and bullshit, things finally seemed to be looking up. I had my own place, a great new job, and a guy who seemed like he was really something special.
I couldn’t wait for what was next.
Duncan
I was beyond thrilled about the evening ahead, but as I dressed myself and prepared for my date, I kept thinking about the future.
She’d have to find out eventually, right? No way I could keep something like that hidden. I had to play it smart, however. She’d meet Andrew soon, and I had to figure out exactly how it would go down. The longer I put it off, the more likely the situation would be out of my hands.