Page 33 of Trusting the Fall
“Come to The Wayside with me this weekend, then.” I jump off the bench and grab a mug for my coffee. “It’s your first weekend off in a month, and we need a bestie date. Plus, I’m sure this Caleb guy will be there again.”
She shakes her head. “No. We were definitely a one-night thing. I don’t want to go there and see him flirting with someone else.”
“If you had such a great connection, how do you know he’ll be there flirting with someone else? Maybe he’s hoping to run into you as well?”
I pick my phone up off the bench where it lived all night. There’s a text from my mother and another email from my stick-in-the-mud contractor. I flick the email notification away and quickly check Mum’s message instead.
MUM: Hey, Claire Bear. Do you still have those black heels with the bows on the back? Mr Callahan is in town for the board of directors meeting and I need him to notice me. His damn sons have been a pain in my arse lately, but the man only listens properly when the scenery is worth looking at. *eye roll emoji*
I click out of the message with a shake of my head. I’ll worry about her later. I pull up Instagram and search for The Wayside’s profile. Their latest post is a picture of the bar with a caption teasing one of their themed nights this weekend.
“Hey, The Wayside has another themed night. If we find the password, we should go!”
“Find the password?”
“Yeah! On themed nights, they only grant entry through their back entrance with a password that they hide on their social media posts.” I scroll back up to the photo, inspecting every corner.
“Oh. I didn’t realise you actually had to guess those passwords.”
My eyes land on a cowboy hat at the end of the bar, sitting next to a bottle of honey. I look up to a confused Lex, a sinister smirk delighting my face.
“We are definitely going out this Saturday. But I have something else to distract you with for now.”
15
“Thanks,Liv,”Icallover my shoulder before biting down into the crumbly pastry, bursting with a citrus cream, making me groan.
“Oh my god, this is amazing,” Lex says, licking a rogue dollop of cream clinging to her lip from her chocolate éclair.
I smirk as she guides the long pastry to her lips, catching more cream on the side of her mouth, and burst out laughing.
“Yeah, it looks like you’re really enjoying it, babe.” I almost can’t say the words through my wheezing. “You’re handling that treat like a pro.”
She looks down at her pastry, to me, and then back at the dessert when her eyes widen in realisation.
“Oh, get your mind out of the gutter.”
We stop at the edge of the sidewalk and wait for a few cars to pass.
The late morning sun is scorching down on us, the street crowded with people enjoying the finer weather Heart City has to offer as we move into October. The jacaranda trees that line the street are being taken over with bright purple blooms.
Lex goes to take another bite of her éclair and frowns.
“Now I can’t eat this without thinking of a penis,” she says, just as a guy stops beside her on the sidewalk.
“Wow.” He coughs out the word, cheeks flaming, and I can’t help the snort that erupts out of me.
“I’m so sorry,” Lex squeaks before latching onto my free hand and dragging me across the now empty street, only letting go once we reach the other side to open the door to Parlour Tricks.
It’s my last chance to look at the painting and tiling before the floorboards go in tomorrow, and then we’re on a one-week lockdown for the stain to cure and dry out.
I wipe my pink work boots on the mat before going in. Lex borrowed a pair of combat boots I had in the back of my closet from when I dressed up as Lara Croft one Halloween.
On the off chance we bumped into the boss, I didn’t want to risk being read the riot act for not following safety protocols.
“Claire! I can’t believe how different this looks.” Lex stares at the wall, now covered in giant, blooming peonies. “That wallpaper is beautiful.”
The deep crimson background makes the pink flowers pop, and the sunlight coming in through the windows catches on the little gold touches, making them glitter. I smile, content with the decision to change it.
