Gretchen
Right?! The fine print gets murky.
Me
Cranking it down before would mean you could wear one of my hoodies. And I do love seeing you in my clothes.
Gretchen
Solid point. But, on the other hand, at 72 degrees you would walk in the door and immediately have to start disrobing.
That feels like a win-win.
Me
I don’t know. I need some time to weigh the pros and cons.
Gretchen
That’s fair.
If I don’t hear anything, I’ll just surprise you.
Come home hungry. I’m making dinner.
A soft tap on my door pulls my attention.
“Sorry, I don’t want to interrupt. I know you’re probably swamped,” Lauren says from the doorway.
Memories of our conversation last week has me out of my seat and moving in for a hug that’s neither forced nor awkward.
“I’m about to head out to lunch, but I wanted to check in and um…so…it’s really hot outside.”
My burst of laughter turns a few heads in the cubicle pool beyond my door. We’re friends now and it’s exactly as it should be between us. “We’ll always have the weather.”
Her face sobers. “I talked to Reagan yesterday. I can’t believe it. I had no idea.”
“I know. Me neither.”
Silence stretches for long seconds before Lauren shifts topics. “How was the trip?”
“It was…” I trail off. The last time we talked, I assured her there was nothing between Gretchen and me.
I didn’t have the highest hopes then that anything would happen between us. But things have changed and the last thing I want is for Lauren to find out and think I intentionally kept it from her or, worse, that I did anything behind her back.
“It was good. Actually, there’s something I should probably tell you.” I pause, inhaling deeply. “When we spoke on the phone last week I didn’t dwell on the fact that I was there with Gretchen because there wasn’t anything going on there”—her face turns dour—“and that was the truth. Nothing was happening between us, but?—”
“But there is now,” she finishes.
“The trip had nothing to do with her and me, I swear. She had some other stuff going on and Drew asked me to be there for her.” My words catch as I hesitate to go on. But I know I have to be honest with her. “But she and I had some baggage from back before I met you and?—”
“You were together before?”
I shake my head. “No. We almost were. We kissed once.” I’ve never actually admitted that out loud to anyone before. “Thatdinner a couple months ago was the first time I’d seen her in almost three years.”
She nods absently and looks away. “Sorry. I’m…processing.”
“I should have told you about Gretchen, but to be honest, Drew doesn’t even know and I’ve been really scared of him finding out. But that’s no excuse and I’m sorry.”
