“Yeah but we snuck in back when your defenses were easier to breach,” Maeve said. “You’d never be friends with us now.”
“Sure I would.”
“Name one friend you’ve made since you graduated college,” Maeve challenged. “And not Theo, we all adopted him after Ariel did.”
I paused, searching through my memory banks. “Um…”
“Exactly. Maybe it’s time for you to put yourself out there, socially and romantically. And ‘how about we fuck’ is not putting yourself out there romantically,” Maeve said sternly.
I looked over at Ariel, who was nodding her head vigorously.
“So what exactly do you think I should do?” I asked.
“Talk to Nicole,” Ariel said. “Ask her on a real date. Do date stuff like going to the movies or a music festival. Figure out what’s going on between you.”
Unfortunately, that didn’t work out like we planned. Sunday night Nicole sent me a text, suggesting that we get together at the same coffee shop where we’d met a few weeks ago.
I passed the same homeless man as I saw last time.
“Hey pretty lady,” he greeted me. “I got a new hat.”
He pointed at the knock-off Cubs hat askew on his head. I handed him two twenties.
“In case you need something else.”
I could hear my mother’s voice in my head chastising me as his eyes widened in surprise.
“Those people will use your money to buy drugs,”she always said.“They need a hand up, not a handout.”
Mom was judgmental that way. One thing that we’d learned from Ariel’s girlfriend Sadie was that people often became homeless through no fault of their own, and once they got into that situation, it was hard to get out.
I handed the man another twenty, waving off his profuse thanks.
Nicole was already sitting in the coffee shop when I arrived, so I headed to the counter to order a coffee, then joined her at the table. She was dressed in her typical uniform of a pencil skirt and a blouse, this one sleeveless in a nod to the still sweltering temperatures.
“Good morning,” I said, striving to be cheerful. “How was your day yesterday?”
Nicole looked at me suspiciously. “Why are you being so perky this morning?”
“Aren’t I always perky?” I asked mildly, taking a swallow of my coffee.
“Not before you’ve had copious amounts of coffee,” she said.
Her tone was snippy, telling me that she was spoiling for a fight. I wondered if it was because she was pissed that I’d kissed her, or if something else was going on. I studied her carefully, trying to assess what was going on.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No,” she said, her tone clearly saying the opposite.
I hated playing the ‘guess what’s wrong’ game but I went for it anyway.
“Are you upset because I kissed you?” I asked.
“No. Yes.”
She sighed and I resisted the urge to laugh.
“Well that’s super helpful.”
