“Oh no, of course. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop in for some hash browns and coffee. I’m on my way to work anyway.”
I smiled wide and he smiled wider. “We can look over them tomorrow night if that works?”
“Yeah, yeah!” He exclaimed, excitement overtaking him. “I can bring them to your place. We can order Chinese food, and I can bring wine. I could even cook steak or something for you…” His voice faded off as he grew a bit too joyful. He ran his hands through his hair, shrugging. “You know, or whatever.”
“That sounds like a plan. Just a heads up though, my house is still a piece of work. And with the rain, there’s been a few leaks through the roof.”
“My offer still stands about you crashing at my place until you finish updating your house. I know that stuff can be a headache.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pioneer my way through the complication that is my home.”
“Okay. Well, I better get going to work, but I’ll meet you tomorrow at your place to go over these.” He shook the files in the air and winked my way.
“Wait. I thought you came in for coffee and hash browns?”
“Oh, yeah. I did, but I just realized…” He was a bit flustered, and I couldn’t help but smile. “I should really get to work a bit early to look some things over for my boss.”
“Then tomorrow it is. I’ll supply the alcohol; you supply the properties.”
With that he disappeared. I let out a sigh. Dan has had the same crush on me for the last three years, virtually since we met, but I never felt that kind of connection to him. He was an important person in my life, though, and I always hoped he’d be okay with just being friends.
“I swear, he brings you properties, has a solid job, lies about wanting hash browns just to see you, has that ‘screw-me-sideways’ kind of smile, and offers to cook you steak. But you can’t even take up the offer to stay with him for a while?” Lori said, carrying a tray with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and sausage links.
I laughed. “My house is fine. I’ve spent all these years saving up to buy my dream home, and now that I have it, I’m not ready to let it go. It just needs a few Band-Aids, that’s all.”
“Honey. Your house needs a bit more than Band-Aids.” She smirked, placing the plates of food down on table five before she headed back over to me with a hand on her hip and sass in her lips. “I’m just saying. If I had Dan offering me a bed, I’d move in with him and have him show me his floor plans on every inch of my body, in every inch of the house.”
“Lori!” I shushed her, my cheeks heating up.
“I’m just saying. You’re working three jobs to pay for a house that you need to fix up anyway, in order to prove that you can be an independent woman. You could fix up the house and live with Dan, you know.”
“The house isn’t that much of a fixer-upper,” I argued.
“Aly.” She moaned, slapping her hand against her face. “The last time I came over to share a bottle of wine, I used your bathroom and I didn’t close the door when I used it. You know why? Because there wasn’t a bathroom door.”
I laughed. “Okay. I get it. So it’s a fixer-upper. But, I like the challenge.”
“Hm. You must be a really good lay for Dan to stick around the way he does.”
“What? Dan and I haven’t slept together.”
“Seriously?” she exclaimed. “You mean he’s drooling over you, and you two have never done the deed?”
“Never.”
“But… That smile!”
I giggled. “I know. But he’s a good friend. I have a big rule for my relationships, and it includes never dating any of my friends. Ever.” I’d been down that road before, and was never planning to travel down it again. To this day I still thought about Logan and mourned the friendship I loved and lost.
We would’ve been better off never falling in love.
“You know, Charles and I were best friends before we decided to date. He was the love of my life, and no one has ever compared. He used to make me laugh so hard, before I even knew what love was. Some of the best things in life come from the strongest kinds of friendships,” Lori explained. Her head lowered, and she gripped the locket hanging from her necklace, which held their wedding photo inside of it. “Boy, oh boy, do I miss that man madly.” She hardly ever spoke about Charles, her late husband. But whenever she did, there was a twinkle in her eyes as if her mind was traveling back to the day she first fell in love with him.
Our boss told us to stop chatting so much and get back to work, which we did. We were always busy in the mornings, serving more people than seemed humanly possible, but the busier we were, the less time I had to think about things.
“Are you good on coffee?” I asked a woman sitting near the window. I held the coffee pot in my grip as I made my way around to all my tables for refills.
“Yeah, I’m good. Thank you.”