“Com
e in.”
With a few deliberate steps, I set the Get Baked box on her desk.
She grins. “And?”
“And she said she’d go out with me.”
“Yes!” she whisper-shouts. “What are you guys going to do?”
“No idea,” I admit on a laugh. Running my fingers through my hair in desperation, I ask, “Where do you take your best friend on a first date?”
“Don’t overthink it, and don’t put too much pressure on anyone. Just choose something you both love to do,” she offers as though it’s the easiest solution in the world.
With a groan, I sit down in the chair across from her then rest my elbows on my knees. “I know what Charlie and I like to do when we’re hanging out. We’d go to the batting cages, watch a movie, or go for a run. But I literally have no idea what she’d like to do on a date. Hell, I’m pretty sure the only date she’s ever been on was during her Sophomore year with a dick named Johnny, who, by the way, I confronted afterward and told him to stay away. And then she went out with Conner, which we both know was lame.”
Amused, Alexandra asks, “Why did you tell Johnny to stay away?”
“Because he was a dick.”
Didn’t I already say that?
“You said that already,” she points out, reading my mind. “I’m just curious why you thought he was a dick.”
“Does there need to be a reason? He was some asshole in high school. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he wanted from her.”
Laughing, Alexandra leans back in her office chair.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” she replies through bouts of laughter.
“Bullshit. Tell me.”
“I just think you’ve had a thing for her longer than you realize, that’s all. It’s kinda cute, actually.”
I roll my eyes but don’t bother to argue. “We’re getting off point. What are we supposed to do on a date? Usually, when I take a girl out, I only have one thing on my mind and….” My voice trails off.
“And it feels wrong to want that,” she emphasizes the word, “with your best friend?”
Scratching my jaw, I say, “Kind of, yeah. I feel guilty.”
“Don’t. You’re a guy. And she’s a girl. Even if she’s as innocent as you say, she’s not an idiot. Especially since she knows you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I mumble under my breath.
Assessing me, she probes, “What do you mean?”
I shift in my seat and look up at the ceiling.
This is such an inappropriate topic of conversation to be having at work, let alone with one of my bosses. But she’s also a woman. And since I can’t pick Charlie’s brain on the topic, yet I’m still desperate to know what she’s thinking, Alexandra will have to do. I just hope I don’t get fired for it.
“I don’t date women seriously. They know what they’re getting into when we start seeing each other.”
“And you’re afraid Charlie’s expecting the same thing?”
Clearing my throat, my attention drops down to my lap before shifting from left to right. Finally, it lands back on Alexandra. “Yeah.”