”What? Why?”
“Because I haven’t seen him at all since I started. On Monday, Mason was there waiting for me and he did all of my intro stuff, and then on Tuesday I jumped right in with the rest of the crew. I haven’t seen him once.” I hate that I haven’t seen him. I want to see him.
“But didn’t you say that he told you Mason was supposed to be running Flame and he runs Blue?”
“Well . . . yeah.” I kind of forgot about that. I just assumed that since Levi was the one to ‘hire’ me, he would be there when I started my shift. But he wasn’t . . . it was Mason. Don’t get me wrong, it was really great seeing Mason. I always did have a sweet spot for that kid. But he isn’t really a kid anymore and his rugged good looks mimic his older brother’s in just about every way, making it a little hard to be around him.
Mia pushes up from the bed and saunters to the closet. She thumbs through the hangers quickly before stopping at a red blouse. “What time do you get off tonight?”
“Tonight, I get off at nine. Why?” I’m not sure what she’s cooking up, but it can’t be good. She tugs the blouse from the hanger and grabs a skirt next to it.
“Where are your black heels?”
“I’m not wearing heels to work. They’ll kill my feet.”
“No, silly. I mean for after work.” Bending down, she starts rummaging through my shoes, standing up quickly with an excited grin when she finds what she’s looking for.
“Found ’em!”
“Tell me again why I need an outfit with heels?”
“Because we’re going to have a few drinks after you get off.” No. No, that isn’t going to work.
“I can’t, Mia. I have to be at the doctor’s office at nine o’clock in the morning and I need to have a completely clear mind.”
“And you will have a clear mind. We’re only going for one drink . . . okay, maybe two. But it’ll help you relax and maybe you’ll sleep better.”
I roll my eyes and push up from the bed. “I’ll sleep just fine without the alcohol.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll toss and turn and worry about it all night, and then you’ll be exhausted in the morning and you won’t hear a damn word the doctor has to say. This way, you’ll have a few glasses of wine—just enough to make you sleepy—you’ll go home and crash, get a good night’s sleep and you’ll wake up refreshed and alert. And somewhere along the way, you might catch a glimpse of Levi.”
Mia doesn’t know about the ultimatum Levi gave me eight years ago. All she knows is that I left him. She thinks I chose school over him and walked away . . . which is what I did. But it’s not the whole story. I don’t want her to know the whole story because I don’t want her to think poorly of Levi.
Yes, he gave the ultimatum, but I pulled the trigger. I made the choice, and if she is going to think poorly of anyone,
I want it to be me. However, this is Mia and she’ll never think poorly of me. She just tells me I was young and stupid, and if I really want him back in my life, I need to do a little groveling. Which I’m prepared to do . . . if he ever shows his face and gives me the chance.
“Fine,” I concede, knowing it’s much easier to comply with her. “What are you going to do until I get off?” She tosses my shoes on the bed with the rest of my outfit and starts digging through her suitcase.
“I’m probably going to hang with Benny.” Her head pops up over the edge of my bed. “Maybe I can get him to come out with us.” She looks hopeful so I really don’t want to burst her bubble, but Benny doesn’t go out. If he does, he sure as hell wouldn’t go to Blue. Benny isn’t a ‘club’ kind of guy.
“Good luck with that,” I mumble, slipping on my shoes. “I’ll text you when I get off.”
“Sounds good,” she says, her head once again buried in her suitcase. Shirts are flying left and right, and I duck when a sandal flies at my head.
“And you’ll bring my outfit so I can change when you get there?” I ask.
“Yup.” I duck again but not soon enough, and I take a red lace bra to the face.
“Mia, how many clothes did you bring?” I toss the bra on the floor at the same time she pops back up with a black scrap of material clutched in her hand.
“Got it!” She wiggles her hips in excitement and waves the silky shirt in front of her. “Benny is going to shit when he sees me in this.”
Well, that catches my attention. A cat-ate-the-canary grin slips into place at the thought of my two friends hooking up. “You have a thing for Benny,” I taunt, resulting in a stink eye from Mia.
“Do not,” she huffs. “I just think it’s fun to mess with him”—she shrugs—“and he’s sort of hot so . . .” She trails off and I shake my head.
“Please don’t play games with him. He’s been through a lot,” I say, no longer joking. She looks up at me and I half expect her to ask me what all he has been through, but she doesn’t. I’m glad because it’s not my story to tell.