Page 5

Sam could hear Liz let out a deep groan as she stuffed her laptop into her backpack.

“Shit, sorry, babe. I forgot. Can we do it another night?”

Sam swung the bag over her shoulder, looking around awkwardly.

“Yeah,” Jess answered with a small nod. “No big deal.”

When Liz looked back down at her phone, Sam saw her opportunity.

“Want to pick things up again tomorrow?” she asked.

Liz hummed, not looking up as she typed something into her phone. “Email me a time, and I’ll make sure I’m free.”

Sam nodded as she slipped her hands back into her pockets, turning to Jess, fully prepared to give a polite goodbye. But as their eyes met, the intensity of Jess’ stare dissolved the words about to roll out.

She swallowed, desperately grasping for that last thread of composure to stay for just a few moments longer.

But in those deep blue eyes, she could see unspoken words, and she wondered if Jess would’ve said something else if they’d met again under different circumstances.

“Sam,” Liz continued, finally peering up at her. “I meant it about wanting to catch up. Maybe we could all meet up for dinner or something sometime soon?”

She knew she should look away from Jess then. That she needed to listen to what Liz was saying.

But Jess was still holding her gaze, and something in her eyes kept her from looking anywhere else.

“I know you’re probably busy with all this stuff going on now,” Liz continued, “but maybe we could plan something next week?”

Sam blinked, shaking her head slightly as she finally looked at Liz. “Uh—sorry—what?”

Liz held a slightly amused look. “I know. My brain is fried too, after all that,” she said with a laugh. “Do you want to get dinner or something next week? To catch up?”

“Oh. Yeah, uh—sure,” Sam replied, still not fully understanding what she was agreeing to. Her brain seemed to be moving at half speed, still barely processing the last few minutes.

“Great!” Liz said with a wide grin. “Maybe we could all do something together. A big reunion!”

“Yeah,” Sam muttered as Liz took the paper bag of food back around to her desk.

Sam took a step toward the door where Jess still stood, unmoving, as she watched her.

Sam gave her a small smile as she stepped past, keeping her hands firmly in her pockets. “It was good seeing you again.”

Jess’ eyes flitted to the floor before looking back at her. She opened her mouth to say something, then paused, closing it again. “You, too.”

***

Sam barely made it through the front door of her apartment before pulling out her phone.

She stepped over the half-unpacked cardboard boxes littering almost every inch of the floor as she scrolled to Scarlett’s phone number.

She tossed her navy blue blazer onto the marble countertop and clicked the call button before putting it on speaker.

The phone rang three times, then Scarlett’s voice came through.

“Seriously,” Scarlett muttered. “You cancel on me at the last minute, then decide to call when I’m trying to sleep?”

Sam leaned her elbows against the countertop, letting her head droop above the phone.

“Sorry,” she muttered, running a hand down her face. “I had a long day.”