Page 74 of Fly with Me

“Can’t wait.”

Olive smiled. Her heart lifted at the idea of being excited about something. This was almost like actually being excited for something, which she hadn’t been for a year.

Which reminded her that she really needed to call Derek to beg for his help for one particular thing.

Chapter 26

“You need more female friends,” Derek said, as he finger-combed product into Olive’s hair. Gus had fled from the smell of the hair product and was hiding out, probably on Olive’s bed.

“Why? You’ve been doing my hair since Homecoming 2002. You and I go to sappy romance movies. We shop together. It’s our thing.”

“I know it’s our deal, but you don’t usually take eight hours to find a dress and then refuse to believe my opinions when I tell you you look good in shit. Eight hours, Olive. You made me skip the gym to go to the mall when it opened. Why do you punish me?” He added a few more pins to the style. “Why didn’t you ask Joni to come along too? I could’ve used the backup when you kept doubting me.”

“I don’t know if we’re at the help-shop-for-a-formal-event level of friends yet.”

“Eight hours.”

“So whiny. I made you dinner afterward. And sent home leftovers.”

“We went back and bought the first dress you tried on.”

“I had to be sure.”

The sigh that came out of Derek’s mouth could have blown a pirate ship off course. “So… speaking of all the various women of your intimate acquaintance…”

“Ew. Don’t put it like that. Makes me sound all loose and slutty.”

“You would be loose and slutty for Stella in a heartbeat.”

“God, so true.” Olive gazed wistfully at the ceiling. “Um, so what about my lady acquaintances?”

“Lindsay texted me the other day.” He twisted Olive’s hair into an updo and added a few bobby pins.

“Why? She knows she’s your least favorite person.” Technically, Derek had been friends with Lindsay first. She was a respiratory therapist at the hospital. She mainly staffed the ICUs these days, so their paths crossed less.

“I’m less confrontational than you are, so I haven’t gotten to the point where I’ve been able to tell her to fuck off in writing. Yet.”

“What’d she say?”

“That she wants to talk to you.”

Olive sighed.

“You haven’t talked to her since she ambushed you at Disney?”

“I blocked her number.”

Derek whooped. “Thank Christ.”

Olive let loose a breath. “I don’t think letting her be in my life is good for me.”

“Yeah.” Derek tightened his hold on her unwieldy hair.

“Ouch.”

Ignoring her moaning, Derek pulled her hair tighter as he twisted it into the elegant hairstyle she’d found online for tight curls. “No pain, no gain. Beauty hurts. All the hair-care sayings. You know I was taught well.”

“That reminds me… How’s your sister? And your mom?”