Page 27

"It wasn't right of me to talk to you like that," Pete said firmly. "I respect you and I'd never want to be the reason you and Eddie?—"

Pete wasn't sure if the snort from Danica was a sign of amusement or anger; the mention of Eddie had clearly struck a nerve, the silence heavy with unspoken feelings.

"I'm sorry, Wendell."

Danica took a deep breath, pressing her lips into a firm line. "I... Well, thank you for the apology. There's nothing to apologize for, though."

"Okay..." Pete said slowly, watching the expression on Danica's face change from uncomfortable to sad. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You’re upset.”

"No, I’m not.”

Pete took a bite of ice cream, watching Danica. “You look upset.”

A muscle in Danica’s jaw tensed. “No, I don’t.”

Pete studied her. “If you say so.”

Danica looked back at her for a long moment, then exhaled a long, slow, resigned sigh. "Eddie and I broke up."

Pete nearly dropped her ice cream as she pivoted in her seat, not surprised by the admission itself but definitely surprised by the timing of the admission. "What?"

Danica nodded. "Yeah. I mean, a while ago. Over a month. He broke up with me, originally, but then he called earlier this week and I just… I still feel…” She shrugged, trailing off like she was unsure how to finish.

Pete stared at Danica, her mouth slack with shock. Over a month ago? "Oh, fuck him." She moved to put the ice cream bowl on the table. "Are you okay? Wait, dumb question. Of course you're not." She rubbed a hand over her face. Part of her felt unexpectedly hopeful but part of her ached at the thought of Danica being hurt. Most of her wanted to punch that dentist in his stupid, too-bright, perfectly-aligned teeth.

"I'm… I don’t know." Danica tossed her cross-stitch hoop onto the coffee table. "Maybe it's just shock, but I feel fine."

Pete nodded,not quite understanding. “I mean, in the short-term that definitely seems preferable to the alternative, right?”

"Yeah, and he's... um. Sorry, this is probably kind of weird for you to talk about," Danica said, fidgeting with the edge of the throw blanket.

"It's not. I care about you and I'm happy to talk about anything with you," Pete responded gently.

Danica continued fidgeting with the blanket. "He's not what I actually wanted in a partner."

Pete's voice was low as she asked, "What do you want in a partner?" Her stomach was doing twirls and flips of hopeful excitement, despite her best efforts to respectfully support Danica during such a tumultuous time.

With a small shrug and a frown, Danica let out a breath, the weight of her decision heavy in the air. She looked unbelievably adorable when she did that. "I'm not sure. I just know what I don't want."

Pete raised an eyebrow. "That’s hard for me to believe.”

"Maybe I'll just adopt one thousand cats and live alone for the rest of my life," Danica said, leaning forward to take Pete's ice cream bowl. "Can I have some of this?" She was asking the question as the spoon was halfway to her mouth.

"Uh, yeah. Of course. Have it all," Pete said, waving the bowl toward her.

Pete bit her lower lip as her eyes lingered on Danica’s mouth for a moment before looking away. So, so many inappropriate thoughts swirled through her brain while watching Danica’s lick the spoon clean.

Danica’s eyes lifted to meet Pete’s as she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself.

"What is it?" Pete asked as casually as she could manage.

"You made me realize that, you know," Danica said, not meeting her eye as she took another bite of ice cream.

Pete cocked her head in confusion. "Realize what?" She leaned, tucking her cold feet under herself.