Page 15

A sher had received a message from Cindy around ten, having unblocked the woman that morning because she had been curious to know if Cindy had even bothered to reply to her. Having gotten the message notification soon after, she’d responded politely, knowing that Linden would’ve told her not to. Cindy’s message contained an attempt at an apology but not one that resonated with Asher. Apparently, Cindy had decided to get back together with her ex-girlfriend, who had shown up at her house telling Cindy that she still loved her before Cindy was set to meet Asher. That was the reason Asher had been stood up at the restaurant. She had blocked Cindy again after replying to her because she didn’t want to hear from her again, but at least the woman hadn’t shown up, taken one look at her, and left how Asher had thought. She supposed that should’ve given her a boost about this whole app dating thing, but it didn’t.

Asher knew she didn’t want to date anyone on the app. She’d only been fooling herself. She wanted Linden. Sitting at that table last night and seeing Linden walk in, supporting her, even though she had had a sure thing, only made Asher want her more. Then, they’d gone for dinner, dessert, and a walk, and that had made things more than clear. Watching a movie while drinking her favorite coffee made things feel so normal between them, but still not normal at the same time. Yes, they watched movies together a lot. No, they didn’t usually sleep in her bed, next to one another, with Asher unable to sleep because her heart just wouldn’t stop racing. She had watched Linden sleep for at least an hour before she finally closed her eyes, and it had been exactly what she knew she wanted.

“Hey.”

Asher looked up from her computer and saw Gavin standing in her open office doorway.

“Gavin? What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t respond to my messages. I was worried,” he said.

“I’ve been busy. And we broke up, Gavin.”

That, apparently, was Gavin’s cue to walk into her office and move his hands from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of red roses.

“I got you these.” He smiled at her. “I was thinking I could take you to lunch, and we could talk.”

“Talk about what?”

“Well, I told you I’d check in with you in a few days. It’s been a few days.”

Asher closed her eyes for a second and said, “Gavin, I told you not to check in. And I didn’t respond to your text. Why would you come here? This is where I work.”

“It’s about lunchtime. I made a reservation at Miguel’s. I know how much you love their salsa.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Linden asked.

Asher watched her walk into the office and give Gavin a glare.

“Hey, Linden,” he said.

“Hi, Gavin. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m taking Asher to lunch.”

“No, you’re not, Gavin,” Asher stated.

“Come on, Ash. You ended things out of the blue. You can at least talk to me over lunch and tell me what happened.”

“I did tell you,” Asher replied.

“No, you just said you were going through something. How am I supposed to tell my parents that the girlfriend I was about to introduce them to dumped me because she’s going through something but didn’t tell me what it is?”

“That’s not really her problem, Gavin,” Linden said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“This isn’t really your conversation, Linden. Why are you in here?”

“I saw you come in, and I knew Asher didn’t invite you to the office today.”

“Gavin,” Asher spoke as she stood. “I’m not going to lunch with you, okay?”

“Can we at least talk here?”

“No, this is where I work,” Asher told him.

“Well, you didn’t respond to my message, and I called this morning, too.”

“I know.”

“That should tell you something,” Linden added.

“Linden, not helping,” Asher said, giving her a look.

“What happened, Ash? What are you going through?”

“I think I’m bisexual,” she stated a little louder than she’d planned.

“What?” he asked.

“That’s what I’m going through: I want to date women. I don’t want to be with you anymore, Gavin. It’s not there for us, okay?”

“But if you’re bi, what’s the problem?” he asked.

“Good Lord,” Linden grumbled. “You don’t listen well or at all , apparently, do you?”

Asher glared at her for a second before she said, “Gavin, I don’t want to be with you. We are broken up. I’m sorry, but that’s it. That’s what’s going on with me.”

“You’re still interested in men, though.”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“So, it’s not that you’re gay; you just don’t want me .”

Linden actually chuckled a little.

“Gavin, I’m sorry. I’d like you to leave now, okay?”

“I’ll walk you out,” Linden added.

“I don’t need you to walk me out,” he said. “You got what you wanted, didn’t you?” He glared at Linden.

“What did I want?” Linden asked.

Gavin shook his head and said, “Never mind. It’s not worth it.” He lowered the flowers he had brought to his side and walked out of the office, leaving Linden and Asher standing there in silence for a long moment.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Linden said.

“Not really. He’s texted, and he’s left me a voicemail. I probably should’ve just called him back.”

“No way. His inability to understand when things are over is on him, not you,” Linden said. “What did he say in his voicemail, though?”

“Just that he missed me. He asked me to call him back.”

“And you hadn’t returned his call after only a few hours while you clearly have a job and meetings at that job? How dare you?” Linden joked.

Asher laughed a little and asked, “You don’t think this is going to be a thing now, do you? He’s not going to keep calling and texting, is he? I don’t like him just showing up at the office.”

“I can tell the front desk not to let him through and give his picture to security downstairs,” Linden offered.

“I don’t think I need to go that far. Do you?”

“Probably not. I don’t think he’s crazy. He just liked you a lot, and you did kind of end things with him out of nowhere. Most likely, his fragile male ego is just more bruised than anything. I’ll still do it anyway, though, just in case.”

Asher sighed and sat down in one of the two guest chairs in her office. Linden sat in the other one and leaned forward.

“Hey, no one else knew who he was, and no one heard the conversation. Most people are at lunch right now anyway or out with clients,” Linden told her.

“I should’ve broken up with him a month ago.”

“Why?”

“Because I knew then. I think I’ve known all along that it wasn’t going anywhere. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself because I’ve watched hundreds of couples find love and get married over the years. I’m not getting any younger, and I was still single. Gavin is attractive, successful, and he was a nice guy.”

“ That ’s your criteria?”

“It was until recently,” Asher replied. “You know my new criteria. I told you last night.”

Linden leaned back and said, “Well, if he’s too glued to his phone and stupid fantasy league to kiss you first thing in the morning, he’s a dumbass.”

Asher swallowed. She pictured Linden asleep last night and how she’d been so tempted to reach out and run a hand through Linden’s hair, but she would’ve risked waking her up and having to explain herself. She wasn’t ready for that and probably wouldn’t ever be.

“Hey, what are you doing tonight?” Linden asked.

“Nothing. Why?”

“I just got these tickets for House of Blues. Want to go?”

“Who’s playing?”

“Some local band. A client is the guitarist, and he gave me tickets.”

“What kind of music?”

“Jazz or blues or something like that. I don’t know. He wasn’t really involved in the wedding planning. Left that to the bride. But he gave me the tickets, so I thought we could go.”

“Why don’t you invite sure thing from last night?”

Linden laughed and said, “Because I don’t want to go with her.”

“You just want to sleep with her?”

Linden sobered and replied, “Actually, I don’t. I turned her down, remember? Twice.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You just mentioned her in the car this morning.”

“That she wanted to get together tonight, yeah. But I didn’t say yes.”

Asher nodded and said, “I’m not sure I’m really up for a standing-room-only concert tonight.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun. It’s balcony seats, not standing room. Backstage access.”

“To a band I don’t even know?”

“Great. I’m picking you up at seven. We’re grabbing burgers before.”

“Wait.” Asher laughed. “I didn’t say yes.”

“Oh. Weird. I heard you say that you couldn’t wait to hear this new band you’ve never heard of.” Linden stood and added, “Cheeseburgers, Asher. Extra grease.”

“Linden, I’m not eating a greasy cheeseburger.” She laughed.

“You want two greasy cheeseburgers? Is that what I heard you say?” Linden winked at her as she started walking toward the open door. “ With chili cheese fries.”

Asher rolled her eyes and said, “None of the above.”

“Hey, maybe wear jeans tonight and an old band T-shirt or something.”

“I don’t own any band T-shirts,” Asher replied. “And wouldn’t it be wrong to wear a different band’s T-shirt to someone else’s show anyway?”

“I will bring you an old R.E.M. shirt. Just be ready at seven.”

◆◆◆

They had arrived at the venue around eight-thirty after Asher had watched Linden eat a cheeseburger and fries while she’d chosen a plain hamburger and removed the bun. Linden had laughed but hadn’t given her a hard time about it. The balcony was open for standing, but there was a VIP area with sofas and seats. Linden’s tickets had gotten them into that section, which also came with a waiter, who had brought them drinks. Asher had to admit that she wasn’t much of a jazz or blues fan, which meant she knew nothing about it or the band that was playing below them.

“That’s it?” she asked around nine-fifteen after the band played their last song and left the stage.

“That’s the opening act,” Linden explained as she leaned over, delivering it straight into Asher’s ear.

“What? It’s after nine.”

“I swear, you say these things purposefully to sound like an old person,” Linden said, laughing before she took a drink of her Abita.

“We have work tomorrow, and I’ve been up late every night this week already. I’m tired, Linden.”

“Come here,” Linden told her, wrapping an arm around Asher’s shoulders and pulling her against her side. “Take a nap. It’ll take them at least fifteen minutes to change out everything for the main act.”

“What?!” Asher said. “Fifteen minutes?!”

When Linden laughed, Asher felt it against her side, and she couldn’t help herself. She moved in closer, trying not to snuggle into Linden exactly but still let Linden hold her in a way they never really had before. Twenty minutes later, Linden was pulling away because she was applauding. The main act was onstage now, and Linden was ordering another beer. Asher had only had one and was drinking water. She was exhausted. By ten, she was more than ready to head home, so she pulled out her phone to call a car to take her there.

“What’s wrong?” Linden asked into her ear.

“I’m really tired, Linden. I’m going to go. You can stay, though.”

“What? No,” Linden said. “I’ll go with you.”

“It’s fine. You’re having a good time.”

“I’m tired, too, Ash. I wanted to come to show support because they can give me referrals, but I’ve put in the time. I can say I was here. I took a couple of pictures. We can go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Linden replied. “Want to just go back to my place? It’s closer.”

Asher didn’t know what to say to that because, yes, she did want to go to Linden’s place. She knew that staying at her apartment wasn’t an option because it was farther away, and she had no excuse tonight to get Linden to stay and sleep in her bed. Linden only had the one bedroom, though, so Asher rarely stayed over. When she did, it was on the pull-out sofa, and she could count on one hand the times she’d done that. She also wasn’t sure her back could handle that sofa tonight after two nights in a row of not sleeping well.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” she replied instead of telling Linden that no, she could order herself a car and sleep in her own bed tonight.

“Let’s go,” Linden said as she stood and held out her hand.

Asher took it without question, and she let Linden pull her through the crowd, toward and down the stairs, past people who were standing on them, talking and drinking. Linden kept hold of her hand until they were outside, and the fresh air hit Asher’s face.

“Are you good with a walk?” Linden checked.

She nodded, and they made their way down the sidewalk and into the less populated part of the city.

“Hey, let’s stop at the store. It’s on the way, and I don’t have anything for breakfast tomorrow.”

“We can just grab something in the morning.”

“No. You never stay at my place. Let me make you pancakes. I’ll use that whole wheat flour you like. I just need to pick that up and grab some syrup. I have everything else.”

“You want to make me pancakes from scratch before work tomorrow?” Asher asked.

“Why not?” Linden shrugged.

“Okay. Let’s go to the store,” she said, kind of wanting to watch Linden make her pancakes the next day now, picturing her adding flour and eggs into a bowl, mixing it together with everything else, and slowly pouring it into a pan while wearing an apron.

Well, that last part might have been in Asher’s fantasy.

“Should we get some oil and powdered sugar, too?”

Asher laughed and said, “The beignet mix is at my place.”

“We should have planned ahead,” Linden said.

She placed her hand on the small of Asher’s back as the signal to walk showed green, and they stepped off the curb. Linden hadn’t ever done that before, or at least, not that Asher could remember. They’d walked these streets for years now, waiting at countless lights on street corners, and she couldn’t remember a single time when Linden’s hand had been on her lower back as they crossed. It was nice. Being with Linden like this was nice, and Asher knew she needed to get a grip on her growing feelings.

“Has Gavin tried to call again?” Linden asked her when they got to the other side of the street.

“No. I think he got the message today,” she replied.

“Good. He’s not good enough for you anyway. No one is,” Linden said.

Asher smiled as they headed toward the grocery store.