Page 22 of Catching Our Moment

It was a cool fall day, and I stepped into the cafe to find my friends in the corner, already hovering over their large drinks.

Even on the weekend, Aliya was perfectly put together in a pair of yoga pants that probably cost more than my entire ensemble, with boots and a fashionable sweater.

Grace wore jeans, a colorful sweater, and no-nonsense work boots with an adorable bright knit hat pulled over her curly hair.

I went to the counter, got my chai latte, and made my way to the saved seat between them.

“How is it that you live in town now, and I still barely see you?” Aliya tore right into me.

“You have my address,” I shot back. “You can come by anytime.” I took a sip of my delicious drink.

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt any ‘bonding’ that was happening.” She waggled her eyebrows.

Grace’s choking sound distracted me, stopping me from leaning over and smacking my friend upside her perfectly styled ponytail. “Stop. You know it’s not like that.”

Her devilish smile wasn’t hidden behind that ginormous coffee cup she held against her lips. “It could be,” she purred.

I glared at her. “He has a girlfriend.”

Both Grace and Aliya gave each other that look. The look two friends gave each other when they were silently communicating about something they had already discussed.

“What?” Was this how this coffee date was going to go, starting in on me about Shaw? I wanted to talk about him but not like this. I wanted their advice on how to help him.

I focused on Grace. I knew she was the weak link. “Why are you looking at each other that way?”

She stared down at her coffee cup, turning it in circles, and said softly, “Well, honey, I just find your response interesting.”

I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Really? Why?”

“Because when you defended the reason why you aren’t…bonding with Shaw, you said it was because he had a girlfriend. Not because you two weren’t like that. Not because you two are only friends. Not because you could never be like that with?—”

I held up my hand. Okay, I saw her point. “Yes, those are all reasons too.”

“But they weren’t the reasons you said. Back when we all were younger, those had been the reasons you used to give when people teased the two of you about the time you spent together—when people assumed you were a couple.

But not anymore, it seems. You said, ‘He has a girlfriend.’ It makes it seem as if you thought about it, but Rachel?—”

“Riley,” Grace interrupted.

“ Riley was the only reason you couldn’t think about him as more than a friend,” Aliya said.

I shifted in my seat and took a sip of my very hot chai. Blowing on it for what felt like a full minute while I contemplated how to get out of this corner, I relented.

“It’s not like that,” I whispered, and even I heard how weak it was.

Aliya smiled softly at me. “Honey. We all know what it’s like. We always have.

“Don’t push,” Grace whispered to her.

Aliya waved her off. “Listen, you and he have never been able to get this together.” She reached out and took my hand. “You two have a connection that is so rare, so incredible. People spend a lifetime looking for it. Your timing has always just sucked.”

“What Aliya is trying to say is you are both older now. You are both here. Why not…explore…”

I picked up my drink again then said very slowly so they could understand me, “He has a girlfriend.”

Aliya leaned forward and added, “She’s not here.” Aliya leaned back, cocking an eyebrow. “She chose to leave him. And in this condition. Shame on her.”

Grace scowled and said, “Bitch.”

Aliya’s phone pinged.

“Moving on…I think I’m going to get a chocolate croissant.” I stood up, but Aliya grabbed my hand and jerked me back down to my chair.

Staring at her phone, she said, “Your excuse about Shaw having a girlfriend may have just flown out the door.”

“Aliya, I told you?—”

“His girlfriend has finally gotten her wish and has gone viral.” She showed us her phone and the gossip column that she had pulled up.

Right there, for everyone to see, was a snapshot of Shaw’s girlfriend in a passionate embrace with another man.

“She’s hooking up with one of the guys on that reality show she’s on,” Aliya blurted.

Grace gasped, and her hand was over her mouth. “Oh, poor Shaw. Do you think he knows?”

“I’m going to kill her,” I growled out without even thinking about it.

“That self-centered skank.” My hands balled into fists on the table.

“They couldn’t talk for the three months she’s been gone.

It’s part of her contract. They are supposedly cut off from their friends and family and social media.

Clearly, that’s not the case. Someone leaked this.

She’s not important enough for paparazzi to be paying for it. ”

“But Shaw might be. Him being cheated on would be news,” said Aliya.

“And this type of juicy gossip is good for the show’s PR.” I palmed my face. “He doesn’t need this right now.”

Grace’s hand went over mine. “Do you think he will see this?”

“His people will, which means he will.” I grabbed my phone to see if I’d received any messages. Would he reach out to me about this?

Grace leaned forward. “This is fantastic news. Then he can break up with her, and you can swoop in to console him.”

I reared back. “No. What planet did you come from?”

“For fuck’s sake, Kelcie, would you just hook up with that man and get it out of both of your systems? At least kiss him and see if this sexual chemistry that has been choking all of us is for real.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted up my chin. I was not going down that path with them. “Actually, I was coming to talk to you two about something else, but now I don’t think I want to tell you. You are going to take the wind out of my sails.”

“Oh, tell us. I promise we will be good,” Grace said, sitting forward.

Aliya eyed me but was quiet.

I held my cup and carefully rotated it as I took my time deciding how to say this. “I have a date.”

They both perked up. “What? Who?”

“A guy I met at work. He’s been coming in after knee surgery. He wasn’t my client, but we talked whenever he came in.”

“And?”

“And his last appointment was the other day. He came over and said he never made appointments with me because he’d wanted to ask me out for weeks and didn’t want it to be an issue.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Grace said.

“Sounds presumptuous to me,” Aliya said, taking a sip of her drink. “I mean, he’s been going there for weeks. Why wait to ask you out? You’re a catch. You could have been snatched up while he took his time.”

“Aliya…”

She threw out a hand at Grace. “What if Shaw had gotten off his ass and kissed you before this bozo decided it was the perfect time? Would you still be going out with him?”

“I’m getting my croissant. I need chocolate.”

“You need to get laid,” Aliya said…loudly. “And not by a guy with a bum knee.”

“He’s a marathon runner,” I threw back over my shoulder.

“So, he’s skinny without an ass. Do you want a skinny guy who doesn’t eat junk food?” Aliya said.

I returned with a warm croissant to enjoy. “Shaw doesn’t eat junk food.”

“Yes, but Shaw has a hell of an ass.”

I pulled the croissant apart, ready to enjoy its chocolatey goodness. “What are you doing looking at his ass?” I said, beating back the memory of what Shaw’s ass felt like and trying not to be possessive of said ass. I took another bite.

“Girl, every woman—and some men—watch Carolina football just to see Shaw’s ass in those tight white football pants. It’s a thing of legend,” Aliya said. She turned to Grace, who was giggling. “Am I right, Grace?”

Grace tilted her head. “Shaw does those deodorant commercials with the towel around his waist, and there’s a reason they get his backside.”

I stuffed half the croissant in my mouth.

My cheeks flamed because she was right. But the fact that my friends were talking about Shaw’s ass…

Well, it made me see red. There was so much more to him.

“I’m not discussing Shaw’s ass,” I said with a full mouth.

But then the memory of seeing him without a shirt made me wish I’d picked up a brownie too.

“I have a date next week,” I said, as if I needed to remind myself.

Maybe a new ass to look at would help. I shoved the remainder of the croissant in my mouth.

Maybe the prospect of being physical…kissing…someone who wasn’t Shaw, would be what I needed to stop me from going down this obsessive, dead-end road again.