Page 32 of November

“Maisie, this is a whole lot of effort for a woman youdon’twant to go out with.”

“Well, obviously, Iwantto go out with her. She’s gorgeous. She’s also funny, I think, and she bought me coffee twice. I’m just tired of being made to feel like I don’t matter because I run a small bookstore and don’t have millions of dollars to contribute to my campaign.”

“India isn’t that Colter asshole,” Lainey told her.

“I know. The timing is still off, though. He riled me up, and there’s the election. I need to focus on that right now.”

“Whatever you say, but I think you like her and need tojust talk to her about the whole date confusion thing. A fancy dinner for a first date isn’t necessarily such a bad thing, Maise. Maybe she wanted it to be special. I wish I could afford to take Paige to a nice place. She deserves it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. You love your girlfriend.” Maisie winked at her. “I get it.”

“When are you supposed to meet them there?”

“Seven,” she replied.

“Okay. I have practice until six. Want me to swing by and pick you up? That way, you can use the fact that it’s my car as an excuse to leave later, if you want.”

“I’ll meet you there. I really do have inventory to finish. I’ll just take a Lyft or something.”

“All right. Well, I’ll see you there, then.”

Lainey grabbed her jacket off the counter.

“See you there,” Maisie replied.

???

“Okay. Remember the plan,” she said when she stopped Lainey at the door to the bar.

“The plan? This isn’t a spy movie, Maisie. Just get inside.”

Lainey shoved her playfully toward the bar.

Maisie turned around and walked inside, looking for the group that had invited her but also taking in the place, hoping it really was just a regular bar where she and Lainey would be able to afford drinks. India had offered to buy her one, but she didn’t plan on taking her up on that. Surprisingly, the bar looked like a regular pub she could find just about anywhere. There was a jukebox in the corner, those video game things on the end of the U-shaped bar, and tables and booths with little napkin holders and menus stowed behind them. It felt like a place she would have gone to on her own, which was a good thing. It was also busy, but not in an unapproachable way, which was nice.

“Maisie, over here.”

Maisie turned to see Finley waving her down from a six-seater booth along the side wall. Finley was sitting next to Molly and had her arm around her shoulders. India was sitting opposite them, looking totally uncomfortable. In fact, she had what looked like a napkin in her hand and was wiping off the table in front of her. Maisie wanted to roll her eyes, but India looked up at her just then, so she kept that reaction to herself.

“Hey,” she said. “This is my friend, Lainey.”

She motioned to Lainey standing at her right.

“Nice to meet you,” Finley said. “This is my girlfriend, Molly, and… my friend, India.”

Maisie caught the pause and India’s reaction to it. India looked a little surprised, but she didn’t say anything. She just pushed the napkin aside toward the wall and spoke to Maisie, “Hi. I’m glad you could join us.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Maisie replied. “Should I order at the bar?”

“No, someone will be over in a minute,” Finley said. “Have a seat.”

“Lainey,” Maisie said and then motioned for Lainey to go in first.

Lainey must have realized that Maisie wanted her to sit by India, so instead, she sat next to Molly on the other side of the booth, leaving Maisie with only one place to sit. Not wanting to draw attention to her annoyance at her friend, she sat down next to India, leaving a little space between them.

“So, Lainey, you and Maisie are friends?” Molly asked.

“Yeah, for a while now. Technically, we were girlfriends first. Then, friends.”