Page 58 of Rum & Coke

Tessa groaned and leaned on the counter while I began to unpack the bags. “My boss called me that last night.”

I stopped, holding the cake in my hand. “What?”

“Not like in a romantic sense—I don’t think.” She started to help me unpack the bags.

“Then how?”

“He called me ‘Tessa Baby’.”

“In what context?”

“I don’t remember exactly, but something along the lines of the story of his life and then he added the ‘baby’ after my name.”

“Why were you talking about his life?”

She shrugged and walked to the fridge and put the cake inside. “Well, it started off by him asking me to go to a house party at his house on Sunday.”

“By yourself?”

“No, other girls from Red Diamond will be there, and he said I can bring someone. So, you want to go with me?”

“On Sunday?” I asked, looking around for a knife—not to kill anyone, though the thought of her boss wanting to spend more time with her was weird and made me want to have a talk with him. “Knife?”

Tessa pointed to the cabinet above the stove, and I opened it to see the knife block was inside. “Yeah, on Sunday.”

I sighed. “I’d love to go with you, but …” I stopped and looked at her. This was it. This was the time to ask her if she wanted to try dating. I wasn’t even sure if people still did that, but under the circumstances, it seemed like the only way to move our relationship forward. Luckily, I had a plan if she gave me an ultimatum about S&R.

“But?”

I placed the knife on the counter next to me and leaned against the cabinet, my butt resting on it as I faced her. She was filling a vase with water for the flowers. “This is going to sound like we’re in middle school or some shit, but do you wanna be my girlfriend?”

Tessa turned off the water and slowly turned to face me, her hip resting on the sink. “As in us dating?”

“Pretty sure that’s what boyfriends and girlfriends do, even though I’ve never had one before.”

“Wait, what? You’ve never had a girlfriend before?”

I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of hook-ups in high school and college. I was the star volleyball player, and everyone wanted to date me, so I gave the ladies what they wanted.”

“Ah, you were one ofthem.”

“What does that mean?”

“A player. Both on and off the field—or court, in this case.”

I shrugged. “I like the term ‘ladies’ man’ better.”

She chuckled. “Okay then.”

“But seriously …” I took two steps to stand in front of her, my hip resting on the sink. “I like you a lot, Tess, and I want to try—with you.”

“Why me?”

“Because I like you—a lot,” I repeated.

“But what about S&R?”

I swallowed. “You want me to quit?”