Page 77 of Until You Came Along

I smiled reading his message because I could imagine his face when he read the name of the pub. While I was responding, my phone died as the battery ran out. That’s when I remembered that after Hermes’ call, my battery had been in the red, but Iforgot to charge it. I wasn’t worried; when we decided to leave, I could solve it by sending him a message from Serafina’s phone.

Seri had gotten up to go to the bathroom and was now returning.

“I was texting with Hermes, but my battery died. I’ll need to use yours to let him know when we leave.”

“No problem. Should we order more drinks?”

“I’m not going to drink much because I have to drive,” I stated.

“I’m going to order a Cosmopolitan. What should I get you?”

“Get me the same and I’ll just have a little.”

Since the waiter was taking a while to come to our table, Seri went to the bar to get the drinks. I was surprised to see her return accompanied by two guys.

“Delfi, let me introduce you to some colleagues from work. This is Pedro and James,” she said, pointing to them.

They were two guys who looked about our age, tall, handsome, and very modern in their style of dress and haircuts. I got up from the comfortable couch where I was sitting to greet them, and both approached and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m Delfina, nice to meet you.”

“Delighted,” said Pedro.

“The pleasure is mine,” responded James.

“Guys, would you like to join us?” Serafina asked, and I gave her a serious look.

My idea was to spend time with my friend and not with two strangers, but she seemed happy to have run into them and it was obvious she wasn’t going to let them leave. Both nodded and sat down across from us. Serafina started chattering aboutthe place, saying how much she loved it and asking if they knew it. Then they began talking about something that had happened that afternoon at their workplace, and I remained silent because it wasn’t a topic I could participate in. The guys were friendly and chatted along with my friend. At one point, Serafina suggested going dancing. It bothered me a bit that she hadn’t consulted me because dancing wasn’t my plan. I was clear that now I was in a relationship with Hermes and I wasn’t going to do something that I wouldn’t like done to me. Finding out that he had danced with another woman wouldn’t sit well with me at all. Serafina grabbed this Pedro guy by the hand, who was clearly the one she was more comfortable with, and dragged him to the dance floor.

“Would you like to dance?” James asked.

“Actually, no, but thank you for the invitation,” I replied.

“The music is good. Don’t you want to dance just a couple of songs?” he insisted.

“I really don't. I didn't come with the idea of dancing, in fact, I think as soon as Serafina comes back I'm going to leave.”

“So early?”

“It's not that early for someone who has to get up early.”

“What do you do for work?”

“I'm an economist.”

“Do you mind if I stay and chat with you?”

“Of course not,” I replied, although the truth was that I didn't feel very comfortable.

“Have you known Serafina for long?”

“You could say all my life. We've been friends since we were children,” I answered.

“And do you often go out together?”

“Not as much as we'd like, but when we can, we try to see each other, catch up, and spend time together. Today is one of those days.”

“May I insist that you dance with me?”