Page 22 of Watch Me

“Reagan, your vanilla latte,” Krystalcalled.

I went to the counter, grabbed my drink, and turned back to Whiskey Neat. “Have a good day.”

He smiled kindly. “You too.”

I left the coffee shop, walking out into the slight wind. It was starting to get colder because autumn was approaching.

The time I would walk to class, I spent it calling Maddison. It had been a few days since I’d last spoken to her because I tried to let her have weekends to just be a teenager in college, so I dialed her cell, knowing that she had a break at thistime.

“Hey, Mom,” she greeted when she answered thephone.

“Hey, baby. How was your weekend?”

“It was good.”

“Go to any good parties?”

I heard her laugh on the other end. “I did.”

“Just be careful.” I took a sip of mylatte.

“I am. Areyoubeing careful? You’re in college too.”

I chuckled. “Don’t think these kids want a forty-one-year-old at their parties.”

“They’d probably be too drunk to even notice your age.”

“Maybe.” I smiled and took another sip. “Before I go, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Okay?”

I took a deep breath. Not because I didn’t want to tell her I was dating Ethan, but because I hadn’t seriously dated anyone since her father and I had split. “I’m dating someone.”

There was a slight pause. “It’s not a student, is it?”

I snorted. “What? No!”

“Is it someone from the bar you work at?”

“Well, kinda. He doesn’t work there, though.”

“He’s a customer?”

“He’s … He’s more than that.”

“What do you mean?”

I took a quick sip of my coffee. “A few weeks ago, my boyfriend from high school walked into the bar, and ever since, we’ve been dating again.”

“What? Mom! That’s—that’s amazing!”

My shoulders instantly dropped, tension leaving my body, and I grinned, thinking of Ethan. “Yeah, it is.”

“Do I get to meet him over Thanksgiving?”

“Hope so.”

Maddie was coming to visit me for Thanksgiving. For Christmas break, she was spending the holiday with her father in Denver, and the rest of the time with me until she had to go back to school at the end of January. I’d assumed she would want to spend more time in Colorado with her old friends from high school, but she had decided she wanted to be in Chicago. I wasn’t going to tell her no. I was excited for her to meet Ethan, and I was excited to meet hisboys.