ie

“What exactly did she say then?”

He pouts. “Well, she said go away or I’ll be forced to hurt you, but it wasn’t fuck off.”

I burst out laughing. “Getting warmer there, Jack.”

He flips me the bird now. “It is right? It’s not as bad as fuck off. It’s like, a step down.”

“Yep,” I say, digging through the clothes on my sofa looking for my work shirt. “Next it’ll be go away just on its own.”

“Imagine that. The day she stops abusing me.”

“Keep trying.” I giggle. “One day you might actually get a hello.”

He grins, like that’s an awesome thought. I roll my eyes and laugh.

“Anyway, what’s up with you? You’ve been crying.”

Oh, my god.

I can’t hide anything.

“Tough night. I’m fine. I made a new friend, though.”

“Did you, what’s her name?”

I burst out laughing. “It’s a he, and his name is Roman.”

“Are you sure he’s not a serial killer? Where did you meet him?”

I cross my arms, shirt dangling from my hand. “He’s not a serial killer. I’m fairly certain of that. He checks all the right boxes so far.”

“Oh, my god, you’re going to fuck him. Rebound sex.”

I snort. “Seriously, is sex all you think about?”

He cocks a brow. “Coming from you.”

After Michael’s comments last night, that kind of hurts. But I don’t say anything, because Jack doesn’t mean it like that, and I know he doesn’t.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m changing.”

He roars with laughter.

Yep.

My life rocks right now.

CHAPTER 4

“Order up!”

I rush to the counter and take the two plates, twisting on my heel and rushing them over to the table. I place them down, smiling at the young couple, and then I undo my apron and duck out back. “I’m going on my break!” I call to my boss, the head chef.

He smiles at me and nods, giving me a thumbs up. He’s only about twenty-eight and extremely successful. He’s brought this business up from the ground and has managed to run it as well as cook. Not to mention, he’s awesome. He’s easy going, funny, and lenient. He works us to the top standards, but he’s not cruel about it. He would be, without a doubt, the best boss I’ve ever had.

I get outside and sit on the old table and chairs set up for the staff. I pull out my sandwich and then glance down at my phone. I see a message from Roman and eagerly open it.

R – How are you feeling now?

My heart swells. Outside of my family, it seems nobody really asks that question anymore. People just go about their day, never seeing how anyone else is. Mostly, because they’re suffering with their own problems. Roman is dealing with more than most, yet he takes the time out of his day to ask me how I am. That feels nice.

M – I’m doing a bit better. How are you?

R – I’m okay. Feeling a bit shit today. Want to catch up later?

My heart skips. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, someone who isn’t family, someone who isn’t so close to me that all they’ll want to do is offer advice on how I should proceed. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my family, but it will be nice to have someone else to talk to.

M – Yeah. I would. What are you thinking?

R – Come over, I have some food and beer here.

M – Okay! What time?

R – Whenever you finish work.

M – I’ll see you then!

R – Later, Bestie.

I put my phone away, finish my lunch, and then head back inside to finish my shift. As I drive home, I think about meeting up with Roman. Now the dynamic of our friendship has changed. Before, we were just two people who didn’t know much about each other and said hello if we passed on the streets, now we’re confiding in each other only after a few days.

It almost seems dream like in the way it has come about.

I wonder if it’ll fizzle out as quickly as it begun?

By the time I get home, I’ve well and truly over thought the whole thing, and a flurry of nerves flutter around in my stomach. What if it’s weird? What if we don’t get along as well as we think we will? What if it just feels ... strange? I take a deep, shaky breath and move to my closet where I stare at my clothes. What would friends wear? I don’t want to overdo it. I don’t want to seem too ... eager.

God.

I pick a black top—it’s pretty but not over the top. Then I pull on a pair of jeans and some flats before straightening my hair. Then I stare at myself. It’s too much. What if he thinks I’m trying to, I don’t know, hit on him? Man. I shake my head and decide to run with it. If I start thinking too much about it now, I’ll freak out and end up not going. And I’m far too curious to know how and why this man was put in my life to chicken out.

I walk out, grab my purse and phone, and then head out to my car.

The entire drive over, butterflies scurry around in my belly.

I hope I’m not awkward. I’m not good with new people on a good day. I say all the wrong things, make weird jokes, and am generally just weird. What if he is turned off by my personality, but he has to pretend to be nice because he’s already committed to being my best friend? I shake my head, stopping myself. I’m over analysing this. I’m jumping well ahead of myself and there is no reason to.

This feels right.

I don’t know why, I can’t explain it, but somewhere, deep down in my heart it honestly feels like we were meant to meet each other and I’m going to go with that. For once, I’m not going to fight what the universe presents. I’m not going to try and make things go my own way, I’m just going to let this one play out how it’s supposed to.

I arrive at Roman’s house only a couple of minutes later, the joys of living nearby. I nervously climb out of my car and walk up to his front gate. I glance around. He has a nice house, it’s really tidy and clean. Strange for a guy. They’re usually terrible at these things. I open the gate and walk around the side of the white brick house.

He’s sitting at a table on his patio, it’s a gorgeous table, made of a stunning cut of wood. I immediately like it, and a smile breaks out over my face. He looks up when he hears me and a smile breaks out over his face, too. His brown eyes get light, and I know straight away that regardless of how weird this is, he’s absolutely a genuine person. I can see it in him. There isn’t a single creepy thing about him.