Page 39 of After Hours

“Hey, Azzy, how was the party?”

I took a deep breath and hesitated before blurting out, “I kissed Mr. Xander.”

Silence followed on the other end, and then Abigail gasped. “You did what? Azzaria, you’re joking, right?”

I wished I were, but there was no denying the truth. “No, I’m not joking, Abigail. It just happened, and now, I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay, start from the beginning. What led to the kiss? How did it happen?”

I recounted the story, from me bumping into him and then him asking me to go sit by the lake, the flirty conversation, the undeniable chemistry between us, and finally, the kiss. Abigail listened intently, and as I spoke, I could hear her shock slowly morph into concern.

When I was done, she sighed and said, “So, does this mean you like him?”

Of course that would be her take away from everything. “Abigail.”

“Sorry. What did he say after?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“That’s what I said.”

“How?” She looked at me as if I was insane.

“Because I ran away. I ran and jumped in and car and rushed home.”

She started laughing and I looked at her with my serious face. This was hardly a time to be laughing. “I know this is funny to you, but this is—”

“Relax, Azzy, I’m laughing out of shock because you running away was not what I expected.”

“What do I do next?”

Abigail responded, “Well, first, just don’t panic. It’s not like you were planning for this to happen. I think you should let him address it and see where he stands. It could be a one-time thing, you know, and it could mean something else.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I just hope it’s not awkward tomorrow.”

“Aside from him being your boss, you two are actually people and technically, it’s only going to last for a few months. Stop using that as an excuse to deny what you feel.”

“I can’t deny what I don’t have.”

She scoffed. “What you don’t have?” She rhetorically asked, “The attraction is eating you up so much that you’ve spent the past two weeks sitting down and googling him. You’ve used my Instagram account to look through his, you sit here with the biggest smile on your face and you’re blushing so much that you don’t need to buy any from the store. So stop with the bullshit about “I can’t deny what I don’t have”, because you and I both know, you’re bullshitting me and yourself.”

Oh. She ate me up. There’s nothing left for me to say. “I only used your Instagram account because I don’t have one for myself. I only have the account I do reviews on.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I don’t care what you use it for, but stop denying your feelings. Yes, Matthew fucked up. He’s going to hell for what he did, but it was years ago, babe. You’ve grown. You’ve gotten help. You’re better. You deserve better, so stop thinking that you don’t.”

“I love you.”

“I know, I love you too.”

Shifting the conversation, we continued talking about less stressful topics, discussing the 1920s theme, Mara’s party, and our plans for the coming weekend. Eventually, we said our goodbyes, and I headed to my mom’s room to tell her her goodnight.

As I entered her room, she was already in bed, reading a book. She looked up and smiled. “How was the party, dear?”

I gave her an edited version of the night, omitting the part about the kiss. “It was great, Mom.”

Mom’s smile widened. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m also glad that you’re making friends and socializing. Now, you should get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

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