Page 60 of Talk Birdie to Me

His choice to hold back on his drinking had surprised her a little. Her impression of him up until the last couple of days was that he was a bit of a free spirit. Like he did what he wanted in the moment with no consideration of the future, responsibilities, or other people.

But that assessment had been based on their first date and the way he’d arrived up on her doorstep with a bird and a date of his own. Since then, however, he’d shown a consistent level of concern and respect and even caring that she never would have expected from him.

Which made it harder to deny, or at least ignore, her growing attraction.

Geena’s phone buzzed, so she took a quick glance before flipping it over again.

“Problem?” Cody asked, dipping a fry in ketchup. “Not my business, but you look annoyed. Your ex?”

“No. I’m not really annoyed, just… I don’t know. It was Taylor asking me if I want to take a run with her tomorrow.

Cody looked at her curiously, like this information shifted his perception of her as much as her perception of him had shifted.

“You’re a runner?”

“Absolutely not,” Geena said. “Taylor thinks I need new hobbies. She doesn’t like that I spend so much time alone. But I enjoy being alone.”

Cody nodded. “That makes sense.”

“She isn’t entirely wrong about me needing more stuff to do. Not because I’m bored, though.”

Geena hesitated.

Why was she telling him all of this?

And why had she told him about her attraction to women as well as men?

She’d told him because he shared a bit about himself, and she had reciprocated.

Surprisingly, the fact that it was something more personal than they’d discussed before didn’t actually bother her. The two of them had slipped into a comfortable, friendly relationship without her realizing it. It just… happened. And she wasn’t at all upset by it.

“Then why don’t you want to try new hobbies?” he asked. “I mean, if you want to tell me. I’m just curious.”

“It’s the divorce.” She took a sip of her Diet Coke to buy a little time to phrase this properly. “Everything I thought my life was supposed to be was wrong for me. It wasn’t just that he didn’t fit. My whole life didn’t fit. I wasn’t happy.”

“I don’t understand,” he said. “Why would you do things that don’t make you happy?”

Ah yes. There was the pleasure-seeking creature she’d initially pegged him for. Of course, he wouldn’t understand that. Not that she was upset by it. It just helped everything about him make sense once again.

“I did things that I was supposed to do. Things that on paper should have made me happy. Stuffy cocktail hours with his firm associates. Dinners at places that required reservations. Watching the news and late-night talk shows before bed. It all sounded like things I should enjoy, with or without Ricky. But it all felt incredibly dull.”

Cody chewed the bite of burger he’d taken while she talked and waited to swallow it before continuing his investigation into her life.

“So, what kinds of things do you really like? What’s not dull to you?”

“Pizza.” She smiled. “You know the one.”

He smiled back. “It’s good pizza.”

“Burgers and beer,” she added. “And taking photos at the shelter. We did a big litter of puppies yesterday, and they were the cutest things. I still don’t want a dog, but it was fun. And fulfilling. I love it when they get adopted based on a really cute photo I took.”

“And what about other pictures? Like the ones I saw on your wall?”

Geena hadn’t taken photos like that in ages. Photos with no purpose other than to see the world through her lens.

“It’s been a while,” she said. “But maybe that’s something I can do again, too.”

“What about running?”

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