Page 22 of In a Pickle

She again looked genuinely astonished that someone would take two seconds out of their day to remember something about her. “I can’t believe you remembered. Thank you. And yes, it’s decaf time. I’ll take the iced coffee. Thanks so much.”

He frowned, remembering that he’d told her he only drank hot coffee. He wondered if she only chose the iced coffee because she knew he wanted the hot coffee. Oh well. Too late now. Andwhile he gladly would have drunk the iced coffee if she had wanted the other, he did prefer hot coffee.

“I know better than to ask where we’re going this time,” she said playfully.

“Actually, I’ll tell you now,” he said, and she opened her mouth in an expression of mock shock.Don’t look at her mouth. Don’t look at her mouth.

“Are you actually James? Blink twice if you’ve been possessed by an angry ghost.”

“If I were possessed by a ghost, don’t you think that said ghost would be able to prevent me from blinking twice?”

“Maybe he’s only using you as a mouthpiece. Have you seen the newestGhost Bustersmovie? The ice one, where the spirit has to use people’s voices to manipulate his evil magic?” When he scoffed, she swatted her hand in the air. “Don’t overthink it.”

“Okay, Ms. Stay Puft Marshmallow Woman.”

“Wow, that was a deep cut.”

“Seriously, Abrams?Ghost Bustersis a deep cut? A timeless classic of the horror, action,andcomedy genres? I may be a dumb jock, but I’m notthatuncultured.”

“Fair enough.”

“Anyway,Ghost Bustersis actually a great segue into what we’re doing today.”

“Fighting ghosts?”

“Damn, now you’re making me wish I’d booked a ghost tour. But no. Movies.”

“We’re going to the movies?”

“Nope. Even better. Instead of watching whatever’s out and having to eat a weeks-old hot dog and greasy popcorn, we’re watching whatwewant to watch and eating the snacks I’ve prepared. I’ve got a whole movie setup waiting for us at my place. Plus, I’ve got a fancy cloud couch, and so many warm blankets. Oh, and I have a cat. He’s hypoallergenic, just in case you’re allergic. Are you?”

“Yes, but just mildly allergic. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Okay, cool. I mean, my roommate is allergic to cats and doesn’t have a problem with him. But anyway, I thought we could go to my place and Netflix and chill. I mean, minus the chill part.”

He panicked, realizing how that sounded. “Not that I don’t want to do that with you. I very much want to chill — do everything — with you. Just not today. I mean, that’s not why I’m bringing you to my place. God, I’m so sorry. You’re beautiful, and I really want to — but just, on our own time —”

He was scrambling now, again convinced he’d ruined the day before it started. “I swear, I had very gallant intentions in having you come over. My intentions had everything to do with proving that a man is an idiot if he doesn’t know how to have fun with you without leaving home. I was thinking of that guy who thought it was boring to stay home with you, and I wanted to show you that I don’t think staying in with you is boring at all. But now that I’m saying this out loud, it all sounds like a ploy to get you over to my apartment to sleep with you, which, again, was not my intention. And I swear my roommate will be home, so it’ll be totally safe. I mean, we won’t be alone. She’ll stay out of our way, in her room, but she’s a woman and she’ll be in theapartment. For your comfort. Oh, and there’s nothing between me and her, in case you’re wondering. We’re just friends. Like friends friends, not friends with benefits. She’s not into dudes, and — fuck, I’m rambling. Sorry. Is this all okay?” He looked over to her sheepishly.

To his surprise, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Calm down, James,” she said soothingly. She held his hand. “This sounds perfect. Thank you. A chill day hanging out with you sounds really nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Chapter 16: Liana

James’ apartment was exactly as Liana had expected: neat and organized, but still somehow warm and inviting. She briefly wondered if Mary Grace had lived here, and if so, how much her influence extended to the design choices, but Liana made herself shut down that line of thinking. Somehow she suspected that James was responsible for the decor, all shades of white and ivory, with navy accents, blonde wood, and boucle dining chairs. The effect was trendy but still classic. She hadn’t expected James to live in a dirty bachelor pad, based on what she knew of him so far, but this level of design taste was still impressive. He was just different: a man from another era, maybe, who didn’t live the way people expected him to based on his looks and privilege.

James hung Liana’s handbag on a hook on the wall, then led her to the kitchen. A pretty curvy woman in her early twenties sat on a stool at the kitchen island, her legs tucked under her and headphones on, watching something on her laptop.

“Kels?” James prompted. When the woman didn’t seem to hear him, he tapped her shoulder. “Yo Kels, Liana’s here.”

She jolted upright and removed her earbuds. To Liana’s surprise, the woman broke into a wide smile, bounded off the stool, ran to Liana, and embraced her in a tight hug.

“Ohmygod, hiiiii,” she gushed. “I’ve heard so much about you! Welcome! I’m so happy to meet you!”

Liana was on the back foot; Kels clearly knew more about Liana than Liana did about her, just as it had been in Liana’s conversation with Isaac. It seemed that James talked about Liana quite a bit with his friends.

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