Page 52 of So Not My Type

“I know we’ve eaten nothing but shit today, but I’m hungry for some real food.” Ella stretched her neck, still clinging on to Sophie’s hands.

What was happening here? Why did everything feel so natural, so comfortable, as if they’d walked no other way except with their hands molded together? She didn’t want to break the magic of the market, but her belly was nudging her for some protein. “How do you feel about eggs and hash browns? Like diner-style?”

Up the steep hill past Post Alley, with the scent of the cheese makers and piroshkis following them, they made their way to one of the gazillion souvenir shops, to grab an Uber to Green Lake.

An hour later, Ella scooped up another serving of the saltiest, greasiest hash browns this side of the Olympics. “Oh my God,” Ella murmured through her food. “Why is this so good?”

“’Cause of the sheer amount of butter used to fry it up and the decade-long remnants of bacon grease imbedded into the flat-top stove.” Sophie grabbed the pepper from the condiment holder and doused her eggs. “Not to mention the guy at the fryer has been cooking here since I was little.”

The heavily tattooed server with flaming orange hair juggling an armful of white ceramic plates walked by and Ella tapped the side of the plate. “More, please? If you don’t mind?” She grinned at Sophie. “How can they have all-you-can-eat hash browns and still make a profit? I might move into this place.”

“I can’t believe you’ve never been here.” Sophie spread homemade raspberry jam across a dense chunk of sourdough bread, then scooped eggs on top.

She wasn’t sure what Ella’s reaction would be to coming to the local-favorite, true dive diner in Green Lake. They’d swapped the sounds and smells of Pike Place for fryer grease, dough, hearty butter, and sticky floors. This place was iconic. A known cure for hangovers, the last pit stop after raging all night, the Saturday morning breakfast spot for families and college kids alike. And she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a tad worried Ella would grimace, as she was probably used to truffle-oil-laced egg soufflé with organic crème fraîche.

But as Ella dug into her third plate of hash browns, all worries ceased. This unlocked yet another new side of Ella, and Sophie was hungry for more. She wanted to know about Ella’s dreams. What did she really want to do for a career? Where was her first kiss? Did she ever have a dog? She stared at her mouth, wanting to taste the sweetness again. “Can I ask you something?”

Ella wiped the side of her mouth and reached for her glass. “Sure.”

“Can you tell me about Jasmine?” Nothing halts a first date-ish like bringing up an ex.

Ella’s smile faded. She stabbed her fork against the food and exhaled. “She was exactly what I thought I wanted when we met. Spunky, spicy, and fiery. Kind of like a human jalapeño popper. I almost idolized her in a way. She was outgoing and fun and just so confident.”

“You’re confident.”

“It’s an act.” She lifted the fork to her mouth. “But, for quite a while, I really loved her. But then I saw certain things about her, and I started to question who she was as a person. She was obsessed with money. After a few months, she started ordering the staff around, almost like she was joking. But you know how people joke around and say things with a smile, but deep down they mean it?”

Sophie nodded. She absolutely knew people like this, the same people who started conversations with, “No offense, but…”

“And, well, she broke my heart.” A gloom passed over Ella’s eyes. She set the fork down without taking a bite and bit the side of her lip. “I know it sounds intense or whatever, but I had real dreams for us. I wanted to see the world with her. We looked at apartments together. I saw a future, like a real future, with her. And when our relationship ended, thewayit ended, it ruined me. I lost her, my world was shattered, my future was gone in a snap.”

“I’m so sorry.” Why did she have to bring this up now? All lightness was siphoned from the room, swapped with darkness. No one had ever cheated on Sophie before. But she could imagine the sense of betrayal, the inability to trust again, the gut-wrenching sense of rejection, would cut deep.

“But… think of this.” Ella chewed on another bite, and the side of her lip twitched into a grin. “Had that never happened, I would have had no idea how delicious fried, shredded, overly buttered potatoes were.”

Sophie laughed. “That is an excellent point.”

Sophie didn’t want the evening to end. But after polishing off an obscene amount of breakfast food, having a hot make-out session in a terribly un-sexy spot in the alley near the dumpster, and strolling around Green Lake, when Ella yawned, Sophie knew she had to end the evening. But the logic of knowing she needed to end the evening didn’t make it any easier to say good night. When Thomas dropped her off, the bounce in her toes morphed into trudging up her stairs, and she flopped hard on her bed.

She liked Ella.So much.But was the timing right? She was George’s daughter, for God’s sake. Oddly, though, that didn’t scare her. So, whatwasscaring her? Sophie stuffed the fabric of her knitted blanket in between her fingers and rubbed, her belly corkscrewing with the images of Ella, her mouth, her laugh, and the way she fought through her nerves to command a room. She relished the joy in Ella’s eyes at the dive diner, and the flicker of her eyelashes when Sophie leaned in to kiss her. These last few weeks had been the best she could remember.

But did Ella feel the same squeeze in her heart? Did she feel like her breath ripped from her lungs when she saw Sophie? Did she go to bed the way Sophie did, thinking of Ella’s eyes, the freckles ridging her nose, or the slope of her long neck? She yanked her phone onto her chest and dialed. “I’m completely freaking out and don’t know what to do.”

“Whoa, slow down there, slugger.” Maya’s chipper voice came through. “Break this down for me step-by-step. Do I need to shank someone? What happened?”

Everything had happened. In a few weeks, Ella had flipped Sophie’s world upside down. And now she was scrambling amidst the carnage. She wanted to take a leap, but she had so much work to do. She still had her five-year plan to rise the corporate ladder, and become manager someday. “No shankingrequired.” She exhaled into the phone. “I’m just spinning out about everything.”

“Ella, huh?”

Sophie stopped vigorously kneading the blanket in her hand. “How did you know?”

“Really?” Maya chuckled. “Ella sucks. Ella is ruining my life. Ella is spoiled and rude and poopy andoh so dreamy.”

Okay, fair. Regardless of the actual words Sophie may have spoken, Maya had an innate ability to read into everything. Sophie didn’t even try to argue with her best friend that she never once uttered that Ella was dreamy.

“I don’t know what to do.” Sophie flopped her wrist over her eyes. “I really like her. She’s so different than what I thought. And it feels so damn good and natural, but how can it feel this good so quick? But is it really quick if you break down the amount of hours actually spent together? But the timing is terrible, I have so much work to do, and this launch and the cruise?—”

“Jesus, you’re absolutely spinning.” Maya’s voice cut through the verbal tsunami. “Let’s just take this one thing at a time. You’ve established that you’ve got it super bad for this woman. Great. But you’re freaking out because you think you don’t have time. You’re the hardest worker I know. You fight for your team, your company, and whatever project you’re managing. You fight like hell for me, Harper, and your family. But you refuse to fight for yourself, Soph. I love you, you know this. But have you ever once considered that you use work as an excuse to avoid getting into a relationship?”

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