Page 35 of Can't Kiss the Chef

“So Charlotte is coming tonight?” I ask while setting the massage function on my chair.

“Yeah, she hasn’t come up for a party yet. She wants to see everyone.” Lola holds up two fake painted nails. “Which do you like better?”

Lola loves her dark, moody colors. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her in anything brighter than a mauve. My choices for her nail polish are a deep, rich brown and a burnt orange, think the University of Texas.

“I like the orange one. I feel like it’s a solid fall color.”

“You have a weird obsession with fall colors.”

This girl, man.

“You asked for my advice, and I told you that I would always be honest with you.” She locks eyes with me for a split second. If you blinked, you would have missed it before she looks down shyly.

“And in this case, the leaves are about to change, and I think the orange is a good option because of that.”

Lola hands the manicurist the orange nail polish before sitting in the chair next to me.

“Thanks for coming with me. It’s fun doing something like this together again.”

Some of the tension I’ve been holding in my shoulders releases. My plan to remind her of what we had is starting to lay its foundation.

“Me too, I missed this. Missed you.”

I’m throwing on a vintage New York Rangers sweater when there is a pinging from the other side of my room. My phone is lit up with a text from Lola. Since I’m in the solace of my bedroom, away from the assholes that are my roommates, I sprint to the other side of my room.

Lola:

Added to the shared note “Friendship-Do List”

Don’t think it’s going to get shorter any time soon.

THINGS BYRON CAN DO TO EARN LOLA’S FRIENDSHIP BACK

Bring me coffee to every class

I gets to take Mia for a sleepover once this semester

Clean out Cookie’s stall three times

One full catered dinner for me and my roommates where you need to convince your roommates to be shirtless waiters

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