Page 32 of Here's to Tomorrow

9

Rae

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Hurry the fuck up, Hales! I have shit to do!” I yell through the bathroom door.

“Go poop somewhere else!”

“I said shitto do. Not shitto take!”

“You can still go somewhere else.”

Haley’s been in the bathroom for the last thirty minutes doing God knows what. It’s pissing me off because I’m supposed to be meeting Hudson in twenty minutes at a coffee shop that’s almost ten minutes away. As soon as I was done with my shower, she skidded in there and locked the door behind her.

“Calm your lady bits, little girl! I’m finishing up now!” she yells back. I roll my eyes because “finishing up now” probably means about ten more minutes for her.

Of course I’m right—eight minutes later, she finally comes out. I glare at her as I rush inside to brush my teeth and run a comb through my still wet hair, pulling it back into a tight ponytail. I swab on some mascara and decide I look decent enough in my plain white t-shirt and dark skinny jeans. It’s obviously not going to get any better since I have to leave in about two minutes if I want to make it on time.

Even after speeding a little, I’m still about four minutes late. I rush inside and frantically start looking around for Hudson. When I don’t see him, my hopes are dashed.Did he forget?

I take a seat at an open table and lay out some of the notes I managed to make last night after work. I check my phone as I’m looking over everything. He’s ten minutes late and only has another five before I leave.

My phone buzzes. I snatch it up quickly, hoping it’s Hudson with a good excuse. It’s not. It’s Maura, who I made the mistake of telling I was meeting Hudson this morning.

Bestie (NOT PERRY): Wellllllll?

I laugh, because the fact that it says “Not Perry” next to Maura’s number means she got ahold of my phone and changed her name…again. She and Perry have this war going when it comes to who gets to be my best friend. I’ll never tell Maura this, but Perry wins, though only slightly.

Me: Can’t talk right now. We’re about to have coffee. Call you soon. x

I switch my phone to silent as the door to Perk flies open.

“I am so damn sorry, Rae! I had to take care of something at home. I swear I’m usually on time. I promise,” Hudson rushes out, throwing himself down into the chair across from me.

He’s looking at me with those beautiful ocean-colored eyes. They’re still perfect. He’s still perfect.

Chill, Rae. He’s just a guy, a possible client at that. You’ve been on one accidental date, that’s it.

He frowns. “You’re mad.”

I realize I haven’t said a word to him since he sat down at the table. I’ve been too busy staring.

“I’m not, really. It’s fine. I was four minutes late myself, andI’musually not late, so there’s no reason I should hold it against you.”

Hudson sinks back into the chair, relieved. “Thank God. I thought you were gonna be so pissed and refuse to work with me, which would suck because I really do need your help.”

“Oh, so this is a work date? Not adatedate?” I put on my best innocent face and bat my lashes at him.

He freezes, and all the color in his face drains.

If he’s going to be late, I’m going to have some fun with it.I let my eyes water and bite my lip, making it seem like I’m holding in some serious tears. “I just…I thought… Never mind,” I say, turning my attention to the window to gain some sort of composure because I’m about to lose it. Once I have myself under control, I turn back to a still very pale Hudson.

“Uh, I…umm…shit. Rae, listen…I didn’t mean this as adate, just a…” He trails off in a state of confusion, doing that fish thing with his mouth again. He clears his throat and attempts to form an actual sentence.

Laughter bubbles up and spills—ungracefully, I might add—from my mouth at his attempts. I think there’s a snort in there somewhere too.

Hudson begins clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably in his chair, glancing around the café, politely smiling at other customers who are openly staring since I’m not being all that quiet.

---