Page 80 of The Last Dance

‘I’m probably one of those rare people whose soulmate was hit by a cab or something. Even so, why couldn’t I have found him in high school, like you did? It would have made everything so much easier.’

‘Maybe you did?’ she says in a soft voice, with a shrug of her shoulders.

I close my eyes. Did I?

‘Listen, don’t start overthinking things. Today, all you’re doing is going to talk to a guy about a website. That’s it. I know Henry knows that’s what this is about because Ben told him. No pressure. Just two people doing business. No major life decisions, just you and a guy you’ve known your whole life.’

I nod. Just two people, friends, doing business. I hadn’t really thought of it like that. ‘I can do that.’

‘Right. Can you try not to choke this time?’ She laughs.

‘Oh, my God.’ I toss a pillow her direction. ‘I’m never gonna live that one down, I bet.’

‘This.’ She hands me tan skinny capris, a white T-shirt, and denim jacket. ‘With your trusty old Chucks.’ She points to my white sneakers on the floor.

I’ve been trying on outfits for almost an hour and couldn’t find anything that didn’t look like I was trying too hard. Yet, somehow Claire is able to put together a Gap commercial in less than ten minutes.

‘How do I look?’ I walk out of my bathroom minutes later, running my fingers through my wavy hair, hoping it doesn’t look like I recently pulled it from the matronly bun I had it in.

‘Breezy.’ She uses a line fromFriendsthat actually kind of fits the situation I’m in.

‘Perfect.’

‘You’re gonna do great. You’re setting up your future.’

I raise my eyebrows.

‘Relax, your career future, ya weirdo. Call me when you’re done.’

‘OK.’ I take a few deep breaths as I throw my bag over my shoulder, heading out to my car. I can do this. I can face Henry one on one for an entire lunch. I used to do it all the time.

*

We’re meeting at The Doug Fir Lounge on East Burnside. A place so incredibly cool inside with its log cabin look and food to die for. If rustic, vintage, swanky, and hip had a love child, it would be The Doug Fir. We used to come here all the time for lunch, dinner, drinks, and concerts in the small venue downstairs. I see him sitting inside as I approach the restaurant. He’s by himself at a booth near a window. His laptop is sitting on the table in front of him, he taps the keyboard, not even noticing me outside. He’s definitely not the monster I’ve tried to convince myself he was the last two years. He’s gorgeous, just like he always has been. Even seeing him again makes me feel like I’m finally home again, it’s been happening a little bit more with every run in we’ve had since he’s been back. That’s not to say that my nerves, head, and heart aren’t a bit on the frazzled side.

He looks up, noticing me and smiling, just about stopping my heart completely. I make my way into the restaurant. He looks as casual as I do, wearing dark gray jeans, a light blue T-shirt, his black jacket and black chucks. There’s really no greater shoe; I convinced him of that back when we were teens. His dark hair is as disheveled as ever, but he looks more relaxed than when I saw him for the first time again at Imperial. He probably didn’t even panic over what to wear like I did.

‘You made it.’ He seems relieved as he closes his laptop.

‘Yeah.’ I set my bag on the inside of the booth, sliding in across from him. ‘I should have known you’d pick this place.’

‘Best grilled cheese in town if I remember right? I’m pretty sure I even read a review about this place. Some crazy food-obsessed woman going on and on about how melty the cheese was…’ He winks at me over his laptop that’s now closed.

I smile. ‘You read my article?’

‘Every single one of them.’

‘When?’

‘This week.’ His cheeks start to pink. ‘I can’t sleep at Ben and Claire’s.’

‘Worried they’ll start having obnoxiously loud sex in the room next to yours?’ I ask, my face scrunched into a disgusted grin.

‘Kind of.’ He laughs. ‘Also, I really want to know you now, after two years of being without you and reading your reviews helped me do that. You’re a natural. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’d been doing it your entire life. You made me want to be at these places eating the food.’

‘Thanks.’

He looks down at the menu next to his laptop. ‘So… do I have to order something specific, so you can force me to split it, or are you off that?’

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