Page 70 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
None now that she’d be away. “I’ll use that time to continue my research.”
She inhaled sharply. “But it’s Christmas! You have to celebrate.”
“I’ll have cachaça and takeout. It’s fine.” At her prolonged silence, I added, “Luna. I’ve celebrated Christmas on my own for years. This is nothing new.”
“You can’t spend the holidaysworking. And your thirtieth is coming up.”
Hearing the concern in her voice, I said the first thing that came to mind. “I’m planning a trip to Miami.”
“Really? That’s great! Hitting the beach and getting your nightlife on?”
“Of course.” Looked like I had some arrangements to make. Hopefully, the good places wouldn’t be booked this close to December.
“I’m glad to hear that,” she murmured. “Maybe we can catch up after we both get back?” The unmasked hope in her voice settled deep in my chest, warming me from the inside out.
“I’ll help you cook.”
“Just bring the cachaça and we’ll call it even.”
I pictured the mischievous grin on her face, and I smiled too. “Nice try.”
“I’m almost twenty-one.”
“Good for you. You can try it when you actuallyaretwenty-one.” Which would be in six more months.
Not that I was counting.
“I’ll hold you to that,” she said.
“Go ahead.”
We fell into a lull of silence, giving me the perfect opening to ask her about Kai. Only, our friendship didn’t entitle me to inquire about her relationships, platonic or not. So I settled with asking, “Are you sure you don’t want my help with macro?”
“Right now, I just need to get into my notes, but I’ll text you if there’s anything I can’t understand—if you’re serious about the offer.”
“I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I wasn’t. Message me anytime. I’m staying up too.” In addition to my research, I had to tackle the unread emails from my clients.
But I’d drop all that if Luna needed me.
“Thanks, Gabe. Good luck over there.”
“You too. Bye, Luna.”
After we hung up, I didn’t return to my readings as I should have. Instead, I contemplated my disappointment at Luna’s news. It shouldn’t have mattered if she was here for Christmas because it wasn’t as though we had made any concrete plans. Besides, I needed that time to clear my backlog, both with my dissertation and my clients.
And yet—I had been looking forward to noche buena with Luna.
The thought unsettled me.
Was I regressing? Maybe the surplus of work had disrupted my judgment. Now not only did I have to finish a mountain of readings, I had to book myself a trip to Miami too.
I didn’t even like that city. But I’d told Luna I would go, and I wasn’t backing out of it when she was clearly excited for me.
When I’d begun to care what she thought, I couldn’t tell. It took up more brain space than I had to spare, yet I couldn’t imagine going through this immensely hectic period without Luna.
I couldn’t disappoint her.
So I added Miami to my to-do list.
