Page 43 of Absolute Certainty
They drew closer to the theatre, and the uncertainty of when she’d get to see him again outside of the coffee shop sent a drizzle of sadness falling over her. She faced him once more; the look in his eyes continued to tug on the knot inside of her. She needed it to let up.
“Try not to worry about it right now. She’s got a few more years before she can actually do something about those dreams of hers. And hey, when I was eight, I wanted to be a veterinarian, so things could definitely change.”
She must’ve said the right thing because a glimmer returned to his expression. “From your lips to God’s ears,” he said.
“Thanks for coming to the show again, really, and for keeping me company at lunch,” she added.
“It was my pleasure, Sahar.”
She inched forward and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, and for a heartbeat, she thought she might levitate.
They parted as quickly as they had collided.
“Happy writing. I’ll talk to you soon,” she said.
Cordially, Jay inclined his head, turned, and walked away.
She opened the stage door and went inside.
12
SAHAR
Sahar sprinted toward Ethan’s dressing room, making the safe assumption that it was where Willa would be. She needed someone to knock some sense into her, and what better person than her level-headed best friend and flatmate?
Willa might be sickeningly in love, but unlike Sahar’s sappy, romantic nature, she was always more practical.
The door was open, so she knocked quickly and walked in. Willa and Ethan had been looking at something on his iPad when they swung their heads in her direction with near-perfect synchronicity.
“Hi, sorry to interrupt. Wills, can we talk?”
Willa stood up. Ethan shot Sahar a concerned glance.
“Sorry, E. I’ll try to get your girl back promptly.”
Ethan gave her anall goodnod. Sahar watched as Willa’s fingers slowly slid out of his hand. The two of them had no concept of personal space when they were friends, let alone now when they were openly dating.
It was adorable, sickening—affectionately—and a pivotal reason why Sahar had finally understood that what she had with Martinwas far from love. Watching Ethan and Willa fall for each other months ago was proof that the things she believed weren’t solely fictional, even if they felt impossible forherto attain.
Willa looped her arm into Sahar’s as they headed toward their dressing room. “Did lunch with Jay not go well?” she whispered.
Sahar let out a deep sigh. When they entered their dressing room, Willa plopped herself down on her chair. Sahar hung her purse behind their door and began pacing as much as she could in the small space.
“I need you to remind me that working on myself right now is more important than anything else, and I need you to confirm that I’m terrible at picking men, and I’m probably just extra riled up because I’m on my period and maybe haven’t had decent sex in a while, so that’s what I need.”
Willa was looking at Sahar as though she were speaking in another language.
“Okay, slow down. What happened?”
Spinning on her heel, she said, “Wills, please just confirm all of these things so my silly brain can grasp it and move on.”
Momentarily, Willa studied her, then shook her head. “First, you’re not terrible at picking men. How they present themselves to you in the beginning versus how much of their true selves they show later isn’t the same thing. Second, yes, working on yourself is important, but need I remind you that’s a decision you made yourself, and there’s no time frame on it? Third, sure, you probably do need a good shag, but that’s not what’s causing all of this,” she gestured with her hand. “Sahar, what happened with Jay?”
Sahar let out another heavy sigh. “Nothing happened except we had a nice time, then he winked, and it was the hottest wink I’ve ever seen, and he’s been so kind that for a split second there, Ithoughtabout shagging him, which I absolutelyshouldn’tdo because he’s lovely and I like spending time with him.”
Willa’s eyes were…sparkling? “No,” Sahar opposed.
“I didn’t say anything,” Willa objected.
