Page 61 of Love Unavoidable
“Not even three hours ago he told me he was going to be on his own for a while and not date at all, so it’s nice to know how long that lasted. Not to mention his inability to keep his word—”
“Sadie, listen—”
“But I have to say if anyone was going to break his three-hour celibacy strike, I can see why he picked you to do it. You’re beautiful. Why wouldn’t he pick you? I just wish . . . aw hell, I don’t know what I wish. It doesn’t matter.” She turns back to face me. “What matters is that I don’t want your damn wiener!” And with that she drops it in the trash can next to the grill.
I hear applause from somewhere off to the side. Kat comes walking toward us, clapping.
“Bravo, sister. You tell him. That was nothing short of fan-fucking-tastic. I mean, except where you got all your facts wrong and wasted a perfectly good wiener. Otherwise, nicely done.”
“What do you mean I got all my facts wrong?” Sadie looks like she’s about to cry as it is. If Kat publicly points out how she got it all wrong, I think it will ruin her for quite a while.
“Kat, take it easy,” I warn her.
She looks at me. “Remember, E, your side until you fuck up. This time she fucked up.”
“It’s not a big deal, Kat. Sadie and I are just friends. Charlie and I are just friends. I was trying to give Charlie Sadie’s info so she and Sadie can also be friends, but it came across looking wrong, that’s all.”
Sadie looks at me, her mouth drops open. “You were giving her MY number?”
“Yeah. I know you’ve been looking for a job, and Charlie has a lead on something you would be a good fit for. She was going to call you tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
I step closer to her and pull her to the side. “You are so quick to judge me, Sadie. To think the worst. Where does that come from? I mean, it can’t possibly come from me, we haven’t known each other long enough for that to be the case.”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m just a mess.”
“You aren’t a mess,” I say.
“I am, it’s okay to admit it.”
“You want to take a walk on the beach?” I ask her.
“Are you allowed to leave hotdog duty?”
“There are enough cooked hotdogs in the chafing dish to last all night.”
“Oh, okay,” she says.
“Wow,” I say. “You aren’t even going to comment on my knowing what a chafing dish is?”
“Well, now that you mention it, that seems a little strange.”
“See, I know shit,” I say. “Also, we use them at the Annual Fireman’s Pancake Breakfast to keep the eggs, sausages, and bacon warm.” I take her hand and we walk down the driveway toward the pathway that will take us to the steps down to the beach. I know this section of the beach well since my shift members and I run it all the time. The chief loves to make us run on soft sand. Says it builds character.
We pause at the bottom of the steps leading down to the beach to take off our shoes. She’s in sandals and I’m in flip-flops, so it’s easy to do. We walk for a bit before she turns and says, “Why do you think we are so contentious together?”
“Who’s thisweyou are referring to?” I laugh. “It’s always you upset with me and not the other way around.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she says. “You were pretty upset about my date with Marcus.”
“Well, sure, but that’s also because I came off a long shift and didn’t know where you were.”
“Right, but if we are roommates, you don’t get to know where I’m at all the time.”
“Okay, except that roommate safety tip number one is letting the other person know where you are at in case of emergency. So they know where to reach you. Or in case you don’t come home, they know where you last were or where you’d intended to be.”
“Okay, I get it,” she says. “I will not leave again without letting you know where I plan to be and who I will be with.”
