Page 24 of Her Paramedic
“What do the two of you have planned for your twenty-fifth?” Zuri asked the twins, changing the subject.
Talia listened to the conversation but didn’t miss that Alivia’s demeanor had changed. She hadn’t told her yet that she and Slate were dating, mainly because it was new. They made it official barely a week before, and even then, it was more of an understood officiality. He’d told her he was hers, and she’d agreed. It was all that needed to be spoken for them to be on the same page.
Alivia didn’t enjoy finding out information regarding people she was close to from someone else. Talia knew this, but it seemed she couldn’t catch a break since it’d happened twice now. She wasn’t trying to keep her relationship a secret or keep her friend out of the loop. She hadn’t told anyone, even though she knew Kaydence and Journee likely suspected.
From the end of the table, Nova caught her attention and mouthed, “Sorry.”She must have picked up on their friend’s change in mood, too, and figured out the cause.
They were in the parking lot after lunch when Talia asked Alivia, “You want to start a new show?”
She shrugged. “Sure. You can come by at seven.”
“Okay, I’ll bring dinner.”
She’d rather have the conversation over sooner than later, and food was always the perfect catalyst for any discussion.
When Talia knocked on the door at seven on the dot, it was with food from their favorite Thai place in hand. Alivia opened the door and stepped aside to let her in. The smell of fresh linen filled the air from the incense and candles the other woman liked to keep burning at all times unless she wasn’t home.
“Did you choose something to watch?” Talia asked as she entered the living room.
“Some procedural drama,” Alivia responded, going into the kitchen. A minute later, she returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
Talia spread the food on the coffee table, opening the different containers while Alivia poured the wine. The show started, and silence lapsed between them for a short while before she bit the bullet.
“I wasn’t keeping that I’m dating a secret from you. It’s new.”
“And yet, Nova knew.”
“No,” Talia responded. “Nova only knew he asked me to go to the party with him. We just made it official on New Year’s.”
“Official, but you were dating before then.”
“We were taking things slow, and I didn’t want to jinx it.” She left out the fact that slow hadn’t lasted long.
“But you mentioned him to Nova. So you’re only worried about me jinxing it.”
Talia sighed. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Alivia,” she stressed. “My not mentioning dating Slate isn’t about you. It’s about me wanting to keep something to myself for a while to see where it went, if it became serious. Because if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be worth bringing it up. Now that it is, I’m telling you.”
“The week before Christmas, when we had dinner and watched movies, I asked if you wanted to have lunch the nextday, and you told me you had plans. Were you ‘taking it slow’ then?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been dating for a while?”
“Only four weeks.”
“Four weeks and already official. Wow.”
Talia sighed. “This is why I don’t tell you when I first start seeing someone, because you say things like this.”
“I’m pointing out that for someone who says they don’t enjoy rushing into relationships, you went headfirst with him.”
That was true, but, “There’s something that feels different with him. I know that makes little sense, and I can’t figure out what it is, but there is.”
“You thought the same thing about Chris, and you remember what happened. That man played with your feelings like they were a gaming console, constantly lied and made promises he never intended to keep, to string you along because he enjoyed having sex with you.
