Page 23 of Thanks for the Memories
He makes a face. “Really? That sounds pretty dramatic. Did you also walk to school uphill in the snow?”
“Very funny,” I say, glaring at him. “If you don’t believe me, my friend Bethany is coming into town in a few days. She can back me up.”
“Oh yeah, tell me more about your friend,” he says in a low, silky tone.
And this is exactly what I was trying to tell Amanda. Jeremy’s playful banter is part of who he is.
Speaking of Amanda, she hasn’t brought up the notion of Jeremy having feelings for me since we had the conversation, and I’ve steered clear of it too. The only issue is that it’s made me begin to look at Jeremy differently. He’s still the same fun guy—but what if she’s right? Could he see me as more than a friend? What does this mean for our professional relationship? I guess my roommates were right about keeping my eyes and ears open to all possibilities—although this is the last thing I ever expected.
“Hey, Blondie.” Jeremy is waving his hand in front of my face.
“Sorry. I zoned out for a second. You were asking me about Bethany.”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“She and I have been best friends since we were teenagers. Unfortunately, my moving here created some distance between us, but I think we’re moving past it.”
“Hey, maybe you can convince her to come here too?”
I sigh. “I’ve tried, but she said she’d never leave Illinois.”
“You never know,” he says. “People say that until they get a little taste of the life down here. She may fall in love with it.”
I guess there’s always a chance, but she was pretty adamant about her feelings. She felt so strongly it almost destroyed our friendship.
Anyway, now that the event is almost off my plate, I can focus on Bethany’s visit. I’ve thought a lot about our plans, and I think I have a great week lined up. Truthfully, I’m a little anxious, which is probably really stupid. This is a person who I’ve known for more than half my life. She knows things about me that I’ve never shared with anyone else. Regardless, I just want things to be like they used to be. I know people change and come in and out of our lives, but I hope we haven’t changed that much.
* * *
“My mother-in-law arrives tomorrow,” Kennedy wails. “Don’t be surprised if I show up on your doorstep in a few days.”
I roll my eyes as I kick off my shoes and fall back on my bed.
“I think you need to stick it out. Barbara is a nice lady.”
“Yes, but ten days is overkill. You just wait until you’re married and we’re having this same conversation.”
I put my hand over my eyes. The notion of marriage is so out of reach for me right now, I can’t even imagine it. Although I did get a text from Dante right before I left work. He asked if we enjoyed the meals, all of which have been devoured by the three of us. I responded by thanking him again and telling him that I’d be bringing Bethany to Golden in a few days. His texts show me that he’s thinking about me even in the midst of the restaurant chaos.
“Well, that conversation won’t be happening anytime soon,” I tell her. “Anyway, don’t forget that Bethany will be here, so I’ll be busy.”
In other words, I won’t be around to listen to her complain about Barbara wanting to redecorate her guest bathroom. Or whatever, she wants to complain about.
“Are you excited to see her?” she asks.
“Nervous, actually.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, as long as she doesn’t start in with you about leaving Chicago.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure if that’ll even come up.”
I manage to convince her to wait and see how things are with her mother-in-law before she rushes over. And I want to be able to enjoy Bethany’s visit without my sister bringing her drama.
“Anyway, let’s talk about more important things. Like your date with Dante.”
I was wondering if she was going to bring it up. Granted, her mother-in-law’s impending visit definitely trumps my love life.
I give her all the details. She found our kiss to be the most interesting part—no surprise there. And then I tell her about our conversation before he left.
