Page 14 of Hopelessly Teavoted
“Sounds serious.”
“I burn for her,” said Priscilla, her voice grave. Good for her. Prissy Hart deserved some happiness after all that tragedy. “Listen, about Azrael.”
“The devil I will. Let’s not.”
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but he misses you. The two of you were so close. He would never want to hurt you.”
Vickie’s lips pressed tightly together at the memory of quite the opposite of that sentiment, but she said nothing, and focused on cleaning up. Priscilla had tried making a case for him a few times before, usually after a few drinks, via text message.
Once it had led to Vickie awkwardly texting back and forth with Az, but things between them had stayed strange.
“Az has always had a thing for you, really. Since we were kids.” Vickie’s mouth opened and then closed again.
She shook her head. “I don’t need a pity setup.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or an excuse for you to get him out of the house, if that’s what this is.”
Prissy went on. “Seriously, Victoria, he’s lonely. I’m worried about him.”
The thought of that loneliness softened her feelings toward Az, who had been her friend before that incident, and all the subsequent self-loathing. Not just a friend, but her best one.
She missed him too. As a friend.
“It’s weird to pimp out your own brother,” she mumbled.
Priscilla laughed. “It’s weirder to totally ignore your childhood best friend for whatever dramatic reason the two of you might have. You’re both adults.”
They were. And there was no reason they couldn’t be friends again now, especially as he was grieving. But she wouldn’t be foolish enough to think she could handle another no-strings situation with him.
As long as she could keep things in the friend zone, the way he was so clearly desperate to do, they could be solid. Like they were as kids. The thing in college had been a blip on the radar. A momentary, lustful mistake. She could move past it.
“I’m sorry, Priss, I have to mop up. I’ll talk to you later.”
“How about a drink tonight? You can meet Evelyn and gloat into my wine with me about how hot she is.”
Vickie paused, running through her prep schedule for the next day’s baking in her head. “Yeah, that would be fine. As long as there’s food.”
“Meet me at Kessel Run at eight?”
“You would be willing to go to a nerd bar for me? What about Free Spirits?” Vickie knew Priscilla preferred the upscale cocktail bar, where they’d met last month for Hopelessly Teavoted business.
“You sound like you need it more,” said Priscilla.
She wasn’t going to argue, if only for the sake of the Less Than Twelve Parsecs Nachos, which were absolutely the best bar snack north of Manchester. “See you at eight, Priscilla.”
“Talk soon!” Prissy’s voice was suspiciously enthusiastic, and between that and the concession in meeting places, Vickie didn’t doubt for one second that she was up to something.
She tapped the phone to hang up, and shook her head. Priscilla was mistaken; Vickie remembered what Az had said toher in college. There’d been a time when she’d thought he had feelings for her. But after what happened, she knew exactly where she stood with Azrael Hart.
Alone, in the pouring rain, crying her fucking eyes out and hoping he would come back.
In the end, he never did.
Enough years had passed that it shouldn’t matter, but the almost of the whole thing made her want to run out into the night to find him now and demand he tell her why.
She consoled herself by mopping the floors vigorously.
Her heart felt cracked and empty, but the floor sparkled by the time she was ready to swipe on some mascara, change her shirt, and head out to meet the second Hart sibling of the day.
The lighting was dim at Kessel Run, but she would have known her old friend anywhere.
