Page 65 of Green
“It’s been ages.”
“It hasn’t beenthatlong,” Theo grumbled. “Alright alright, that’s enough.” He tapped Preston on the shoulder.
When he finally released me, I gave Dale a quick hug.
“Long time, girl. Wow. You look great.”
“Where have you guys been?”
“We’ve been around—where haveyoubeen? It’s been like a year since we all hung out.”
“We always ask about you, but this guy’s like ‘oh she’s busy with work,’ so we figured he had you chained to a wall or something.”
I glanced at Theo, who was giving Preston the wide-eyedShut Your Facelook.
“Well, Ihavebeen busy with work.” I took Theo’s hand. “It’s kind of nice to be out on a date with this guy for a change.”
Theo pulled me in closer, and Dale and Preston’s jaws dropped.
“No way! That’s awesome, you guys.”
“Awww you guys are so cute. Well, that explains a lot.”
I gathered that Theo had been trying to keep me away from other single boys for a little longer than I’d realized.
I excused myself to the bar and let Theo do some explaining to his friends. I ordered a beer, stared up at the life-size Wonder Woman Justice League statue, wondered if Gal Gadot ever ate while she was wearing that costume, and waited for Dale and Preston to wander off before delivering the beer to Theo.
“Drink this.”
“I’m driving.”
“Drink one beer. You need to chill.” I took the water from his hand and replaced it with the beer bottle. I clinked my wine glass against the bottle and said: “Let us calmly remember that this is a party for tech nerds and investors, that is meant to be enjoyable.”
“Well-played,” he grinned.
That grin made me wobbly.
“Hey. Did you eat dinner? Let’s get some food.”
“I’m fine.”
“Uh. No. You’re hungry. You didn’t eat all day because of the dress, did you?”
I frowned at him. “You don’t know me.”
He took my elbow and guided me towards the street vendor set-up to grab whatever it was the guy was cooking in the mobile oven.
He finished half the bottle in less than a minute and had a twinkle in his eye for the first time that night. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For encouraging me to have a beer. For coming with me. For letting me see you in that dress so that I know what you look like without that blouse on and other people don’t. For being you.”
“It’s my pleasure.” I felt totally calm and confident—so much so that I asked a passing server for another glass of wine.
“You sure you haven’t had enough?” My best friend/secret husband/hot as hell first real date raised an eyebrow at me. “Maybe pace yourself. The night is young.”
“So am I. Who’s the grandma tonight? Yeesh.”
