“I’m sure he’ll come around,” she says.
My phone beeps, and I read the text. “Melody. Weird. She wrote that she feels bad that she left early last night and wants to know if I want to get together today.”
“She’s totally fishing to see if we ended up together,” Iris says.
I grin. “Well, we did. So, I definitely can’t meet up today.” I text back that I’m spending the day with Iris.
There’s no reply.
I finish my oatmeal. “What should we do today?”
She looks out the window. The sky is a bright blue.
“We could go for a bike ride. We could go down Riverside Park, and I can take you to some of my favorite restaurants on the Lower East Side. I was planning to do some Christmas shopping today. I thought I’d give Ernest some coffee beans from Porto in Essex Market. He seems to drink a lot of coffee. And I’ll get some for Jazmine to give Aaron because he also drinks coffee. And you could show me some of your favorite places on the Upper West Side.”
“I’m all for that,” I say.
Chapter twenty-two
Iris
IcallTessaandask if I can borrow her bicycle and helmet.
“Are you at Sebastian’s?” she squeals.
“Shh,” I say.
“Yes! You’re dating! This is great,” Tessa says. “And yes, definitely you can borrow my bicycle and helmet.”
I turn to Sebastian. “Tessa just told everybody there.”
“I’m happy for everybody to know it,” Sebastian says.
I say goodbye and hang up. “But I’m not sure we should be public at work.”
“Why not?” Sebastian nuzzles my neck.
I get distracted, kissing him back, but eventually recall my surroundings.
“You know, my boss is kind of a jerk, and what with Raphael’s firing and everything going on, I just don’t want to deal with any negative comments about us dating. I’d rather keep it to ourselves for now.”
“That makes sense,” Sebastian says. “But we should tell Lily and Rupert. I don’t want them to be the last to find out.”
“We should have invited them over for breakfast,” I say.
“If they’re up.” Sebastian pulls me into his arms. “Anyway, I wanted you to myself for this morning.”
“It’s 11:30,” I say. “And her dad is visiting. I’m sure they’re up.”
I call Lily as Sebastian calls Rupert.
“I’m so happy!” Lily says. “This is perfect. We’re about to walk over to my apartment because my dad is staying there. Let’s meet up.”
“We’re about to walk over to Tessa and Zeke’s to pick up a helmet,” I say. “And Sebastian says we have to stop by Levain Bakery.”
“Oh. That’s a good idea. We’ll go with you. My dad loves their cookies, and we should pick up some things from Fairway,” Lily says. “We can meet in the lobby.”
Thefourofusstop in front of the Levain Bakery on 74thStreet. It’s a small space, a set of steps leading down to the glass-fronted store with its name in bright-blue script on the front window. Above it is a waxing place. There’s no line out the door yet, but the inside looks crowded.