Page 24 of The Muse
Yes. I need a distraction. And I can’t stay stuck in the house forever.
Geoffrey can drop you at mine. We can grab a coffee. I need to eat anyway, so lunch if you’ve not eaten.
Great. See you soon.
I get dressed, run the straightening irons over my already straight hair, and meet Geoffrey downstairs. Ivy lives in the city—a heartbeat away from everything of any interest. It's a shame she's only here a handful of weeks out of the year. I could use more sisterly catch-ups like this.
She’s already waiting for me on the pavement as the car draws up.
“Come on, I’m starved, and there’s nothing in my fridge that’s safe to eat.” She’s frog-marching me down the street before I can even say goodbye to Geoffrey. “Now, what’s got you climbing the walls?”
There’s enough lies in my world already, so I stay as close to the truth as possible.
“I met a guy, and I’m waiting for him to call me back.”
“Ohhh… juicy. Tell me more.” Ivy spins around, and her eyes flash all big and interested.
“Not a lot at the moment. It’s kind of happened out of the blue. But I like him.”
“Here.” Ivy takes a sharp right and ducks into a coffee shop, joining the queue. “Have you given Neve his details yet?” she asks.
“No, why?”
“To check him out. You know she’s a freak with all the cryptic shit. She’s a brilliant source when I need it. What do you want? Coffee? Food?”
“Um, a mint tea, please and a granola bar.”
“You need to live, young lady.” She turns to the barista. “A double shot espresso, a caramel muffin, a mint tea and a toasted ham and cheese. Eat in,” she says, rattling off the order.
“And the granola bar.”
“No. You’ll be eating the caramel muffin. No arguments. Now. Spill.”
She grabs the tray with our order and finds a table at the back of the shop.
“Like I said. Nothing to spill.”
“But you’re hopeful?” She eyes me as if I’m the source of her next big story.
“Yeah. I left a really girly message about meeting up.”
“And now you’re worried he won’t call.”
“Kind of.” And once again, I’m that twelve-year-old girl.
“If it’s right, he’ll call.”
“Do you still get hung up if the guy doesn’t call you back?” I blow on the scalding hot tea. I need to keep Ivy from prying too far into my love life.
“Sometimes. But plenty of guys haven’t called. It just takes a little while to get used to that feeling, but it also means the right guy is still out there. Besides, it’s not like you’ve spent much of your life dating. Hell, this is the first I’ve heard of it from you.”
“Not a lot of time when you’re dancing six days a week.”
“And now you have all the time in the world to woo a man,” she says, before taking a gulp of her coffee.
“Did you just say woo?” We both giggle.
~
