Page 39 of Knight
“Thanks. I tried to copy what you did the other night but just tone it down a bit.”
“Here you go,” Dale said as he handed me the application.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile and a small nod.
“What’s that?” Tara asked.
“Oh, I saw they were hiring, so I thought maybe…ya know?”
“What about the bar?” she asked as she dug through her purse for something.
“Oh, well, I figured this might be a little better. Might be able to work more shifts too.” I had filled her in on my dad’s work-blocking. She gave a little laugh as she ripped her card out of her purse and held it up victoriously.
“Makes total sense. Okay, I need caffeine, like right now. You good?”
“Yep,” I answered.
She made her way over to place her order and I turned my attention back to my notes.
For the next two hours we studied silently side by side. A few times we took a break to chat, but for the most part, we were both in the zone. Which was something I greatly appreciated. There was a time for fun and a time to buckle down and get things done. Tara always seemed to be on the same wavelength as me.
I took a few minutes to fill out the application before we packed up. I handed it to Dale on the way out and he told me I would get a call to set up an interview. After I thanked him, I met Tara out front.
“Did you walk?” she asked as she dug her keys out of her purse.
“Yeah.”
“Want a ride back? I gotta head that way anyway.”
“Well, if you’re going that way then I sure as heck won’t say no.” We laughed as we made our way to her car parked on the side of the street just a little ways up the block.
“So that guy at the coffee shop seems nice,” she said out of nowhere as she jerked the wheel and pulled out into the street.
“Yeah. He smiles a lot, which I think is nice.”
“He’s cute. And his smileisnice. Total opposite of Knight, too.”
I thought about her words. I guessed I could see what she was talking about. But when Knight did smile, it lit up the room and warmed my whole body. Then again, it wasn’t like he smiled much now. I missed his smile and the rare times he had let himself relax around me had been the best moments I’d had in months. I took everything about him in when it did happened. I wanted to hold onto those mental stills for a lifetime.
“You should ask him out,” she said pulling me out of my thoughts.
I laughed and shook my head.
“No. Not a good idea especially if I want to work there. Dating someone you work with has disaster written all over it.” I wasn’t an idiot. Even if I thought I would be able to date now, no matter how cute or nice Dale seemed he would not be an option.
“Well, if you don’t get the job then.”
“Maybe. I’ll just have to see.”
“I’m telling you, Gwen, you need to branch out. Try new things. Forget about Knight and move on. Right?” Her tone was a little sharp. But then again she had seen a little bit of how twisted up I was about the whole Knight thing.
“I guess…”
I looked out the window wishing for an escape out of this conversation. I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to stop even if I seemed like I didn’t want to talk about it. Luckily, the apartment was within breathing distance. I just hoped she wasn’t planning on coming up with me. I wasn’t really in the mood to hang out now.
My phone rang in my pocket. How was that for timing? I sent the skies a grateful thanks as I pulled my phone out.
“Oh,” I said seeing that it was Stacy calling me. “It’s my best friend.”
