Page 14 of Waste Some Time
“Okay,” Katie said. “Meet me at nine? Or is that too early?”
The right corner of Sydney’s mouth turned upward in the most intriguing half-smile.
Katie was definitely in trouble.
“That’s perfect.” Then, with a tiny nod, Sydney said, “Looking forward to it.”
* * *
RACHEL!!!
Katie paced back and forth over the worn-in carpet of her living room, waiting desperately for those three dots to transform into words, while Benjamin eyed her curiously from his short cat tree. A few passes across the room later, she got a reply.
OMG what? Are you ok?
No! Definitely not ok! I have to spend the whole day with Sydney tomorrow!!!!!!!!
There was a long break. Not even three dots.
Maybe she caught Rachel in the middle of a rehearsal. Or some sort of meeting.
Whatever it was, she needed Rachel to get back to her phone. Katie needed advice. Or, at the very least, an idea for how to get out of this.
She looked to Benjamin for answers, a distraction, something. He didn’t even lift his head, just sat with it on his paws staring at her from the top perch. He loved to stumble around her feet while she was in the kitchen, knowing his dinner would appear along with hers. But the rest of the time, he kept to himself unless there was an opportunity for couch snuggles while Katie watched TV.
The phone dinged in her hand, and Katie stopped pacing to read Rachel’s text, eager for her sympathy or some brilliant exit strategy.
I thought this was a RACHEL! Something’s on fire! Kind of text. Not a pathetic I’ll be spending tomorrow with a gorgeous woman piece of lunacy.
Something IS on fire!
Your pants?Rachel texted, followed by a crying-laughing emoji.
Katie should have known better than to go to Rachel with this. Rachel had been clear that she thought Katie should try for something more with Sydney. No matter Katie’s objections.
But her other go-to for this kind of thing was Stephen. Not exactly an option right now.
She stabbed at her phone with her thumbs and typed,Never mind.
A few moments later, Katie’s phone rang.
“Oh, come on. I had to. The joke was right there,” Rachel said. “Go on. Freak out unnecessarily. I’m listening.”
“Not unnecessarily. Very necessarily!”
“Because… why? You like her. Don’t try to lie. You do. What’s the big deal?”
That was the big deal, wasn’t it? She kind of did like this woman. Despite Katie’s snap judgment about the whole accountant thing, Sydney was easy to talk to and even easier on the eyes. Katie couldn’t deny that.
“This can’t go anywhere.”
“Then just have fun. Can you have fun for a day?”
Of course, she could have fun for a day. And if she hadn’t already made out with this woman, that would probably be easy. But everything happened backwards! All the boxes got checked in the wrong order, and now she was confused. Well, parts of her were.
“I guess.”
“I’ll call you later tonight and give you a proper pep talk. Don’t cancel before then!”
