“Yes,” Brandon came to my defenses. “She is getting better.”
“Okay,” I got them both settled. “I am going to take a quick shower and get ready.”
I felt giddy, like a girl going on a first date. It was amazing how good it felt to have this little luxury, something I took for granted before. I took an extra long shower, enjoying the time I had without having to rush or worry about Brandon coming in.
As I got out of the shower, I dried myself off, wrapped a towel around me, and brushed out my thick dark hair.
I glanced at the clock and saw I still had plenty of time so I went to check my cell phone really quickly. Seeing I have few unread messages, I scrolled and saw one from Brian, the blind date guy for tonight.
It was a quick apology. He couldn’t make it.
My stomach dropped and a crushed feeling overwhelmed me. I never even met him, but for some reason it hit me hard and made me sad. I was really looking forward to it.
I have been on a few dates since Callen. The first year, I spent licking my wounds and mourning for all the what ifs and lost dreams. Lena kicked me into gear and forced me to go on a date. The guys were nice, but I never gave them a chance, keeping my emotions at a safe distance. It was never easy for me to open myself up, but after Callen, it was almost instinctual not to allow men too close.
No sense in dwelling, I quickly got dressed in my yoga pants and comfy shirt, and went downstairs to join Layla and Brandon.
Layla looked up, both her and Brandon sitting on the living room floor when I came in.
“I hope you are not going out like that?” she asked, looking pointedly at my yoga pants.
I shook my head. “He can’t make it.” I kept my voice light. There was no reason to take it to heart. “Do you want to stay and just hang out?”
She watched me carefully. For all Layla’s flakiness sometimes, she had the best observation skills. It drove me nuts. But thankfully, she gave me a pass this time.
“Hell, yes,” she replied cheerfully. “We can all hang out together.”
I smiled at her gratefully. I didn’t want to be alone after Brandon went to sleep.
“I’ll make a nice dinner for all of us,” she offered. “And then, you and I will have a glass of wine when Brandon goes to bed. How does that sound?”
It always stumped me to see Layla cook, and she did an amazing job. Her food was to die for. She was an incredible cook.
“Can I stay up with you?” Brandon asked hopefully.
“No,” I told him gently but firmly. “You have daycare tomorrow and it is a weeknight. And we won’t stay up much later.”
I took Brandon to have a quick bath while Layla started dinner. By the time we were downstairs, she had the table set and apple juice out of Brandon along the wine glasses for us.
“I thought we were starting wine later,” I asked her as we all sat down.
“Oh well,” she replied, laughing. “I couldn’t wait. I already had a glass.”
As we talked, ate dinner, drank an entire bottle of wine, and started on a new one, I missed Lena with an ache. I wondered if Layla did too. She glanced at me at that very moment, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and I knew she was thinking about her, too. A quick nod, and we both raised our glasses and took a sip of wine.
“I can’t stand my job nor my boss,” I mumbled out of nowhere.
Layla’s eyes flipped to me. “Why?”
“He gets a date without even trying,” I complained. “Different women are coming every day to the office for their evening outing. It’s not fair. Makes me want to murder him.”
“Is he bad?” Brandon asked me innocently, not understanding a word I’m saying. “Can’t he take you on a date?”
“No, he can’t. And he’s annoying as hell,” I replied, aware that alcohol was freely flowing down my body, relaxing me too much. “Well, he used to be annoying. Now he is nice, which is even worse.”
“Kind of like Mr. Jackson?” he asked.
“Who is Mr. Jackson?” interrupted Layla.