Page 32 of Mr Best Friend's Brother Grump

“Then, I would tell you, you’re a big fat liar.” Rosa chomps another chip and winks at me. We continue eating in contented quiet before Rosa asks, “Are you going to talk to Kendra?”

“About...?” I gaze around as if I’ve lost something. Rosa thumps my arm. “Oh, you mean, we should let her know about us?” I lean back in my chair, rubbing the place where Rosa hit me as if it actually hurt.

“I think you should tell her," Rosa says. "It would be better coming from you.”

The award on the table is small and irrelevant. The evening at the Midtown Hilton, with all the media hype and important people, pales in comparison to this moment and the realization that everything I have always dreamed of is here with me now. I pick up the last French fry, dip it in what’s left of the aioli and plum sauce, then hold it up for Rosa to bite. Then, we kiss again.

Chapter 27

Rosa

I call Kendra the next day. She wants to know all about my night in The Dress. And she wants to tell me all about her night and a guy she met. We arrange to meet for lunch on her side of the river this time, at Happy Cat in Chinatown.

I’m excited about seeing my best friend, but I know that Nathan probably hasn’t told her about us yet, so I have to keep reminding myself not to say anything. If she brings it up, then that’s a different matter. I need to keep a lid on my emotions and tread carefully. Kendra is my best friend, but I have no idea how she will react to news that I kissed her brother. And that it was so much more than just a kiss.

I’ve never felt like this before about anyone. I am shiny new. Being with Nathan brings out the best in me. I feel that the elevator kiss was the start of something that has our future bound up in it; as if we are somehow different people than we were before. I want things to be perfect with him. It seems right that Kendra hears about us from her brother and not me. I will let him tell her, in his own good time. I hope she’ll be pleased for us.

Walking from the subway, I am still buzzing from our beautiful evening. I was too excited, thinking about Nathan, to get much sleep. After dinner at La Belle Nuit, we walked around a bit, holding hands, kissing some more, and talking about Nothing and Everything. It was so blissful; I didn’t want to say goodnight. There was a moment in the taxi, when Nathan dropped me off, where I felt like asking him to stay, so we didn’t have to say good night. But, we agreed that now we had crossed the line to something more than just friends, anything more could wait. We had the rest of our lives to get to know each other. Nathan said he wanted to savor every step and not rush things. So, I’ll have to be patient.

Kendra has already claimed a table at Happy Cat and I can tell she is about to burst with excitement when I walk in. She stands to hug me and then we sit down. She pours green tea into two tiny porcelain cups.

“Rosa. I can’t tell you how I feel. Everything has changed overnight.”

“Wow, Kendra. Drink some tea to calm yourself, then try… Start at the beginning.”

“No. I want to hear about your night first. Was it amazing? Did you meet Harry and Meghan? Were they ever so royal?” Kendra beams at me, then says, “I saw Nathan’s trophy. He left it on the kitchen counter with a note saying it was the best night of his life.”

I almost choke mid-sip, and I’m desperate to say, ‘I kissed Nathan and we’re in love and everything is incredible’, but I don’t. I say, “You first.”

“Well, Rob, that’s his name, we met last month at that awful conference in Washington. He was the only good thing about it, although we didn’t really connect then. We said hi, and that’s about it.”

A smiling waiter in a pink apron comes over and carefully lays out on our table, serviettes, stainless steel chopsticks, and white porcelain spoons with pictures of sinuous blue dragons. She tells us the set menu will arrive dish by dish in order, from soup and noodles, to barbeque ribs and rice, with lychees to finish. She nods and smiles and returns to the kitchen through a decorative curtain printed with a large pink smiling cat, waving a paw.

“The food here is legendary,” says Kendra. “You have to turn up early to get a table or risk the disappointment of being turned away.”

“So, back to your night... Rob. What happened?”

“Okay. Then last night,” Kendra continues, rapidly. “He turns up at this bar I’m at with the girls from work, and he comes over. So, at this point, I’m thinking, ‘Oh yeah, he’s a nice guy. Super friendly, but not hitting on me, or the other girls. He’s just… normal. Can you believe it?” We laugh.

“Wow, Ken. You met a guy who’s normal… in New York.” I roll my eyes and laugh some more. “Is he gay?”

“No! No, he’s not gay… He’s just nice with a capital N. So…”

“So?”

“He says his friend is in a band and they’re playing a gig just down the road. And he’s in the bar with a couple of friends and did we want to join them?”

“Cool, so I’m guessing you did?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what happened. Then the other girls weren’t up for a big night, and they went home. So, it was me and Rob and his friends. We went to this really cool club somewhere in SoHo, downstairs in a basement. I’ve probably walked past it a thousand times not knowing it was there. That sort of a place.”

“And how was the band?”

“Just terrible. So out of tune and the singer was kind of wailing… Or that could be just me. They might be, what do you call it? Avant Garde. Is that still a thing? Anyway… We stayed there for a few songs, then Rob asked me if I wanted to go to a party. So, we went!”

Kendra takes a break from her story to eat some soup and noodles that have arrived on a tray. We make appreciative comments about the bowls of tasty noodley heaven, then Kendra resumes where she left off.

“And the party is close by, so we walk. He is so nice. Did I say that?”

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