Page 31 of Keep It Together

He put his arm up and blocked a ball about to hit the back of Sadie’s head. “Whatever you say, love. Do you mind if I go dominate in dodgeball?”

“Not at all.”

He leaned down and kissed her quickly before running off. We watched him palm two balls and take out two people simultaneously.

Sadie sighed. “He’s the dreamiest. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” The two of them were made for each other, whether they openly admitted it or not. “So, um…” How could I word this so Sadie wouldn’t know what I was up to? I wasn’t worried about her divining my secrets from a gossip standpoint. I just didn’t want her advice. She was awfully blunt when she thought she was right about something. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Shoot.”

“I was just wondering. What was the tipping point, when you and Denver went from being friends to being, like, okay, we’ve reached the point of no return?”

Sadie’s eyes narrowed, and her forehead wrinkled. Great, she was already suspicious. But these were the things I needed to know. Where was my point of no return with Isaac? I wanted to stay as far back from it as possible, but also, see him as often as possible. As it was, I was itching to text him and see what he was up to. There had been a flower delivery right before lunch, most definitely from Beautiful Blooms, but they weren’t brought in by Isaac.

Sadie tilted her head. “The point of no return?”

“Well, you two worked together. And yet, you went for it.”

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just, we were hugging, and I accidentally kissed his neck.”

Okay, I was definitely going to avoid doing that. “His neck happened to be in the way of your lips?”

“That’s the story I’m going with. Anyway, I was embarrassed, but he made us talk it out, and he admitted he really liked me.” Sadie smiled and looked over at her husband. “Then I admitted I really liked him.”

I’d avoid doing that, too. This was all very helpful. There would be no talk about feelings other than my appreciation for him as a friend, and Isaac had already promised to behave. I felt way more confident in texting him already. “Thanks, Sadie. I’ll see you later. There’s this explosion in food truck group date requests, and I need to research options.”

Sadie crossed her arms. “You’re not going to tell me what this is about?”

“No.”

“Okay.” That was the nice thing about Sadie. She’d accept an answer like that. For now. I turned to go, but she added in a teasing voice, “I heard a rumor about you, too.”

“Oh?”

“You and a certain florist sat and talked at your desk last week?”

“I talk to all the delivery people.”

“I know. That’s what I told all those busy-body gossips. But I have to ask. Was it Isaac?” She looked so smug that I laughed aloud when a ball smacked her upside the head right then. I knew from experience it didn’t hurt, but it still looked pretty awesome. That’s what she got for asking me about a subject I had just declared off-limits.

“Okay, bye!” I called out, using the distraction to run off without answering the question.

“I’m taking your non-answer as a yes!” she called back.

I figured she would, but that was all the info she’d be getting, and I really did need to get work done. Once at my desk, I finished tracking the group dates that happened over the weekend, plugging in their locations, projected numbers, and actual turnout. It helped me predict how much space I’d need for new locations.

Trends changed on a dime, especially in our online groups, where those with the strongest opinions determined where they’d meet up next. As I’d told Sadie, it looked like food truck meetups were going to be the next big thing. The online chat groups called it BYOC. Bring-Your-Own-Chair. After getting food, they could sit in a big circle and get to know one another. Which meant my job was to find out where the trucks would be and find them the places with the best food, the most variety for all their diverse palates, and the quickest service. I threw my focus into checking street food apps, reading reviews, emailing places, and making calls until I had a list of locations to check out, and an approved budget for my search.

I had two adventurous friends I knew would want to come with, and as soon as I had a plan, I texted them.

Ally and Kimber were roommates, so they usually drove together to join me in whatever insane plan I had cooked up at the moment. Which I appreciated. My work took care of any cover charges or entrance fees, but beyond that, it was just us trying things out on our own dime, some of which turned out pretty terrible. I was shocked they’d still talk to me after the Fondue in the Dark experience that came to Phoenix last October. My relationship with liquid cheese had never recovered.

As if sensing he was being left out of something, a text from Isaac popped up.

Isaac: What are you doing right now?

Carmen: Staring at my phone.

---