Page 29 of Unforgettable You

So I kept all of it to myself and went to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour.

My alarm blared too soon the next day and I groaned as I slapped at my phone to shut it off. Reid was coming over for lunch and I had to get my shit together and make something. I still had a few things from the farmers’ market that I thought I could toss in a salad with some homemade dressing, but I needed something else. There was some thawed chicken in the fridge that I could throw on top of the salad, but it wasn’t very exciting. It would have to do, since I didn’t have anything else.

Oh well. I’d make it work.

I mixed up a quick marinade and let the chicken sit in that before tossing the strips in a pan and grilling them. I chopped and assembled the salad and set it in the fridge until we were ready. Since I was doing lunch, I hadn’t made cupcakes, but I did have some cookies in the pantry that I hoped would be good enough. They were chocolate with peanut butter frosting.

Reid knocked on my door at the right time again and I opened the door to find her holding a pitcher this time.

“Thirsty?”

“Yeah, come in.” I smiled and ignored the little flutters that erupted in my stomach when she walked inside and closed the door.

Reid yawned and set the pitcher down on the counter.

“Sorry. Worked late last night.”

“I know,” I said, and then wanted to bite my tongue. “I mean, I was aware that you worked nights. Is that hard?”

She shrugged. “It’s a job and I don’t completely hate it. Pay is good and I work four nights a week.”

Reid went to my cabinets and searched for some glasses. I liked that she was comfortable enough in my apartment to grab something.

I got the salad out of the fridge along with some plates.

“Ohhh, you have the bowl plates,” she said as I set everything out on the counter.

“Yeah, I love them,” I said as we filled out plates and added dressing and then carried everything to the couch. There was room enough for a table and chairs in my apartment, but I hadn’t gotten one. I’d rather spend my money on books.

Reid yawned again, her jaw cracking.

“Do you want some coffee or something?”

“No, the iced tea should do it,” she said. “It’s half and half.”

That was one of my favorites.

Reid poured me a glass and gulped one down before filing the glass again.

“How was work?” I had a bite of my salad and it was good, which was a relief.

She had a bite of salad and nodded in appreciation. “It was fine. Hunter and Stace showed up.”

I had yet to meet any of her friends, but she talked about them all the time.

“Stace’s parents are having this party and they invited me.” She made a face. “I don’t necessarily want to go, but they really want me to, and Cade and Eloise will be there so I don’t really have a good reason not to go.”

The salad must be good because she kept shoving forkfuls of it into her mouth.

“When is it?”

“Not for three weeks.”

I nodded and had a bite of chicken. “How about I go with you? Then, if you want to leave, you can blame it on me. I’m your get out of party free card.”

Reid set her fork down and raised both eyebrows. “You want to come with me? To my friend’s girlfriend’s parent’s party?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, sure.” Shit. I shouldn’t have said anything. This was one of those situations where I’d spoken before I thought about my words. Too much. It had been too much.