Page 80 of From That Moment
“I’m kind of glad that it worked out the way it did. I know that’s weird. I think we needed to like each other as friends first, or at least as acquaintances before we went on a date. I don’t think a blind date would have worked well for Prior and me.”
“Considering that you grumbled at him the first time you met him? Probably not.”
“I feel kind of bad about that.”
“He grumbled right back. It was probably a form of flirting.”
I laughed. “Probably.”
“Anyway, it’s nice to see the two of you together. Gives me hope.”
I didn’t know if I should move the subject to her. “For your blind date?”
Dakota shuddered. “Yes. Let’s not talk about that.”
“You’re next, though.”
“Maybe we’ll take a break or skip over to Myra.”
“We both know that’s not how this works. I take it you don’t want us fishing in the same pool that Hazel and I seem to be bathing in?”
“Let’s not talk about that. I have a feeling that Myra and Nate have their own thing going on.”
“I think they are acting weird, too. I thought that was just my mind playing tricks.”
“I don’t know. However, she’s good about not looking at him.”
“Maybe he offended her in some way.”
“Maybe. Or perhaps I’m seeing things that aren’t there because I do not want to go on a date. Ever.”
“You were the one who helped us come up with this whole pact idea.”
“You’re right. Yet you tried to give up.”
“After terrible blind dates. Truly disastrous ones.”
“I want to apologize for the orgy again.”
“We’ve already discussed that we don’t know if it was going to be an actual orgy or only a threesome.”
“True, true.” She paused. “I don’t want to do this whole dating thing,” Dakota repeated, her voice soft.
“Okay,” I said, leaning forward. “We don’t need to. We can skip to Myra or quit it altogether. Don’t get that tone in your voice, okay?”
Dakota gave me a soft smile and shook her head before her eyes brightened again. Then she smiled like normal.
“Joshua’s off with his friends, and my lunch break is almost over. I have to get back to the café.”
“I could have gone in there today, you know.”
“I know. I needed to leave, needed to breathe, and I thought I’d see one of my best friends.”
“Still, I’m the best of the best, right?” I asked.
“Sure, Paris. Whatever you say.” She kissed my cheek, and then I walked her to the door, closing it behind her after she left.
I flipped the locks and then went back to my kitchen, cleaning up the mess from my pastry. Dakota didn’t always have a lot of time off, and while we usually all met at her café when we could, she also liked to leave the place. Apparently, today meant a trip to my house.