Page 14 of Moments in Ink
“I love it. And if you’re going to shame me for it, I will kick you out of this car.” I winked as I said it since I had a feeling that Zia didn’t degrade anyone.
“Are you kidding me? We are avid readers, although I’m a huge fan of audiobooks.”
“I got into them in the past couple of years, too. They’re great for the commute.”
“I don’t have a commute as much these days,” Zia said with a laugh. “My studio’s in my house. Or I’m in the process of making one, at least. However, I like to walk around and do my chores and things while listening to a book. Makes it easy for me to get my steps in while listening to a very steamy narrator.”
“I usually listen to a podcast or something when I’m at home, but I should try listening to more books. My reading list is ridiculous at this point.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So, I was thinking Z’s for a drink. And then we can head to that club you were talking about.”
“That sounds perfect. I had a late lunch, so I’m not starving for dinner.”
“I did the same. And then I had a snack just in case,” I said with a laugh.
“Makes sense. There’s a diner right outside the campus that has amazing food when you’re starving after dancing. Like at ten o’clock at night.”
“You remember when it used to be like two o’clock in the morning?” I asked, pulling into the parking lot of the bar.
“Yeah, I’m not a teenager anymore. Or even twenty-one. Not that I did much of that when Iwasin school. I had too much homework.”
“Me, too. What’s your degree in?” I asked as we got out of the car.
Zia shrugged, looking a little self-conscious, and I wondered what I’d said. “Psychology.”
My brows rose, and I could have kicked myself for the look that overtook her face. “That’s awesome. I can tell that you have a message you’re trying to get across when you talk about inner beauty and things like that. It makes sense that you have a basis for it.”
“Yeah, I wanted to be a makeup artist full-time, but my parents wanted me to go towards something that could make money,” she said with a laugh. “I sort of met between the two. I love what I do, I love my degree, and I’m still trying to figure out how to blend it all into a full-time career.”
“I’m the weird one who liked math and likes being an accountant. I may not know much about what I want to do with the rest of my life, but the whole job thing? I love it.”
“We need people like you, who know what they’re doing. That way, people like me can flutter about and try different things and hope to hell you’re there to catch us when we fall.”
I smiled at her then, falling hard. “That sounds like a plan. Because, sometimes, I’m going to trip up. But who’s going to be there when I fall?” I asked, not meaning to say the words that were already out.
“I guess that’s what people like us are there for. To be there when the others fall. Or maybe this is getting too deep, and we should go have a martini and then go dance.”
I wondered where our conversation would go if we let it. But she was right. We didn’t need to get so serious.
“I want an old fashioned, not a martini.”
“I thought you had vodka when I first saw you at the bar last time. With Aaron. So, you’re a whiskey girl?”
“I’m a mixed girl. I’m just really in the mood for something delicious.”
I hadn’t meant to say the words as seductively as I did, but when Zia’s tongue darted out to lick her lips, I swallowed hard again, and did my best not to reach out to grab her, to taste her.
There was a connection between us for sure, a sultry one that begged for more. But I wasn’t going to act on it yet.
I’d at least give myself an hour or two.
Zia grinned at the bartender as we made our way in, and I gave her a look.
“I know his husband. We went to school together,” she said, and I nodded, then sat down next to her at the bar. The place was packed, but thankfully, there were two seats on the corner. Not the best place for a view, but that was fine, I wasn’t here for anybody else. I was here for Zia.
And myself, if I were honest.