Page 145 of The Scientist
“Yeah, I’m just here for the weekend. Logan’s been hounding me to work on a new album with him,” I said, and he nodded.
My mom had finished her cancer treatments close to a month ago and was doing better than ever. It seemed like every week she was getting closer to looking like her old self again. She’d put a little bit of weight back on, and I was happy to see the color returning to her face. I finally felt comfortable enough to leave her for longer than a day, so with Logan’s relentless harassment, I took the opportunity to get away and get my mind off… things.
“Well, I’ll get out of your hair,” he said. “If you hear a snapping sound from under your bed, it means the criminal’s been detained.”
I made a face. “Welcome home,” I said sarcastically.
He chuckled before grabbing his coat and heading toward the door.
“I’ll text Sophie to let her know the traps have been set for the intruder if she wants to come back,” I told him.
“She probably won’t come within a mile of this place with Chuck E. Cheese still on the loose.”
I laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” I agreed. “Thanks for the pest control services.”
He gave me a warm smile. “It was good to see you again.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Just as he reached the door, he turned to me and said, “Did you mean what you said before?”
I looked at him, confused. “What did I say?”
“Before I left California… You said we could try being friends again once you got back.”
I was apprehensive about where he was going with this. “I’m not back. I’m just here for the weekend.”
He gave me a half-grin. “Could we try to be friends for the weekend then?”
I studied him for a moment, wondering if this was a terrible idea. “What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking we could go grab dinner at O’Hara’s,” he suggested. “Just as friends of course,” he added quickly.
Nope, nuh-uh, definitely not. “Okay,” I heard myself say. Internal facepalm. Damn my pathological people-pleasing ways.
Minutes later, I found myself walking side by side with my ex-boyfriend, heading around the corner to the restaurant bar that had once been a favorite of ours. They had these coconut shrimp I still sometimes dreamt about. A strong feeling of déjà vu came over me as we sat at the same high-top table near the window that had once been “our” spot.
After we removed our jackets and got settled, all that was left to do was stare at one another awkwardly. Garrett gave me a tight smile that I returned.
“We’re going to need drinks, aren’t we?” he asked.
“Yup,” I agreed quickly.
He grinned before going over to the bar and ordering for us. He hadn’t asked, but clearly, he remembered my drink order as he walked back with a Manhattan in hand. I didn’t know how to feel about it.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me—the fact that I was back in New York having a casual dinner with the man I might have still been in a relationship with had I never left.
“So, how’s your mom?” Garrett asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“She’s doing great actually.” It felt so good to say that. I knew in my bones that if I’d never met Lex, my mom and I would be planning our return home to NYC now that she was on the mend… But maybe that wasn’t true at all. The harrowing thought crossed my mind that I’d probably be returning home alone had I never met him.
I took a large swallow of my drink.
“And um… how’s the scientist?” he asked.
Pain gnawed at the open wound I still carried at the mention of Lex.
“He’s fine,” I said quickly, hoping to move on.