Twenty minutes later, Skyler comes strolling in with three bags in her hands.
“Everything cool with your friend?” she asks.
“Yeah. She was having a weird moment.” I eye her bags.
“Three shirts, two pairs of pants and a pair of shoes.”
“Damn, you made out.”
“Yeah, but the shoes are for my girl.”
“She still coming tonight?” I ask, wanting to meet her. Skyler brings her up all the time, and every time she talks about her, her face lights up. I wonder if I look like that when I talk to Paige about Oz.
“Yep. She’s meeting me in the lobby.”
“Nice. Paige is going to meet me up here so I can change first.”
“Your man coming tonight?” She smiles, but her tone seems a little wary.
“Nope, he’s out of town. But I did invite an old college professor who’s new to the city, too, but I’m not sure if he’s going to make it.”
“This professor a man?” She raises her eyebrows as she asks, making me think back to Paige’s reaction about it, too.
“Yes, why is that weird? Paige acted like it was weird, too.”
“Just curious,” she says, putting her bags next to her desk. Now I’m second-guessing myself. It’s not like I have a crush on Joel. In fact, he wrote me a crazy good letter of recommendation when I applied for internships. If anything I’m thankful.
“I got you a cookie.” I pick it up from my desk and hand it over the partition. “Thought you might be hungry after all that shopping. It’s an I’m-sorry-for-the-last-minute-ditch cookie, but maybe not after seeing your bags. I’m not sure I should give it to you.”
She snatches it out of my hand.
“I forgive you.” She unwraps it from the napkin and takes a giant bite out of it. “Let’s bust these reports out so we can get out of here.”
Chapter Sixteen
Mallory
Leaning over the sink, I put on a heavy shadow and an extra layer of mascara.
“Will you stop that?” I say, looking at Paige in the mirror. She’s pacing the bathroom and it’s making me nervous. “What’s wrong?”
She stops and looks over at me, shaking her head. “Nothing. Just ready to go.”
“I’ll be done in a second. Pump your brakes.” I wink at her in the mirror. She hates when I say that. “Is this about Captain America?”
“No. Maybe. Sort of.” She goes back to pacing, and I smile.
Pulling out the pins in my hair, I let my brown locks fall to my shoulders. They’re a bit wavy from being up all day, but I think it gives me a sexy look. That makes me think of Oz and of how I didn’t hear from him today. He’s probably super busy with work, and I’m sure I’ll hear from him tonight.
I watch as Paige comes over and stands beside me while I pack my makeup bag.
“Hey. I love you. You know that, right?”
Looking up, I see there’s a worry in her eyes.
“Yeah. I love you, too, Paige. Is everything okay? You were weird today in the lobby, and now you’re off.”
She smiles as she lets out a deep breath. “I’m good. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I want to make sure you know it. Life is short, right?”
I let out a little laugh, thinking I’ve been telling myself the same thing all week. “Yep. I completely agree.” I reach out and wrap her up in a hug. We’re like sisters, and sometimes you need a hug from your sister.
“Now,” I say, pulling back from her, “let’s go have a drink and shake some tail feathers.”
“Okay,” she says, and it sounds like there’s still a bit of sadness to her tone.
Personally I think she’s all twisted up about her man and needs to let it go. Live in the moment and enjoy herself. That’s what I plan on doing. And tomorrow, when Oz gets back to town, I’m going to spend the day showing him how much I missed him.
We head out of the building and around the corner to Marie’s Yacht Club. A lot of people from work come here to catch a drink before they head home. When we walk in, I spot Skyler at a table in the back with a group of people around her. Paige and I make our way over, and I introduce her to the people I know, along with being introduced to the ones I don’t. There are about fifteen to twenty people total, milling around in the back, so Paige and I head to the bar to grab a drink.
“A lot of people came,” Paige says as she looks around the place.
“Yeah, it should be fun this way,” I say, grabbing our beers and passing her one. “Let’s order some food. I’m starving.”
“You’re in charge,” she says, and follows my lead.