"Well, that was intense," Cate turned to follow him with her eyes.
"Yeah," the breath I was holding whooshed out of my chest. I felt part relief that he was gone and I could breathe again, and a yearning for him to return and live inside the sparks of energy that bounced between us.
"So what did he say?" Cate looked at me.
"Nothing," I frowned, trying to discern what had just happened.
"Nothing?" Cate raised an eyebrow at me as if I were withholding information.
"Really, nothing. His name. He said that it was a great view. Really, nothing," my eyes shifted to the path he'd taken in retreat.
"Well, he is something isn't he?" Cate said wistfully.
"That he is," I shook off the intense energy he seemed to leave behind. "Ready?" I looped my arm in Cate's and we headed for the door and the cool New England night beyond.
Two
The next morning I walked to the the local café around the corner from our South End apartment. Cate worked as a fashion designer and was impossibly loud when she was in the midst of one of her creative phases. George Michael bouncing off the walls of our apartment wasn't something I was necessarily opposed to, just when I was trying to get work done.
I'd only been able to justify taking a week off to move from Amherst where Cate and I had attended UMASS together, so while I was mostly unpacked, I was not settled. Nonetheless my bank account was straining under a tight budget, so I needed to commit some hours today to working. I was good at writing and had a love for fashion, so I counted myself lucky to be working as an editor for a popular fashion website.
I spotted a quiet table in the corner of the busy coffee shop and bee-lined to drop off my bag before ordering my customary large vanilla soy latte. I was so intent on getting to my little corner of secluded coffee shop heaven that I wasn't paying attention and knocked shoulders with another java patron.
"Eva! How are you?" Cate's brother Sawyer wrapped me in an awkward, one-armed hug.
"Hey! I’m good. Had to escape the apartment; Cate's in a creative mood." He gave me a knowing smile. "Are you coming or going? Join me."
"Sure," Sawyer put down his messenger bag. "Large vanilla soy latte, right?" I nodded with a smile. Sawyer and I had dated through high school and into college. Cate was my best friend growing up in upstate New York and it wasn't until we turned 16 that I noticed Sawyer as something other than Cate's little brother. He was only a year behind us, so he fit in well with our crowd. We were inseparable until Cate and I went to UMASS for college. Sawyer and I tried to make a long distance relationship work, but it became too stressful, and as it turned out, Sawyer had trust issues. I broke it off before I'd even made it through my freshman year. The following year I suspected Sawyer followed us to UMASS to try to rekindle our relationship, but it never worked. Now we were all graduated and living in Boston. Things were still marginally awkward between Sawyer and I, but for Cate's sake we managed to remain friendly.
Sawyer returned a few minutes later with two steaming cups of coffee. "Mm…thank you so much," I felt the warmth between my hands and inhaled the hot steam.
"Back to work? Is Cate driving you nuts?" I chuckled because he wasn't all wrong. Cate was my best friend, but that didn't mean her constant exuberance couldn't get under my skin.
"Cate isn't driving me too insane. We went to a fashion thing last night on the waterfront."
"Ah, fancy. She drags me along now and again. Open bar is always the one redeeming quality."
"I imagine," I laughed.
"We should go out this weekend. Boston has some great clubs," Sawyer gushed.
"I still have so much to do, and now that I'm back to work…" I gestured to my laptop still in the bag.
"All work and no play, Eva," Sawyer mock-scolded. "I'll tell Cate, she'll be all about it."
"I'm sure she will," I giggled.
"Ok, this weekend. You, me and Cate are hitting the town," Sawyer stood and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.
"Bye, Sawyer," I gave him a quick squeeze before he turned and left the crowded coffee shop.
I pulled my laptop out of my bag and booted it up, prepared to stake out for a few hours and get work done. New York Fashion Week had just wrapped up and the fashion world was abuzz analyzing all of the new trends for the coming Spring.
"Was that your boyfriend?" I startled and knocked my coffee over, spilling the hot latte across the table. My eyes darted up as my mind recognized the familiar voice.
"You seem to make a habit of startling people," I grumbled as my eyes glanced to the handsome face of Carter Morgan standing over me.