Nine
W hen they finally connected with Celia and Enes at their favorite bar, Jasmine was a confused mess of emotions, wanting nothing more than to pull her friend into the bathroom for some much needed girl talk.
It wasn’t just that Burak had saved the day where Cheddar was concerned. Or how sweetly the large man and tiny cat had been, snuggled up on her couch waiting for her. It was also an unspoken something that they shared, a way that they moved together that could almost trick her into thinking they were a couple. The way he had held open doors for her, first the apartment’s door and then the passenger door of the car. The way he had moved to the street side of the sidewalk every time they had been walking side by side. The way he leaned in to speak to her, coming so close she could feel his voice more than hear it. The fingertips that found her lower back, guiding her around a group of tourists.
And even though Jasmine knew it would be bad manners to pull Celia aside as soon as the introductions were made, she poured every bit of faith she had in the power of female friendship into her friend getting an accurate read on the situation and setting aside some time as soon as possible so that the two of them could do a full postmortem of this evening and everything that had preceded it.
It was easy to find the table where her friends were waiting, the safe haven of their familiar presence calling to Jasmine’s unsettled nervous system like a beacon summoning a ship lost at sea. She picked up the pace to get to them, reluctantly dropping away from Burak’s palm on her lower back and hurrying to the safety of her friend’s side.
“Burak, this is Celia and Enes. Celia, Enes…this is Burak.” She hurried to sit down across from Celia as they all shook hands and exchanged greetings, working to school her expression into something resembling cool and collected, but failing, judging by the way Celia’s eyebrows climbed as their eyes met.
“Good to see you guys,” said Enes, stretching his arm behind Celia, who leaned back into his touch. “And of course to meet you, Burak. I hear we have a cat colony issue to work out together.”
Celia threw her head back as she laughed. “My fiance, ladies and gentlemen. Skips the niceties and gets right down to business!” She turned to Enes and smiled. “At least where cats are concerned. And considering that it was our love of cats that brought us together, I suppose I can’t fault you for it.”
“Right.” Enes’s cheeks were pink. “Should we at least order you two some drinks before we get down to business?”
Burak was nodding, but Jasmine was shaking her head, her hands gesturing for Enes to stop talking. “Hold on just a minute there.” She leaned forward. “Did you say fiance ?”
Celia’s eyes were twinkling as she nodded, reaching across the table to show off a sparkly engagement ring.
“We’re just engaged by American standards, of course,” said Enes. “We haven’t done the ceremony with my relatives yet, or anything, so…”
“If I happen to run into any of your aunts, don’t say anything? No problem!” But Jasmine was smiling at both of them as she studied Celia’s ring, her eyes darting between the two as she tried to figure out which one of them thought they were the lucky one in this pairing. “I’m really happy for you both.”
“As am I,” Burak piped up. “Of course, I didn’t know you before you were engaged, but it still feels like this calls for a celebration. What are you drinking? Is this a champagne toast sort of occasion?”
Celia shook her head, gesturing to her nearly empty wine glass. “Red wine. And snacks. The celebration of champions!” She turned to Enes, pursing her lips. “We should get a bottle, right? To share? And these two should plan to drink too much and then take a taxi home, right?” She turned back to face Jasmine and Burak, already nodding. “You can’t let us celebrate alone, you know.” But then she leaned forward and whispered loudly. “Of course you can say no if you really want to. Peer pressure sucks. I’m just saying, though, if you want a good excuse to have a little too much fun and don’t want to feel irresponsible taking a taxi home when you could have just stuck to water and then driven yourself home—”
Burak held up a finger, as if waiting his turn to speak, and Celia cut herself off. “I like the way you think. And I actually have a meeting in this part of the city tomorrow morning, so if I leave my car here, it’s no problem at all.” He leaned back and looked around for a waiter, gesturing with a smile when he made eye contact with one. “Let’s get this party started! Which wine was it?”
“The pinot noir,” said Celia to him, before repeating it again to the waiter. “And two more glasses, please.”
“And we’ll take two orders of fries,” Enes chimed in, before glancing around the table. “Anything else?”
“How about some hummus?” asked Jasmine. The gathering had quickly taken on the feeling of four old friends embarking on a night to remember and she couldn’t think of the last time she’d felt this excited to be out. Or, actually, the last time she’d been out of her apartment this late in the evening. Certainly the last time she’d been sitting mere inches away from a handsome and attentive man.
Speaking of which…
Jasmine chanced a glance at Burak, only to find his eyes were already on her. Her cheeks immediately began to heat, the feeling that she had been caught looking at him filling her with embarrassment, all logical thoughts that he had, in fact, been looking at her first evaporating before they had a chance to form.
Though she had turned her attention away from him as soon as their eyes had met, she felt rather than saw him lean towards her, his mouth coming close to her ear.
“I like your friends,” he said. “And I’m glad we’re doing this. It’s nice to spend time with you outside of the cafe.”
“Almost like we’re friends?” she asked, her eyes darting to his, down to his mouth that was now dangerously close to her cheek, and then back up to his eyes.
His pupils widened almost imperceptibly. “Something like that.” He leaned in closer. “I’d settle for being your friend, but just know that it’s not my first choice.”
Oh, here we go again , thought Jasmine, shaking her head slightly as she leaned away from Burak and back towards the table where their glasses were now being delivered. As she slid Burak’s glass over to him, she chanced another glance in his direction, expecting to see him looking pleased with himself for yet again making her blush with his exaggerated flirtation. She was already preparing for her next conversation with her grandmother, where she would turn her chiding of the older woman up another level. Her grandma could call Burak and tell him the plan was off, that her matchmaking skills had been entirely off base, and that he needed to cool it.
But what she saw on his face surprised her. He was smiling, but he didn’t look smug. If anything, the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and had the slightest downturn at the corners. When he noticed her looking, he gave her the slightest of nods and an almost-wink, mouthing something that looked like, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”
What the—?
Was he genuinely interested in her? What had seemed to be just a bit of fun now had all the makings of something serious. Something with the potential for feelings to get hurt and relationships—especially business relationships—to get complicated.
Jasmine only realized she was lost in her thoughts when Celia appeared at her elbow, bodily hauling her to her feet. “Come on,” said her friend, “I need to visit the ladies’ room, and you know the rule. If one of us goes, both of us go.” She looked back at the men. “You guys can bond while we’re gone. If you wanted to figure out the whole cat problem of yours so we can move on to other subjects when we return, I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Jasmine let herself be dragged along by her friend, only removing her arm from Celia’s grasp when they were inside the restroom, standing in front of the sinks.
“What’s going on with you and Burak?” Celia asked, hands finding her hips. “And don’t tell me there’s nothing there and pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. I see all the looks shot between the two of you, the way he looks at you when he thinks you aren’t looking…there’s chemistry there, and I’m just trying to figure out why you’re hiding it from me. Are you guys dating?” She pulled a face. “Is it…a hookup? I don’t know what you kids are calling things these days.”
Now it was Jasmine’s turn to plant her hands on her hips. “Don’t act like you’re older than me just because you’re engaged, Celia. And no, to answer your question, we aren’t dating or hooking up or whatever you want to call it. I’m not hiding anything from you, and I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Celia let out a tiny gasp. “You really don’t, do you?” She reached to pull Jasmine into a one-sided embrace, Jasmine stubbornly refusing to wrap her arms around her friend. “Oh, you poor sweet summer child,” continued Celia, aggressively rubbing her hand up and down Jasmine’s back. “That man really likes you. And even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself, I think there’s a pretty good chance you like him, too.”
Jasmine pulled back enough to look at her friend’s face, but Celia’s grip was tight and she wasn’t able to wrest herself free. “What do you mean? What are you talking about? Is this the jet lag talking or did you…I don’t know…accidentally drink a bottle of nail polish remover?” She forced a hand between them, holding up three fingers in front of Celia’s eyes. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
Celia pushed her hand away with a small laugh and stepped back, finally releasing Jasmine from her grip. “It’s cute how oblivious you are. But you and that man need to have a talk, Jas. If you don’t lay your cards out on the table, then whatever this thing between you is, it’s likely to build up so much pressure that it explodes in your face. And I’m not saying that you should date him or make him your boyfriend or anything like that…I just think you both need to be honest about what you want and see if you’re on the same page.” She lifted her hands in a shrug. “Maybe I’m reading everything totally wrong and he’s crazy about you and you are utterly indifferent about him. In that case, let him down easy.”
Jasmine swallowed. “But you don’t think that’s the case, do you?”
Celia shook her head. “I definitely do not. If the way you are with him is how you behave with someone you feel indifferent about, then I guess I’ve only ever seen you around people who are your mortal enemies. And I’m trying not to be offended that apparently I fall into that category, too.”
A deep sigh escaped from Jasmine’s lips before she could stop it. “We did talk about this, actually. Burak and I did. I mean, we didn’t talk about both of us being interested in each other because I’m still in complete denial of that particular statement.” She rubbed her temples, feeling overcome with the exhaustion of the day. “We talked about how he was flirting with me and how my grandmother was basically trying to match make the two of us.”
Celia’s smile was so infuriating that Jasmine had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying something she would regret. Instead, she merely raised an eyebrow and gave the smallest shake of her head, an unspoken yet clearly communicated, “What?”
“I have a feeling I would really like your grandma. And I also have a feeling that maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss her intuition about this particular subject, this particular match.”
“It’s not like she’s ever even seen me and Burak together! How could she possibly know if there’s chemistry between us?” Jasmine demanded. “Am I the only one who has learned this lesson from Hollywood and movies and all the behind-the-scenes podcasts? Just because two people are attractive or just because they are both talented actors, that doesn’t mean there will be chemistry between them! That’s why they have screen tests and chemistry reads and why sometimes movies with the best casts still flop.”
Celia was looking at her like she had two heads. “You realize you’re talking about movies , right? Acting? Fiction? A setting in which there are a myriad of actors to choose from for both leading roles and where you need a unique skill set in order to even image all the possible combinations and permutations? Where people can win awards for casting because it is truly an art and a science?”
Through gritted teeth, Jasmine spoke. “Yes. Your point?”
“How many grandchildren does Viola have? Just you?” When Jasmine nodded, Celia bobbed her head along with her. “And so you’d say she knows you pretty well, yeah?” Another nod. “Is it possible then that this is, in fact, not a situation where your grandmother is randomly assigning two actors to a scene and then wondering if they will gel but is actually the sort of scenario where, knowing and loving you , her granddaughter, as much as she does, having you always on her mind and in her heart, she met a young man and felt a deeper intuitive nudge that there might be something there?”
“It’s possible.” It was physically painful to force the words out. “I’m not saying it’s likely or probable,” she hurried to add, “but I am not stubborn enough to say that it’s physically impossible.”
“Good.” Celia smiled. “That’s a start, then. At least you’re open to it.” She nodded towards the door. “Come on, then. Let’s get back to the table. Our dates are waiting.”