Chapter 17
Graham
“Tell me,” Marley said, blue eyes glaring at me over the heart art in the foam of her caramel latte.
We were sipping iced coffees in the front window of the Ugly Mug Café, a cute little place with butter-yellow walls, exposed brick, and mismatched tables and chairs.
It had been recommended by Lior when I’d texted her the day before to set up a meeting place, though I hadn’t told Marley that.
She was going to flip when she realized what I had in store for her this afternoon.
All I’d told her and the folks, who had driven across four states with my younger sister to move her into her new dorm room, was that she and I were going to have lunch and explore the area around the college a little.
“Without the old folks,” I’d added, making Marley giggle while my stepmom Lisa punched me in the arm and our dad chuckled.
When we’d arrived at the coffee shop, I’d told her I had a bit of a surprise – a friend would be joining us.
“I thought you liked surprises,” I said now, glancing out the window.
“I do. Unless it’s some horrible woman you think you’re in love with because, let me tell you big brother, you are fired from making your own love matches. From now on, I’m in charge.”
I rolled my eyes, though I was tempted to tell her that was fine with me because I clearly had no idea what I was doing, But I didn’t want to encourage her.
And while I found Lior intriguing with her combination of wit and beauty, I was wary of the fact that she was both very likeable… and very famous.
“I promise I’m not in love.”
“But it is a woman?”
“We’re just friends. Sort of.”
Her eyes widened and I held up a hand.
“We are barely friends. More like acquaintances. She just happens to be in town this weekend and she’s from Seattle and went to U Dub so I asked if she could show us around a little bit.”
The eyes went back to glaring. She’d be scary if she wasn’t so short, so pretty, and wasn’t dressed in a cropped purple t-shirt with a shimmering gold W.
A flash of yellow out the window caught my eye and there was Lior, hurrying across the street in a yellow t-shirt, baggy jeans, a white ball cap covering her chestnut hair, sunglasses, and white sneakers on her feet. She was the epitome of an easy summer’s day. And my fucking heart sped up.
For fuck’s sake, traitor. Control yourself.
But as the bell on the door to the cafe jingled, I had a strong wave of regret. What had I been thinking? She was Lior Flynn. Had I just invited chaos into my sister’s life? Was her picture going to be everywhere tomorrow?
To my relief though, the few other people in the coffee shop looked up when she walked in and then went back to what they were doing. Maybe out of context, in a place not expected, wearing clothes that practically mirrored Marley’s, she was as invisible as the rest of us.
A smile spread across my face and Marley caught me, rolling her eyes before turning to take in the vision that was heading toward us.
“Holy f—”
“Watch it,” I said quickly. I usually let her swear when the parents weren’t around to hear, but I tried to keep it to a minimum.
“—frankincense,” she finished in a loud whisper. “That looks like…oh my god she’s coming over here!”
She turned back to look at me, her eyes now so wide I wondered if they might fall out of her head.
“I know,” I whispered. “Be cool.”
“Hey,” Lior said, smiling first at me, then at Marley.
“Hey,” I said, standing to… what? Was I going to hug her? Kiss her cheek? Shake her hand? Where were we in this sort of friendship?
She answered the question for me by leaning in and giving me a one-armed hug before turning back to my sister who was frozen in her seat.
Which, I didn’t mind saying, was pretty gratifying.
She never thought I was cool and now she knew that I knew a famous fashion model.
That I, in fact, knew the famous fashion model.
“You’re…” Marley said but didn’t finish her sentence.
“You must be Marley,” Lior held out a hand. “I’m Lior. It’s really nice to meet you and I love your outfit. Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys today.”
Marley’s mouth finally shut and a hand moved as if in slow motion toward Lior’s. The two women shook hands and then Lior pointed to the seat I’d been sitting in and I nodded, sliding over on the bench and laughing at Marley’s hand that was still outstretched.
“It’s going to be so fun reminding you how uncool you were in this moment,” I said.
“Graham!” Lior said, elbowing me as Marley sank onto the bench across from us. “Be nice. Marley, ignore him. I’ve had this exact moment a few times myself. And truly, it’s very flattering that you know who I am, and seem kind of… I don’t know. Excited to meet me too?”
My sister took a breath, her hand now tucked under her thigh, and gave an embarrassed smile.
“Can we pretend that didn’t happen and start again?” Marley asked.
“Absolutely,” Lior said. “How would you like it to go?”
They ran through a couple of scenarios and then Lior went outside and came back in, pretending to see us for the first time, giving me another hug (she smelled like heaven, the scent so subtle it almost wasn’t there), and turning to Marley who shook her hand this time as if she wasn’t completely and ridiculously overwhelmed by the moment and the woman.
“Forevermore, that’s the version I’ll tell of our first meeting,” Lior said.
Marley blushed with happiness and took a sip of her coffee. If Lior saw that her hand was trembling, she was kind enough not to say.
“What can I get you?” I asked her.
“No, let me,” Marley said, getting to her feet. I had to fight hard not to laugh. She was having a moment but I would not risk Lior’s wrath.
Lior leaned forward, her voice lowered. “Wouldn’t it be so much cooler to tell your friends that Lior Flynn bought you something?”
This seemed to stump Marley.
“Here,” Lior said, pulling a credit card from her wallet. “If you don’t mind grabbing me whatever you’re having, and anything else you might want, I’m going to sit here for a minute and talk to your brother about the job we have coming up.”
“You have a job with him?”
Lior looked to me and I shrugged.
“You didn’t tell her?” she asked.
“I thought it might be more fun if you did,” I said. “Plus, she probably wouldn’t believe me.”
Lior turned back to Marley. “How about you get the coffee and then we’ll tell you all about it while we explore. And then I want to hear about your dorm, your roommate, what classes you’re taking, and what professors you have.”
“Deal!” Marley said and hurried off, Lior’s credit card clutched in her hand.
“She’s like eighteen going on eight right now,” I said, watching my sister stare down at Lior’s card like it was the most precious thing she’d ever touched.
“She’s sweet.”
“And smart,” I said. “And a smart ass.”
“I like her even more now.”
"Yeah, she’s pretty great.” I ran my hand over my jaw, wondering how to approach the subject of her fame and what that might look like today as we wandered.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked. “I can see your wheels turning.”
“Paparazzi.”
“Oh. Of course.” She gave me a smile that somehow immediately calmed me.
“I don’t normally get a lot of attention around here.
One, I try not to.” She pointed to the hat and the sunglasses she was still wearing.
“And two, people don’t expect to see me here so there aren’t photographers sent out en masse to hound me.
We should be okay. If I’d thought it would be a problem, I wouldn’t have come.
And if it does become an issue, I’ll make myself scarce. Deal?”
“Thank you. I should have thought ahead and mentioned it. I just don’t want Marley’s face plastered all over the place.”
“Of course. And me neither. It’s really not a way to live.”
She turned then with a bright smile aimed at my sister who looked like at any moment she might float off into the sky on a cloud of pure happiness. She handed the drink in her hand to Lior and then held up a small white paper bag.
“Donut holes,” she said, her cheeks turning pink. “I read in an article once that you love them.” She looked so unsure that I wanted to hug her.
“They’re my favorite!” Lior said. “Thank you.” She took the bag, opened it, and popped one of the round confections into her mouth, the tiniest bit of powdered sugar dotting her lower lip.
She then held out the bag to Marley and me, both of us helping ourselves to a donut as she asked, “Shall we get going?”
At Marley’s nod, she got to her feet, linked her arm through my sister’s, and led her out the front door while I followed behind.
I couldn’t have planned a better day if I’d tried. I loved listening and watching the two women talk animatedly about school, friends, clothes, and food. As soon as Marley professed her love of Mexican food, Lior claimed she had just the place to take us.
We ate fish tacos piled high with mango salsa on the deck of the bright green Agua Verde Cafe that overlooked Lake Union while watching the people below climb into their rented kayaks.
“Ten bucks says that guy falls off before he gets twenty feet from the dock,” Lior said, nodding her head toward a beefy looking blond guy. The dude seemed pretty confident to me as he waited for the slender young female employee to put his paddleboard in the water.
“He looks like he knows what he’s doing,” I said.
Lior met Marley’s gaze across the table and the two women gave each other a knowing grin.
“You gonna take the bet then?” Lior asked, goading me.
Marley looked smugly my way. Never in the history of any of the women I’d been with had Marley sided against me in a bet. But none of those women had been Lior Flynn.
“Twenty bucks,” I said.
“Done,” Lior said, reaching across the table to shake my hand. The three of us turned to watch, the two women laughing a few minutes later when the guy fell in the water as soon as he pushed off.
“We win!” Marley shouted and she and Lior did a triumphant fist bump over the table. “Men are so predictable.”
We walked around the U District a little more after lunch, popping in shops and laughing more than I had in a long time.
We debated terrible tattoos outside a tattoo parlor, drank the bubble tea Marley swore we’d love, Lior and I making faces every time we got a “bubble” in our mouth, and then stood outside Lior’s rented SUV, chatting about what we had planned for the rest of our stay.
She pointed suddenly and Marley and I turned to see a stunning view of a mountain peeking from between the buildings around us.
“Mountain’s out,” she said and then grinned when we looked at her questioningly. “It’s something you say when you live here. That’s Mt. Rainier. She doesn’t show herself all the time because of the cloud cover. But when she does… it’s glorious. We’re very proud of our pretty lady.”
I looked past her at the mountain and nodded. One certainly didn’t get views like this in Brooklyn.
“Well, you two,” Lior said, smiling first at Marley, then at me. “Today was a blast. Thanks for letting me tag along.” She turned to Marley. “It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Marley. You have my number. Text me anytime with questions, fashion or otherwise.”
“I will!” Marley said, and then threw her arms around Lior, who laughed and hugged her back.
Once she was free of my sister, she turned to me.
“Graham, this was really fun. Thank you. See you back in Brooklyn?”
“See you there,” I said.
We engaged in an awkward hug in front of my sister and then hurriedly pulled apart. I could feel the heat in my face and was happy to see two pale pink splotches on her cheeks.
She climbed into the SUV then, and Marley and I stood on the sidewalk and waved goodbye until she drove out of sight.
“Now there’s a woman I approve of,” Marley said, elbowing me.
“Not happening, kiddo,” I said.
“For a smart guy you really are clueless, aren’t you?” she said and led the way to my rental car.