Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Eden rode the elevator up to Randi’s floor in her apartment building. As her best friend and in-case-of-an-emergency contact on her lease, Eden had all the security codes to get into Randi’s building and to her apartment.
She hadn’t seen Randi since Friday night at Billy Bob’s.
It was unusual for them not to do something together on weekends.
Even when they both had girlfriends, they always had time for each other.
For some reason Eden got the feeling that Randi was avoiding her.
She’d gone back over the night at Billy Bob’s and everyone seemed to be having fun.
Eden always enjoyed dancing with Randi and she thought they were particularly good that night.
When Randi didn’t come by her house Friday night Eden thought for sure they would meet up on Saturday, but she had a lunch date with Gabi. Eden expected to hear from Randi that evening, but she didn’t return her text until late.
Most weekends Eden and Randi had a standing brunch date on Sundays.
They had a favorite place not far from Randi’s apartment.
When the weather was nice they walked to the restaurant and sat outside on the patio.
Because they hadn’t talked much over the weekend, Eden had decided to come to Randi’s in person so she couldn’t make some excuse to miss brunch.
After she rang the doorbell she suddenly had a sinking feeling.
What if Randi wasn’t alone? Surely she would have told her if she’d met someone.
Randi wasn’t immune to a one night stand; however, it had been years since her last one which Eden knew because Randi had her bending over in laughter as she recounted the night.
“Hey,” Randi said, opening the door.
“It’s nice to see your smiling face,” Eden said, walking past her and into the living room. “There’s no one else here, is there?”
Randi chuckled. “Uh, who were you expecting?”
“When I didn’t hear from you last night or this morning I thought maybe you went out and brought someone home with you.”
Randi raised her brows. “How long has it been since I’ve done that?”
Eden shrugged, plopping down on the couch. She eyed Randi as she settled into the corner of the couch. This was Randi’s favorite spot and Eden knew it. She only sat there when she wanted to mess with her.
“Are you avoiding me?”
“What?” Randi asked with a confused look on her face. “Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know,” Eden said. “I haven’t seen you all weekend and barely talked to you.”
Randi shrugged. “Uh, you’re the one who had a date Friday night and again yesterday.”
Eden smirked. “I know, but I thought we’d hang out last night. What did you do?”
Randi didn’t immediately answer. Eden could feel her eyes studying her. “I met Cari for an early drink.”
“Oh yeah?” Eden smiled.
Randi nodded. “What do you think of her?”
Eden raised her brows. “What do you mean? I like her.”
“I do too,” Randi said. “She thinks of us as friends more so than coworkers.”
“Mmm, I don’t know that we’re coworkers,” Eden said. “We work for her.”
“She sees it like we’re all in it together,” Randi said. “Anyway, she’s decided to stay in Dallas for a while.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, she went through a breakup recently and doesn’t really want to go back home just yet.”
“Ah, I hate that for her.”
Randi nodded. “She wants to spend time with her sister and nieces. Since we all hit it off so well she sees us more as friends and wants to hang out with us.”
Eden narrowed her gaze. “You have to be careful, Randi.”
“Oh, I know,” Randi said seriously. “I already warned her about conflicts of interest and such.”
“What did she say?”
Randi chuckled. “We’re all just friends.”
Eden nodded. “Well, good. I like her and I thought Friday night was a lot of fun. Maybe we can do more things like that.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Randi said. “If you’re not busy with a date.”
Eden shrugged. “If it’s Tennie she’d love to come along. She had fun Friday night too.”
“How was your date with Gabi?”
“It was nice,” Eden said. “I feel like all I’m doing is meeting these women and eating and drinking. You know.”
Randi nodded. “What do you want to do?”
Eden raised a shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“We danced Friday night. You weren’t just eating and drinking then.”
Eden smiled and thought back to dancing with Randi. “We need to do that again soon. It was like we hadn’t missed a beat.”
Randi smiled and nodded.
“Were you going to text me about brunch?” Eden asked. There was something off about Randi today and Eden couldn’t put her finger on it.
“I didn’t know if you had a date or not,” Randi said.
There it was. Randi may have been the one to encourage her to do the pitch a friend event, but she didn’t seem very enthusiastic about Eden’s dates. “What’s really going on? I thought you wanted me to go on dates. That’s what the pitch was for.”
“I know.” Randi sighed. “It’s taking me a minute to adjust to you having plans and being busy.”
“Miranda Powell,” Eden said, tilting her head. “I’m never too busy for you.”
Randi smiled and Eden felt her heart melt. This was the smile that Randi reserved just for her. Their best friend smile.
“Let’s go to brunch,” Randi said. “Henry’s waffles are calling me.”
Eden laughed. “His French toast has been on my mind since yesterday.”
Randi went to quickly change clothes and Eden sighed contentedly. Whatever was going on before was gone now. She and Randi were back on the same page.
Eden made a mental note to be more thoughtful when talking about her upcoming dates.
There’s no way any of these women could end up as her girlfriend if they didn’t get along with Randi and vice versa.
They had found this out the hard way when Eden once dated a woman who didn’t like Randi.
Eden later found out the woman didn’t like how close she and Randi were.
They’d laughed about it, but after that Eden made sure to introduce Randi to anyone she was dating early on.
“Okay, let’s go,” Randi said, walking back into the room. “I wanted to ask you about setting up an author event for Cari with Ginger at The Plot Twist.”
Eden turned to Randi as they walked out the front door. “Okay, let’s plan it while we eat.” She slipped her arm through Randi’s as they got on the elevator. Eden felt a familiar peace wrap around them and smiled.
As they walked towards the restaurant Eden felt a lightness she hadn’t felt on the way over to Randi’s.
It was a beautiful day to sit on the patio and enjoy their favorite brunch place.
She glanced over at Randi and bumped her shoulder.
“I never get tired of us doing this on Sunday,” she said.
“It’s one of my favorite parts of the weekend. ”
Randi smiled. “Mine too.”
“Let’s sit outside,” Eden suggested.
Randi held the door open and they walked inside the restaurant. They were regulars, so the hostess grabbed two menus and led them to the patio.
After they’d given their drink orders Eden said, “Did you see Analise dancing with Tennie the other night?”
Randi shook her head. “How did I miss that?”
“You must have been dancing with Cari,” Eden said. “Hey, you did a great job teaching her. She looked very comfortable by the end of the night.”
“Thanks,” Randi replied. “But back to Tennie and Analise. I danced with Analise.” She chuckled. “When I complimented her on her dancing abilities she told me this wasn’t her first rodeo.”
Eden laughed. “Yeah, I think she and her last boyfriend went dancing fairly often, but she’s been single for over a year now.”
“Hmm, I got the impression she didn’t mind dancing with me,” Randi said.
“Uh, why would she mind? You’re a great dancer,” Eden said.
“Yes, but I’m also a woman,” Randi replied. “She hadn’t danced with a woman before.”
“Interesting,” Eden said. “She looked very comfortable dancing with Tennie. You know how at first when you're dancing with someone new you have to adjust to their style?”
Randi nodded as their waitress brought their drinks. They ordered waffles and french toast. When the waitress left, Eden continued. “Anyway, it didn’t look like Tennie and Analise were beginners. They looked good together.”
“What does that mean?”
Eden shrugged. “I don’t know. There was something about the way they moved across the floor.”
“There is an element of trust you have to have with your partner,” Randi said. “I’ll have to ask Analise about that.”
Eden reached over and lightly smacked Randi on the arm. “If you would’ve come over Friday night we could’ve talked about this!”
Randi winced then grinned. “Sorry.”
Eden smirked.
“So did you think Tennie was being a little too comfortable with Analise?” Randi asked hesitantly.
Eden sighed. “No, not at all. I really like Tennie, but there’s still no spark. She kissed me on the cheek when she left Friday night.” She shrugged then frowned. “I didn’t want more. What’s wrong with me?”
Eden felt Randi’s hand cover hers and squeeze. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”
Eden looked into Randi’s eyes and gave her a sad smile.
“She’s out there,” Randi said. “You’ll find each other.”
Eden smiled. She could always count on Randi to make her feel better.
“What about Gabi?” Randi asked.
“Mmm, I’m not sure yet,” Eden said. “Oh, we’re going to do a game night.”
“We?”
Eden nodded. “She grew up playing games with her family and none of her friends here like to play. I told her that we do game nights occasionally and she was excited. And yes, you have to come.”
“I don’t know,” Randi said.
“Gabi remembers meeting you, but wants to get to know you better. I, um, might talk about you a lot.” Eden looked down then up into Randi’s eyes.
Randi dropped her chin, knit her brows, and stared at Eden.
“You know she has to get along with you to have any kind of chance with me,” Eden said.
Randi chuckled. “Okay, but who’s playing besides you, me, and Gabi? We need more people.”
“How about Analise?” Eden said. “Or Cari. Maybe we can make it another group thing.”
“Or maybe there is something wrong with you,” Randi said as their waitress set their food in front of them. “Are you afraid to go out with these women by yourself?”
Eden scoffed and reached for the syrup. “I’ve been out with Gabi twice by myself. Tennie and I have met several times at the coffee shop before work. So there!”
She passed the syrup but didn’t let go when Randi reached for it. She met Randi’s gaze and said, “I like it when you’re there.”
“I know,” Randi replied.
“I’ve been on dates before without you. Could it be because these are women I met at the pitch?”
“It could be,” Randi said. “I think Analise and Cari are invested in these dates, too.”
Eden chuckled. “I guess so. They were there for the pitch and Cari’s been on two of the dates.”
“Let’s talk about Cari and the author event,” Randi said.
“Gladly,” Eden said. “Enough about me and dates.” She cut a piece of french toast and forked it onto Randi’s plate. “Taste this. It’s so good today.”
Randi chuckled as she placed a piece of waffle on Eden’s plate. “It’s always good.”
Eden smiled and tilted her head as she chewed a bite of waffle. Things were always easy with Randi. Why couldn’t her dates be like this?
“What?” Randi asked, wiping the corner of her mouth.
“I’m so glad you’re my best friend,” Eden said. “You know, I love you.”
“Yeah, I know.” Randi chuckled. “Where did that come from?”
Eden smiled. “My heart.”
They locked eyes for a moment and Eden felt a little flutter in her stomach. For a moment she thought Randi must have felt it too because she looked away. Eden reached for her water and took a drink.
“I was thinking…”
Eden heard Randi talking about the author event for Cari, but she was thinking about that look and what to do about it.