SIX
Rose
C risp and white and flawless.
These are the words I’d use to describe the ceiling in my office.
I recline in my chair and stare at it for a long time. Just like Nate promised, it looks as though no work was ever done. I wonder if it would have looked this good if Joe had done the job.
“Ready to go?” Junie asks from the doorway.
I snap my head toward her and then let it fall back against my chair. “Do we really have to go?”
“Yes.” She grabs my bag from my desk and hands it to me. “We’re not wasting our twenties sitting at home eating takeout.” She pulls me up to stand. “We’re hot, and we’re not getting these years back. Let’s go.”
“We went for drinks last Friday, and I still have to drive to St. Cloud tonight…” I complain, following her reluctantly out of the room.
“You just wanna go home and text the guy from that app. Don’t think I’m dumb,” she says as we step onto the elevator. “Just one drink, then I’ll let you go.”
The doors almost close, but George comes around the corner and stops them with his arm. He straightens the lapels of his jacket and steps inside. “Hey, Rose.” He nods at me. “Juniper.” He gives her a quick glance.
She nods just slightly and shrinks back against the wall. She’s always a little nervous around him. I think it’s partially because she knows he’s vying for CEO, so she wants to make a good impression.
“Did I just hear that you’re talking to someone, Rose?” George asks, leaning against the elevator wall and lifting his arm to check his Rolex.
“It’s nothing,” I reply quickly.
He raises a brow and smirks. “You’ve never been a good liar. Does Mom know?”
I shake my head and press my fingers into my forehead. “No, and please don’t tell her. Let me have this one for a while before she digs her meddling fingers into it.”
“I get it. I won’t tell her.” He looks at me pointedly. “I just hope he’s a better guy than that Carnegie idiot.”
“Never again.” I shake my head.
The elevator dings and George steps out with a smile. “You two going out?”
“Yeah, want to come?” I grin at him because he’s a complete recluse and keeps his nose buried in financial reports, even on Friday evenings, but it’s still fun to ask.
“Absolutely not,” he laughs as we all step out into the lobby. “Oh,” his face grows serious, “be careful tonight. It’s supposed to snow.”
I nod. The weather is calling for flurries late this evening, and I’ve already planned for a longer-than-typical drive.
“And tell Miss Evangeline I say hi.” He turns and adds over his shoulder, “Goodnight, ladies.”
“Goodnight, George,” Junie says so quietly from next to me I’m sure he didn’t hear it.
“He won’t bite, Junie,” I say once he’s out of earshot.
“I know,” she snaps back. “C’mon, let’s go.”
The club is dark and loud when we arrive, and it’s already packed. We make our way to the bar and order drinks. The bartender starts a tab, but I hope we won’t be here long enough to really need one.
“So, what do you know about this guy?” Junie leans against the bar and slips her straw between her lips.
“Who?”
“The guy on the app. What’s his name?”
I stare across the expanse of bouncing bodies on the dancefloor. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know his name?” Her eyes are wide when I look back at her.
“His username is BigSpoon.”
She bursts out a laugh. “I’m sorry, what?”
I roll my eyes. “You know, like the cuddling position. He’s the big spoon…”
“Wow…that’s—”
“Cheesy, I know,” I complete her thought. “But I wrote in my bio that I’m looking for my big spoon, so I guess I’m cheesy too.”
“Not cheesy enough to put it in your username. What’s yours?” She sets her drink down.
“ASingleRose.”
“That’s cute!” she exclaims.
“Yeah, well I’ve always had a way with words,” I wink.
She laughs. “So, what do you guys talk about?”
I stir my Sprite. “We’ve talked about some really deep stuff, actually.”
Junie waits, and I’m not sure I want to tell her the details yet. I don’t want to jinx the good feeling I have about him. But I also kind of want to know what she thinks.
“He was married,” I decide to admit.
She raises a brow. “How long ago?”
“Two years.” I take a sip and look Junie in the eye. “She died.”
“God, that’s horrible.” She looks shaken.
“Yeah, and honestly, something like that would usually scare me away, but he seems like he really has healed. He’s super well-spoken—er, written —and he’s really sweet. He’s just ready to start over and I can’t imagine how hard that must be. But I don’t know, I just have a good feeling about him.”
Junie crosses one foot over the other and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Well, you are looking for something serious. And it sounds like he’s already no stranger to commitment.”
“I really like him, Junie. I know it’s weird. I don’t even know what he looks like. But he feels more real than even anyone I’ve actually dated.”
She stares at me for a moment, chewing on her lip. “Well, I sure hope he’s hot, or else this will be anticlimactic.”
I smirk. “He’s over six foot.”
“That’s a good start.” She nods.
“Would you like to dance?” A deep voice speaks from behind me, right next to my ear.
I turn hesitantly to see an unfamiliar pair of brown eyes attached to an average-looking man. His crooked smile is doing its best job to entice me, but I find myself frowning. My eyes find the crisp collar of his white Italian cotton shirt and travel down to his neatly cuffed sleeves and exposed forearms before landing on his gold-plated Rolex. It reminds me a bit of George’s. My mother would probably die of happiness if I brought this man home.
Yet, I find myself shaking my head. “No, thank you.”
His face falls, but he tries to hide it. “Oh, that’s ok. But my friend and I would still like to buy you both drinks.” He eyes Junie and smiles, and then he tugs the shirt sleeve of the man next to him, who’s been preoccupied with ordering at the bar. And as he pulls him into view, my heart drops.
I press my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “Dammit, Malcolm…how come every time I turn around—”
His eyes widen and he raises his hands in innocence. “I had no idea you’d be here, Rose. Promise.”
I groan and turn back to my drink. “My mother put you up to this, didn’t she?”
“No, I promise. Aaron and I were just bar hopping. I didn’t even realize it was you. Did you do something different to your hair?” He reaches his hand toward it.
I push him away. “No.”
Junie steps between us to signal to the bartender. “Can we please close our tabs?”
Aaron looks at me. “You know Malcolm?”
“Yeah, we dated last year,” I sigh.
Aaron raises his brows. “What happened?”
I glance at Malcolm, who shoots me a death glare. I bite my lip, holding back an evil smirk. I wonder if his friend knows he’s a cheater. The sad reality is, he probably doesn’t care, so I shake my head. “It just didn’t work out.”
Aaron nudges Malcolm. “I think you missed out, man…”
The bartender passes our credit cards back and then Junie pulls me away from the bar. “C’mon, let’s go.”
Malcolm watches us leave in silence, and I think he was maybe too caught off-guard to try and make me stay.
“Where do you want to go instead?” I ask Junie when we’re outside. The sky is ominously dark, and there’s an obvious chill in the air.
She is already scheduling an Uber. “Nah, you go home and chat with your new man.”
I put my hand over her phone screen. “Junie. We can go somewhere else. I know you were excited to be out tonight.”
She looks up at me and smiles. “I’m always excited to be out. Because my life is too dull otherwise. I haven’t been on a date in months. But your eyes haven’t lit up the way they do when you talk about this guy since long before Malcolm.” She places her hand over her heart as I slowly pull mine away from her phone. “Just don’t forget about your dear lame friend when you run off and get married to your big spoon.”
I roll my eyes as I happily dig my phone out and open Blindly. “You’re unforgettable, Junie.”
ASingleRose26 what’s for dinner tonight?
BigSpoon92 gonna be a late one over here. Trying to do some blizzard prep first.
ASingleRose26 I don’t think it’s gonna be as bad as they say
BigSpoon92 I think it might be worse
Our Uber pulls up, and once we both hop inside, I peer out the window at the dark sky. “This is probably good. I can leave earlier to avoid the storm.”
Junie nods. “I’ve got a new show I want to start, and a lot of cleaning to do. My parents are visiting tomorrow.”
“Oh, really? How long has it been?”
“Almost a year,” she replies as I check my phone again.
BigSpoon92 How was your day?
ASingleRose26 Well, I tried to go out for drinks and ran into my ex. So, about that good.
BigSpoon92 The one who cheated on you?
ASingleRose26 Yep
BigSpoon92 Yikes. Does that happen often?
ASingleRose26 Unfortunately, yes. We run in the same circles
BigSpoon92 That’s gotta be tough. Do you think you’d still be together if he’d stayed faithful?
I consider this for a moment because, honestly, I don’t know. I thought I was falling in love, but I think I was seeing him through my mother’s eyes. He was perfect, on paper.
ASingleRose26 I don’t know.
I hit send and then realize the short response looks suspicious, so I quickly keep typing.
ASingleRose26 I fell into his trap pretty hard. He was deceivingly perfect in the beginning. And my parents loved him.
But there were a lot of red flags too. He was always conveniently unavailable. And omg, so unreliable and reckless. He’s the worst driver I’ve ever seen. Almost killed me.
BigSpoon92 What?
ASingleRose26 Driving. Because of his bad driving. He didn’t try to kill me
BigSpoon92 I get it.
The Uber drops me at my building and I hug Junie goodbye. “Good luck with your parents. Let me know if you need an out.”
“Thanks,” she sighs. “Drive safe.”
I make my way to the elevator and up to my apartment, remembering the night Malcolm almost crashed. We’d been dating for just a month then. He borrowed his dad’s Porsche to take me to dinner outside the city. It had been romantic; a quaint little vineyard on a perfectly starry night. But on the way home, he tried to impress me, taking the curves too fast and having the audacity to laugh the whole time. He took one too close and almost clipped a minivan across the line. We spun out and ended up in someone’s front yard. The car was mostly unscathed, and so were we, and he thought it was hilarious.
Maybe due to pure adrenaline, I laughed too. But only in the moment. When I curled up in my bed that night, I cried.
Junie is the only one who even knows it happened. My dad probably would have lost it.
I frown as I type another message.
ASingleRose26 He likes fast cars but doesn’t have a clue how to drive them
BigSpoon92 Sounds like he shouldn’t be driving any cars
ASingleRose26 Honestly, it may have taken me longer to walk away if he hadn’t cheated, so there’s a silver lining
BigSpoon92 Do you find it hard to walk away from people who aren’t good for you?
Alright, we’re going deep tonight. I slide the key through my lock and step inside to start gathering my bags for my trip.
ASingleRose26 You’re trying to dissect me already, aren’t you?
BigSpoon92 Ha. You’re intriguing. I’m curious to peel back the layers
ASingleRose26 Prepare to be disappointed. Not many layers here
BigSpoon92 I’m sensing the opposite so far. And you’re avoiding my question
ASingleRose26 Alright. I think I have a problem standing up to people. Maybe I’m afraid I’ll disappoint them. I don’t know
BigSpoon92 like your parents?
ASingleRose26 isn’t everyone afraid to disappoint their parents?
BigSpoon92 yes, but eventually you have to be your own person
ASingleRose26 can I be my own person and still make everyone happy? I seriously can’t handle the look on someone’s face when I let them down.
BigSpoon92 Ha, I don’t know you that well yet, but I’d bet that makes you a very kind soul
ASingleRose26 So, what about you? What’s your flaw that actually just makes you an amazing human?
BigSpoon92 I’m too loveable. Really, it’s a problem.
I laugh as I put a few extra pairs of socks into my suitcase and carry it to the door.
ASingleRose26 you must have an army of admirers. How do you handle all the attention?
BigSpoon92 it’s exhausting, but somehow I manage
I lean against the wall and stare at my screen, contemplating the question I want to ask next. It’s been eating away at me ever since he told me he lost his wife.
ASingleRose26 I’m curious about something
BigSpoon92 Ask away
ASingleRose26 Your wife. You loved her. Thought she was the one, right?
BigSpoon92 yes
ASingleRose26 so how do you move on from something like that? Is it possible to completely let go?
BigSpoon92 I’ve thought about this a lot.
It’s so different from a breakup. Neither of us wanted out. And I think, because of that, I can’t say I’ll forget her. But I can recognize that she’s part of my past. And my future depends on giving my whole heart to someone new. I can’t hold part of myself back. And I don’t want to.
ASingleRose26 You say everything so eloquently
BigSpoon92 like I said, I’ve thought about this a lot, ha
ASingleRose26 I’m not sure I could do it…move on
BigSpoon92 I wouldn’t have thought I could either. But time changes things. It heals
ASingleRose26 Are you fully healed?
There’s a pause before he responds, and I take the time to gather my things and make my way down to my car. When I reach it, there’s a response.
BigSpoon92 I think I’m as healed as I can be while still single. I think I need to fall in love again to fully get there. Maybe that’s wrong, but I’m not cut out to go through life alone. I think I need someone else in my life to know it’s all going to be ok.
I sit down in the driver’s seat and smile. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable at all, and it is so refreshing. Talking with him feels warm, and almost familiar in a way I can’t describe.
ASingleRose26 This is weird, but I feel like I’ve known you for a long time already. Have we really only been talking for a week?
BigSpoon92 It feels like that to me too. I’m usually not quite this open, but you’re really easy to talk to
ASingleRose26 Seeing your messages pop up each night is like the highlight of my day
BigSpoon92 I’m holding in an equally sappy comment in an attempt to hang on to my man card a little longer.
I laugh as I check the time. Shoot. It’s almost seven.
ASingleRose26 I have to drop for a few hours, but please share your comment when I’m back. I promise you can hold onto your card.
BigSpoon92 Ha, fair enough. I’ve gotta do some more prep before the storm. Talk in a bit?
ASingleRose26 Yep, see ya :)
Let’s face it. I’m one hundred percent smitten.