7. Hadley
Hadley
“I got here as soon as I could,” Paige pants as she bursts through my front door holding a pizza. She lifts the box. “Pepperoni with spinach,” she says, dropping the box onto the counter and heading to the cabinet to grab plates.
“Spinach? On pizza? Paige, we’ve been over this,” I say, shuddering. “It’s gross.”
Paige spins on her heel and pins me with a stern look. “And, I’ve told you, you can’t even taste it. Besides, I’ve got to at least pretend it’s healthy.” She rolls her eyes and pulls two slices from the box and drops them on her plate. “Now, grab your food. You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do, Lucy.”
I grin at the I Love Lucy reference. “Fiiiiine.” I slide a slice onto a plate, grab a bottle of water from the fridge, and pad into the living room.
After the coffee date this morning, I couldn’t keep it together, so I messaged Paige.
Girl code requires we talk this one out. Even if it is over spinach pizza.
“So,” Paige drawls, settling into the couch. “Tell me all about it.” She takes a huge bite and starts chewing, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she waits for me to start spilling the tea. “Seriously, don’t make me wait,” Paige says between bites.
“You’re so impatient,” I mutter.
“Yep! And you love me, so spill.”
Suddenly, I find myself wanting to keep the details of the date to myself. Like saying them out loud might make it seem like a dream, or cheapen it. I risk peeking at Paige and then sigh. She’s like a chihuahua with a new toy. She’s not letting this go.
“It was awkward at first,” I say, considering where to start. “Like, neither one of us knew quite how to start the conversation.”
Paige nods and takes another bite of pizza.
“After a few minutes though…” I exhale, remembering just how easy it felt. “It was like we’ve been having coffee together forever.” It never feels that easy with someone I’ve just met. I’m usually tongue-tied and unsure, but with him. I wasn’t.
It shouldn’t have felt like we’ve known each other for years. But it did.
Paige squeals and nearly drops her plate onto the floor. She grabs it and puts it on the coffee table. “This is straight out of the movies level stuff, Hads.”
“If the hero in the movie doesn’t live anywhere near the heroine and is only in town for business for a few weeks.
” I shrug. “Let’s not forget those tiny details.
” I need to remember them, because if he lived here…
Let’s just say I’d probably be daydreaming of weddings, babies, picket fences, Sunday dinners.
“Who knows,” Paige says, interrupting my thoughts. “Long distance relationships are a thing. It’s not like it’s the 1800’s and you’d have to communicate through written letters carried across the country on horseback. Technology is a wonderful thing, you know.”
I laugh. “Clearly you’ve been reading too much historical romance.”
Paige rolls her eyes. “No such thing. Besides, how do you think people get together these days?” She whips out her phone and shakes it in the air. “Apps. Online dating.”
I grimace. “I could never.”
She grins. “I know, but that doesn’t mean that’s not how people are meeting. Do you think they all live in the same city?” She raises an eyebrow. “Doubtful.”
“Okay,” I say, “but that doesn’t mean ?I can handle a long-distance relationship.”
She purses her lips and drops her phone onto the table by her forgotten plate. “I bet you could. For the right person.” I shake my head, but she holds up her hand to stop me from talking. “I’m not saying forever, but for a while. While you were getting to know each other.”
“Eventually, someone would have to move, though.” I feel like I’m stating the obvious here, but apparently, Paige is too blinded by little hearts dancing around her head cartoon-style to see the obvious.
“And, you wouldn’t ever move?” she asks. “Not even for ‘the one’?”
Would I? “You know I love it here.”
Paige snorts. “No, you love being away from your parents. You love your job. You love me,” she says, putting her hands under her chin like an innocent school photo. “But let’s be real. You don’t like the political scene, and in Washington DC, that’s pretty much the entire scene.”
“I also love the history of the city. I love being close to museums and monuments.”
“Sure, sure. But those are things you can visit on a vacation. I’m just saying, don’t dismiss this Bryce guy because you don’t live in the same town.”
I sigh. “I wish I could say that I already did, but…”
Paige grins. “But what?” She leans forward as if she’s coming to the best part in a movie and can’t risk missing something by sitting back.
“Well, after the coffee date, he walked me back to the library.”
Paige claps her hands. “A gentleman, I love it.”
I blush remembering how it felt when his hand brushed against mine. The way butterflies erupted in my chest when he linked his fingers through mine.
“OH MY GOSH! What? What happened? You’re blushing!” Paige bounces in her seat. “You’ve been holding out!”
I can’t help the giggle that escapes. “He held my hand, and it just felt… right.”
Paige slaps her hands on her chest. “Swoon!”
I nod. “It kind of was,” I say, remembering the way he hesitated as if he expected me to draw my hands back. “Like something from one of those Regency movies where they touch for the first time and suddenly it means everything.”
Paige wipes away a fake tear. “I’m so jealous right now. Tell me more!”
I lean back into the soft couch cushions, letting the memory of the morning replay in my mind. “He said he didn’t want the date to end and asked if he could take me to dinner tomorrow night.”
Paige jumps up from her seat. “You said yes, right? Please tell me you said yes!”
“I did,” I say, chewing on my bottom lip. “What am I doing?” I ask, the question slipping out before I can stop it.
“Taking a risk,” Paige says. “And it’s about time!”
I shake my head. “I take risks,” I retort.
“Taking the Metro is not what I was talking about.” Paige grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet.
“What are we doing?” I ask as she tugs me towards my bedroom.
“Finding you an outfit for your date,” she says. “Friends don’t let friends pick their date attire alone.” She pulls me into my room and flips on the light. “Now, you sit on the bed, and I’ll see what we are working with.”
I make my way to the queen-sized bed in the center of the room and settle into the soft mattress. “Paige,” I call out. She’s already in the small walk-in closet moving hangers around.
“Yeah?”
“What if I’m making a mistake?” I ask, voicing my fear.
She’s right. I don’t take risks. Not really.
My whole life, I’ve been the safe one. The calm one who writes pros and cons lists for everything before making a decision.
Usually in spreadsheet form. The last time I risked my heart it ended badly.
“What if you’re making the best decision of your life?
” Paige counters. She comes out of the closet and sits down facing me.
She takes my hands in hers and gives them a comforting squeeze.
“If it’s a mistake, then you tried. You put yourself out there.
Life isn’t full of guarantees. It’s full of choices. Some things work out, some don’t.”
I sigh and squeeze her hands. “I know.”
“I know you, Hadley. You’re a romantic. You always have been. You’ve just been burned. So I get why you’re scared, but let me ask you this: Did you feel something when you were with him?”
“I did,” I whisper.
She pats my hand. “Then I think it’s worth the risk to find out if you feel the same way after dinner.” She stands up and heads back to the closet. “Who knows, he might chew with his mouth open or be a bad tipper.”
I chuckle. “I don’t think so. He seems like he’s got good manners down at least.”
Paige steps out of the closet holding up an emerald green off the shoulder dress that hits just below the knee. “This is gorgeous,” she says, bringing it over. “What about this?”
I take the dress off the hanger and hold it up. “I do love the way I feel in this dress.”
“Then it’s settled,” Paige says. “Now, shoes.”
By the time Paige leaves, I’ve got the entire outfit—including accessories—planned, and a sliver of hope has moved in where the panic was trying to take hold.
After cleaning up the pizza mess and locking up the apartment, I dig my phone out of my purse and head to the bedroom to plug it into the charger.
As I slip the charger cord into place, the phone buzzes with a text. I swipe it open.
Bryce: Looking forward to our date tomorrow. Sleep well, Hadley.
My heart squeezes in my chest. Maybe taking a risk will be okay. Just this once.
This day feels like it has dragged on and on, so when I’m finally home, I nearly sag in relief. All day long, my mind has been on Bryce and dinner. I’m suddenly grateful Paige insisted on setting everything out last night.
After a quick shower, I take my time blowing my hair out and applying a little bit of makeup. Not much, I can’t stand how it feels on my face after a while, but a swipe of mascara and lip gloss feels right.
I slip the dress over my head and zip it up, smoothing the skirt down and stepping into the strappy heels Paige insisted were ‘perfect’ for the dress.
Once I’ve added the necklace, bracelet, and earrings—no naked ear holes as Paige would say—I look in the floor-length mirror attached to the back of my bedroom door.
Paige was right. This is the perfect outfit. Bryce didn’t tell me where we were going when he texted earlier to confirm our date. He just said we were going to a nice restaurant that a coworker recommended and to dress in whatever made me comfortable.
I snorted when that text came through. This is DC. Nice restaurants usually come with a dress code. I take one more look in the mirror, confident that I am ready, before grabbing my handbag from the dresser and dropping my wallet, keys, and lip gloss into it.
I’ve just stepped into the living room when there’s a knock at the door.