Chapter Fourteen #2
He'd gone to the office after all and I'd missed him? Damn it. "Yes, I'm already at the bar, waiting for my friend. How was your day?" I asked.
"Long and exhausting.”
“You still want to meet later? We can postpone if you’re tired.” I didn't want to seem needy because it honestly wasn't like me.
"No way. Where are you, and when should I pick you up?"
"I can meet you at your place," I said.
"I don't want to waste any time."
I was dancing in my seat with joy. "Okay, I'll text you the address."
"Perfect. Let's catch up later," he said.
“Great. My friend is here," I said right before hanging up.
Tom strode toward me, checking out the arrangement of flowers. "What's that?"
"That is a long story. Now, sit down and tell me everything. How's Alicia feeling?" His wife was pregnant and on bedrest, which was one of the reasons we hadn't been able to meet before now.
"She's happy to finally have me off her hands. I think you might hear from her begging you to make this a weekly thing or something. She said she's tired of me hovering over her."
"But she's feeling all right?"
"So far, so good. But she still has to be on bedrest."
"And how are you feeling?" I double-checked.
He shrugged. "Let's order something to drink. Honestly, I can’t wait for the baby to be here. Pregnancy is hard on her body. And work is more stressful than ever."
"I'm sorry you're having a rough time."
"It is what it is. So, what's going on with you? What do you want to start with? The job or the flowers?"
"It’s complicated because they're related."
He raised a brow. "Now I'm intrigued."
While we ordered cocktails and food, I told him everything.
"That's unexpected," he said once I finished.
"I know, right? Well, I mean, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but the man is putting in an effort."
"It's good. Means he really likes you."
"That's good because I like him too."
"So, then there's just one question. Why the hell didn't you cancel tonight?"
I frowned. "Tom, I wanted to catch up with you. I knew you were looking forward to it."
"I was. Though if I'm honest, it's a good thing we're not staying out late because I can't leave Alicia alone for that long."
"You’re a great husband."
We spent the evening chatting away, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how the conversation had changed over the years. When we were in college, it was all about jobs, then about mortgages. And now, well, it was different.
At ten o’clock, we stepped out of the bar.
"I'll stay with you until he comes. Gives me a chance to meet him too," Tom said.
I grinned. "Oh yeah. Please take notes and tell me your impressions later, okay? I might have some lust goggles on, and, as we know, those are not always very objective."
"Don't worry, I can be." He took out his phone and started laughing.
"What?"
He showed me a picture. I leaned in closer to see. It was a huge belly with a scary grin drawn on it.
He chuckled. "Alicia's having fun."
"What’s this?" Colton's voice came from next to us.
I looked up. He stared at Tom and me with a stony expression.
"Colton," I said. "This is Tom."
"You were on a date?"
I blinked, taking a step back. "What the hell?" I replied.
Tom cocked a brow. "Dude, take it easy."
"What do you mean, take it easy?" Colton asked, looking straight at me. "You told me you were meeting your best friend.”
"Yes, Tom is my best friend."
Colton shook his head. "And you expect me to believe that?"
"Yes, I do."
Ah, damn it. It was way too good to be true, huh? The dreamy guy apparently had deep trust issues. I was pissed.
"Why would you even tell me where you were meeting?" he went on.
I scoffed. "Are you serious right now? You're making a scene because you don't believe what I'm telling you?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "He's your best friend?" Colton asked, his voice dripping with disbelief.
"You know what? I don't owe you any explanation." I turned to Tom. "Can you please take me home?" I felt like an idiot, holding my bouquet of flowers. I'd been so excited to see Colton, and he was being a total jackass.
"Sure," Tom said. He looked at Colton, “You're really barking up the wrong tree here. I’m married, and Zoey has been my best friend since college. She'll be the godmother of my daughter. Your loss, dude."
"Zoey—" Colton started.
"No, I really can't deal with you right now," I interrupted. I turned around and followed Tom blindly. I had no idea where he'd parked.
"I cannot believe him," I said when we finally reached his car. I put the flowers on the back seat and then climbed in the front passenger seat.
Tom gunned the engine. "You never mentioned to him that I was a dude?"
"No, I just said best friend, and he jumped to conclusions."
The car lurched forward, and Tom remained silent.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" I asked.
"The way he jumped to conclusions was annoying, but I have to say, we men are simple creatures, and sometimes our instincts get the better of us."
"You're defending him? Now I'm going to get pissed at you too."
"No, I'm just trying to imagine how I would have felt back when I first met Alicia if I saw her getting cozy with a guy."
I scoffed. "We weren't getting… Okay, I was all over you, but just because I wanted to see the picture. Stop defending him.”
"I'm not. Really, that's your call. But just my two cents, the guy seemed really into you. Plus, you know, the flowers. I'm seriously considering that the flowers and the attitude cancel themselves out."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "I hate that he jumped to the worst conclusion. He must have a shitty opinion of me.”
"I don't think he was being very cerebral, to be honest.”
"You're my best friend. You're supposed to be on my side."
He grinned. "You’re right. I won't say anything more on the subject."