glanced back over at him once more.
Charlotte leaned forward. “Even though he is pretty cute.”
“Definitely not,” Piper said with a chuckle. “Famous, I mean. As for the cuteness factor, he’s got that going for him.” She tucked her long white-blonde hair behind her ear and reached for her coffee.
“So tell us about your date, Lila,” Charlotte piped up, changing the subject. “I’m dying to know what Kyle was like!”
Lila made a face. “I’ll never trust your blind date suggestions again,” she told her friend.
Charlotte burst into laughter.
“I can hardly match my Tupperware lids to the correct bowls on a regular basis, and that guy had me dangling from the edge of a mountain. I had to put all my faith in staying alive with these little color-coded hooks jutting out from the rock, and the tether that I prayed I’d clipped on to it correctly. Never again.”
She should have seen the red flag when he told her to be sure to have cash for the parking.
“You aren’t coming to pick me up?” she’d asked, while drawing her lip-gloss across her lower lip in preparation for what she thought would be a romantic evening. She hadn’t worn lip-gloss in ages. She’d bought the new shade especially, since this was the first date she’d had since she and Razz had broken up a few years ago.
“I’m playing hockey with some guys after, so we should drive separately,” he’d told her.
She’d thought they were going to spend a nice dinner talking and drinking wine, not climbing a mountain where her life flashed before her eyes with every placement of her fingers. She couldn’t believe it when he’d said that was what they were doing.
She had almost cancelled right then, but she remembered how Charlotte had told her that she had to give people a chance if she ever wanted to find Mr. Right. Charlotte had also said that every new relationship began with a first step (even a step onto a mountain, apparently). Lila knew she should try, but it wasn’t easy. Ever since her breakup with Razz, she’d found it hard to get close to men. She just never felt herself with them. She knew it wasn’t healthy to close herself off, but she couldn’t help it.
“I nearly plummeted down the mountain,” she continued as the barista brought her the drink she’d ordered. His eyes narrowed at her statement, but he didn’t interject.
“He took you mountain climbing?” Charlotte asked, horrified. Her idea of danger was realizing she’d lost her Bloomingdale’s coupon while holding the last pashmina on the clearance rack. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” Lila said to the barista.
He eyed Charlotte and then looked back at Lila curiously before he retreated to the bar. Lila ignored him and settled in, telling the girls everything about the date and sparing no details. It was what they did. They shared all kinds of stories with each other, especially the ones about their once-nonexistent love lives. That was how their little group was born.
“I can’t believe it,” Piper said. “You don’t take a girl on a mountain climb for a first date. That’s ridiculous. This guy Kyle is clearly inexperienced.”
Edie, who’d been quiet the whole time, cut in. “I agree with Piper,” she said. “It’s a ludicrous first date.”
“I think you should give him another chance,” Charlotte said, sticking up for him. “His date option wasn’t great, and he’s not good at romance, obviously, but he’s really nice. Once you dig down to his underbelly…”
Lila shook her head emphatically. “No way.”
“Let’s ask the guy behind the bar what he thinks,” Piper said, playfully putting them all in cringe-mode.
“That guy?” Edie whispered. “He definitely looks like the mountain-climbing type. That’s not a neutral party.”
“If we’re giving out second chances, let’s see if he’ll warm up to us. Maybe we’ll just give him a nudge. Excuse me,” Piper said, getting his attention. She waggled her finger for him to come over. “Would you settle something for us?” When he was standing by them, eyebrows raised skeptically, she asked, “Do you think it’s okay to take a woman mountain climbing on a first date?”
His gaze swept across the table. “It depends on the woman,” he said bluntly, before giving them a condescending look. He headed straight back behind the bar and began wiping down glasses.
“What did he mean by that?” Lila asked.
Charlotte leaned over to her. “Maybe he meant that it’s okay if the woman is the outdoorsy type.”
“I think I should ask him,” Lila said, feeling a