the deal.”
“I did not sign up for this when I agreed to get sperminated.” Well, if she had her sense of humor, she was probably further from death than Sasha thought.
“Didn’t you?” When Hannah shot her a death glare over her shoulder, Sasha added, “Congratulations?”
“I was going to tell you today at brunch.” Hannah clutched the sides of the toilet and puked again. They were definitely going to have to take a car home, and Sasha left the stall briefly to grab some of the plastic bags the gym provided for soiled workout gear for the ride. At least their misadventures in college had prepared Hannah to puke discreetly in the back of a cab.
“I would have guessed when you ordered an orange juice without champagne in it.”
Hannah nodded pathetically. “That definitely would have given me away.”
Sasha sighed. “How are we going to get you home?”
“I can’t go home,” Hannah whined. “I was supposed to meet with Father Patrick.”
Sasha tried her best to ignore the frisson of awareness that just hearing his name spread through her. “What for?”
“The pre-K program is in some financial trouble, and Jack said that we’d help out.” Hannah made a vague motion with her hands. “Set up a fundraiser.”
“He did?” Sasha really liked Jack, but sometimes he was entirely too nice. And sometimes his too-niceness forced her and Hannah to commit to things that they did not need to commit to. But one fundraiser wasn’t a huge deal. Her hesitation wasn’t about the extra work.
It was about whom they were doing it for.
If it was any other priest who needed help saving a preschool program, Sasha wouldn’t hesitate. She had to be careful not to hesitate now, or Hannah would know something was up. She might be incapacitated, but she was way too sharp, and they’d known each other for too long for Sasha to be able to obfuscate.
“I’ll go to the meeting for you.”
That got Hannah to raise her head. “You will?” She sounded so pathetic that Sasha had to fight off a smile. It was only since she’d met and fallen in love with Jack that she’d let herself be vulnerable around anyone.
“Of course I will.”
“But you’ll have to be alone with Father Patrick.” Hannah had noted that Sasha avoided interacting with Father Patrick; that’s how she’d figured out that Sasha had a crush. Best friend logic at work.
“It will be fine.” Sasha tried to make herself sound nonchalant and failed.
It was Hannah’s turn to sigh. “Okay, well, as long as your crush on him isn’t going to be a problem.”
“He’s a priest,” Sasha said. Again. Because they’d had this conversation before. “My crush on him is nothing compared to how he feels about God.”
“God schmod.” Hannah pushed herself up so that she leaned against the wall. Progress.
“Besides, he doesn’t even like me. Even if he wasn’t a priest, it’s not like love would blossom.” If he wasn’t a priest, she might not have a crush on him. Or she would, but it would be because he didn’t seem to like her very much. Better to imagine him pushing her against a wall and grunting. Saying some mean sexy stuff in her ear as he hiked up her dress and—
“Not true. Patrick likes everyone.” Maybe Hannah just hadn’t noticed the way that Patrick looked at her—through her. If she’d seen the way he turned away without greeting her the other night, Hannah would know like she did that Patrick barely tolerated her.
“Falling in love has addled your brain, my friend.” As though since Hannah had fallen in love, everything and everyone around her was encased in a puffy pink cloud. Even those people who had made deliberate decisions in their life not to pair up. “And he doesn’t like me. You should have seen the look that he gave me when I walked into Dooley’s with a date the other night.”
“Jack said that you had a date at Dooley’s, but that Patrick seemed irked to see your date.” Of course Jack would have mentioned that to Hannah. He’d sat with them for long enough that it had gotten awkward and Nathan had ended the date. “Jack said he seemed like a douche.”
That was the conclusion that Sasha had come to, but it was disheartening to hear her friend’s husband concurred. Still, she would probably go out with him again. Just because there hadn’t been a spark over one date—maybe something would develop over time. She could see herself being friends with Nathan. Maybe