Gabe’s number. My heart soared as soon as he picked up the phone. “Hey, Vi.”
“Gabe. Long time no talk. How’s it going?”
“Good. Just busy with work, and…you know.”
“Wedding planning?”
“Ugh, yes. If I see one more centerpiece, I’m going to punch something.”
“Wow. Sensing some aggression. So how was your Valentine’s Day?”
“Good. I made dinner for Alicia, and then we just hung out.”
“Yeah, right. Alicia isn’t the hangin’ out type.”
“She hangs out.”
“Sure, she does.”
“What about you and What’s-His-Name? Bikes and tattoos? Beer bongs and a rousing game of quarters?”
“Ha, ha. Shut up. Landon took me to his parents’ place in the mountains and cooked dinner over a fire. It was very romantic.”
“Nice. Did you get lucky?”
“Stop.”
“What?”
“I’m not discussing it with you.”
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“So you did sleep with him?”
“Knock it off, Gabe.”
“Okay, okay. So what did you need to speak to me about, Vi?”
“Well, I…”
“Were Alicia’s friends nice? They can be sort of intense.”
“Well, not really.”
“Dammit. I told Alicia that they’d better be nice. Sorry.”
“That’s not what I was texting you about.”
“Well, what was it then?”
“It’s just that…well, I…you see, when I was leaving, I…”
“Spit it out.”
“Something came up as I was leaving, and I was surprised to hear that Alicia knew about it.”
“What came up?”
“Well…actually, Cameron Hakes came up.”
Silence.
“Gabe?”
“Alicia brought up Cameron?”
“Yeah.”
Silence, again.
“Gabe?”
“So why do you need to talk to me about it?”
“Well, for starters, why did you tell Alicia about that?”
“Listen, I’m on my way into a meeting, and I’ve got to get my presentation together. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”
“Fine. Whatever. When works best for you?”
“I can meet you before work tomorrow morning.”
“Great. Where?”
“My place. Six-thirty.”
“Six-thirty in the morning?”
“I’ve got a seven-thirty meeting.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
“See you then. And, hey…”
“Yeah?”
“I, uh…never mind. See you then, Vi.”
…
The next day, I knocked on Gabe’s apartment door. My palms were sweating, my knees were knocking, and it felt like oxygen was low in his high-rise building. There wasn’t enough coffee in Seattle to prepare me for this conversation.
“Hi.” Gabe grinned and held out a mug of steaming goodness when I walked through his door. He looked bushy-tailed as ever—he’d always been a morning person, the complete opposite of me—and already wearing one of his tailor-made suits and a charcoal gray button-down shirt. The aroma of shaving cream lingered like an invisible cloud, and he’d nicked himself just below his jawline. I bit my lip to keep from pressing a kiss against it.
“Hi.” I gazed up at my best friend, and my eyes filled with unexpected tears. I’d missed this. I’d missed Gabe. Before Alicia came along, we’d met for coffee and doughnuts before work at least once a week. I hadn’t seen him since he’d come over to ask me to be in his wedding.
He squeezed my arms. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head and forced a little laugh as Gabe led me into his apartment. He’d hired my mom to decorate it for him after he bought it, and it was done in what I liked to call “minimalist yuppie.” Glass tables, clean lines, and black, white, and gray furniture that was all positioned to face his extensive high-definition entertainment system that got channels from as far away as Mars. A far cry from the flea market delight of my own apartment.
We sat at his glass-topped dining room table, and I fiddled with my rainbow-colored gloves for a few minutes before looking up and into Gabe’s concerned eyes. “Nothing’s wrong. I…had a really good time downtown the other day. I’ve just missed hanging out with you.”
His face relaxed a bit. “Me, too. You sure that’s it? Did you and What’s-His-Name have a fight?”
“His name is Landon.” I glanced at him sternly. “And no, we’re doing fine.”
“Sorry. So do you want some coffee?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’ve already had three cups.”
“Three? Geez, Vi.” He looked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Gabe’s eyes were my weakness.
I drew a long breath and set my shoulders back, feigning strength. “I want to talk about that night.”
Silence. We sat in our seats, just breathing in the coffee-scented air. Gabe and I both knew what I was referring to.
“All right,” he finally said, his jaw clenched.
I looked out the window. “I want to tell you the truth about what happened between Cameron and me.”
That name tasted rotten on my tongue, and I had to swallow the bile that rose in the back of my throat. This conversation was going to be about as pleasant