Who We Could Be - Chelsea M. Cameron Page 0,28
have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, and she yanked on my arm so I’d stop walking.
“I’m not wearing matching t-shirts.” She crossed her arms and leaned on one hip.
“We’ll see about that,” I said, walking and hitting the down button on the elevator.
“I’m not wearing matching shirts,” she said through clenched teeth as we got on the elevator.
“We’ll see,” I said.
Monty argued with me all the way down the elevator, and it was a relief to see her so feisty.
The restaurant inside the hotel was actually pretty nice, with lovely antique chandeliers casting warm light, and lots of leather chairs, and a really cool bar.
We got a table and glanced at the menus.
“So, what else do you want to do this evening? Just chill? I have face masks and shit.” It had required a miracle to get all of the supplies to make this the bestfriendimoon, but somehow I’d done it. I was so impressed with myself.
“Could we just maybe take a walk? Just wander around?”
Honestly, that sounded amazing. We could do that and also do the other fun things I had in my suitcase of fun.
“I love it, perfect idea.”
Dinner was incredible: fried chicken for both of us, mac and cheese, salads, and fried Oreos for dessert. I opted for iced tea instead of booze for some balance. Plus, if I had any alcohol with all that food, I might have fallen asleep under the table.
“Maybe a walk was a bad idea,” Monty said as she sat back, both hands on her stomach. She groaned and rubbed her belly.
“Let’s sit here for a few minutes and let everything settle. Okay, what do you think their deal is?” I nodded toward a man and a woman at another table. Both were dressed for a date night, but you never knew.
“It’s not awkward enough for a date. And there’s no chemistry. I’m guessing some sort of work thing. And look how he’s talking and talking and talking and she’s doing the ‘politely interested’ thing.” She was right.
“Okay, second question: what do they do for a living?”
Monty studied the people, her head tilted just slightly to the side. I hadn’t had any alcohol, but my skin was warm, and I kept getting distracted by the shine on her hair from the chandeliers. Sometimes I envied her hair and thought about growing mine out, but I couldn’t stand having hair on the back of my neck, so that was a no go. Undercut was my comfort zone.
Plus, I wasn’t pretty like Monty. No one was pretty like Monty.
“Real estate,” she said with confidence.
“I’m voting for lawyers.” They had that lawyer look. We’d never find out the real story, but it was fun to speculate. The two of us went from table to table, making increasingly ridiculous suggestions.
“You ready?” I asked, and she nodded.
“Just a short walk. My tired is catching up with me,” she said as we got up from the table. A group had come in and taken over the bar and they were loud as hell. I wasn’t old by any means, but did they have to be like that? Have some decorum and use your inside voice.
The air was thick with moisture when we walked outside.
“Dear god, how do people live like this,” I said, my skin instantly breaking out in a sweat. It was too late for it to be so hot.
“Okay, so maybe we should have checked the temperature first. But still, it’s so pretty.” She was right, it was pretty. The street was quieter now, and we weren’t the only ones strolling down the sidewalk. Monty and I moseyed along, glancing in shop windows and restaurants. I made mental notes of places we could go throughout the week.
“You ready to go back?” I asked. We’d taken so many turns that I wasn’t exactly sure how to get back to the hotel, but that’s what GPS was for.
“Sure,” she said, and then yawned.
Our walk back was even slower.
“We shouldn’t have walked so far,” Monty said, stopping and looking up at the sky.
“I mean, we could always call a car.”
“That’s a little much, don’t you think?” she said, and then, as if it was fate, a guy peddling a bike taxi started coming toward us.
“Hey! We need a ride!” I yelled, and he rang the bell on the bike and stopped.
“Where to?” he asked, and I named our hotel. Monty sat down with a sigh.
“I wish we had these back home.”
We started moving and I enjoyed