Page 23 of Bound By Fire
I’m sure I’m pulling it off when Carla asks, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re limping a little.”
“I hurt my feet last night.”
I bite back a laugh because my feet are the least hurt part of me. My feet are in excellent condition.
“Your feet?” she giggles. “What happened?”
“The ankle boots I wore last night are new.” It’s true, but not at all true. “There was all the dancing, and then I walked home, and now my feet are killing me.”
“Oh, Robyn.” Her face crumples. “I should have stayed with you. If I’d been there, you wouldn’t have walked home alone in those shoes. I really am so?—”
“Carla, I swear on all these pastries, if you apologize one more time, I’m going to eat your share as well.”
She laughs, which is what I wanted.
I lower myself very carefully onto the sofa and manage to make it look almost natural. Carla flops down next to me and tucks one foot under her thigh. She puts her cup on the side table and starts opening the paper bag, and the warm, buttery smell of fresh pastry fills the air between us.
“I had a great time last night, you know,” I tell her, because she’s still watching me as if she might apologize again. “A really great time.”
A really, really, really great time.
“Yeah?”
“The best.”
Her whole face lights up. “We should do it again next weekend.”
I snort into my cappuccino. “Not on your life.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Absolutely not. That’s not my thing.”
She hands me a croissant wrapped in a square of bakery paper. I take a bite and moan.
“Have you ever watchedThe Notebook?” I ask her around a mouthful of pastry.
She blinks. “I mean, I know of it. But no. I’ve never actually watched it.”
“You are lying to me.”
“I’m not.”
I squeal. “You have to watch it. We’re watching it together.”
I put my coffee down, pick up the remote, and point it at the television. “Eat your croissant. You are in for a treat.”
“Is it sad?”
“Oh, it’s devastating. You’re going to cry. I’m going to cry. We’re going to cry together, and we’re going to feel cleansed.”
She chokes out a laugh. “I don’t want to feel cleansed. I want to feel happy.”
“Too bad.”
She laughs and leans back into the cushions.
I pull my feet up, feeling another sting. I bite back a smile.
