Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(7)

“A lot of things. I’ve written some stories and I always get good grades on my essays. I write poetry sometimes, too.”

“I love that. Good for you.”

I took another sip of my tea. Riley did the same. I was just about to ask her another question to keep the conversation going when she beat me to it.

“Where did you move from?”

“Just down in Seattle. I had an apartment there and it was nice, but I decided I wanted more space. A place of my own.”

“Do you like it here?”

“I do. It’s a nice neighborhood and everyone is so friendly.” Everyone except your dad. “What about you? How long have you lived here?”

“Since I was little. My dad picked it because it seemed good for kids.”

Her answer made me wonder about her mother. But I knew better than to ask. Too personal, especially since we’d just met.

“Looks like he was right.”

“You don’t have kids?”

I laughed, probably louder than I should have. “Sorry. No, I don’t have kids. It’s just me.”

“So you’re not married?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Definitely not.”

“Do you have any pets?”

“I don’t. Well, I briefly had a cat, but it wasn’t really mine. My friend Sophie moved in with me for a while during a rough patch with her now-husband and she adopted a break-up cat. She took him with her when she moved out. Do you have any pets?”

“No. We had a fish for a while but he died and we didn’t bother getting another one. What’s a break-up cat?”

“A Sophie invention. She was sad and her solution was to start adopting animals.”

Riley smiled. “That’s kind of funny.”

“It was. Sophie is positively adorable. One of the sweetest women you’ll ever meet. Actually, all three of my best friends are.”

“You have three best friends?”

“I sure do. Everly, Hazel, and Sophie. I’m lucky that way.”

“Are they all really pretty like you?”

Oh my god, I loved this girl. “That’s sweet of you to say. And yes, although we’re all very different. Most people wouldn’t guess we’re friends. What about you? Who’s your best friend? Or friends?”

She glanced down, her openness receding like flower petals curling in on themselves. “I don’t really have a best friend.”

The sadness in her tone tugged at my heart. “I didn’t when I was your age, either.”

“Really?” Hopeful eyes met mine.

“Nope. I had a hard time getting along with the other girls my age until I met Everly and Hazel. That wasn’t until eighth grade.” I swirled my glass, making the ice cubes clink. “The thing about friendships, and boys for that matter, is that you never want to settle. Having acquaintances or people you can have fun with is fine, but you want to be careful about who you let into your circle of trust.”

“So, you mean it’s better to have no friends than bad friends?”

I tilted my head, thinking about that for a moment. “Yes. Bad friends aren’t really friends, are they?”

“No, I guess not.”

“And you never want to compromise who you are so other people will like you.”

She nodded slowly, like she was taking it all in. I hoped I was giving her good advice. I was used to having these kinds of chats with women my own age, not kids. But it seemed like something Riley needed to hear.

We kept chatting for a little while—a bit about movies and music and our favorite shows to binge watch. She finished her tea and set her glass down.

“I should probably get home. I have homework.”

“Fair enough. Promise you’ll come visit me again?”

She smiled. “I promise.”

We both stood. She hesitated and my intuition told me she might need a hug.

“Can I give you a hug?” I tentatively held out my arms.

She stepped in and hugged me. What a sweetheart.

“See you later,” I said.

“Bye.”

She went home and waved at me from her front step before going inside.

Maybe her dad wasn’t friendly but he’d certainly raised a lovely daughter. I hadn’t exactly been expecting to befriend a thirteen-year-old, but now that I had, I was even more satisfied with my choice of neighborhood.

It felt a bit like it was meant to be.





4





DEX





With some time between clients, I decided to head home and have dinner with Riley. Although I loved my job, the hours weren’t always ideal. Tattoo shops tended to open late and stay open later, which wasn’t great for a guy raising a daughter on his own. We’d found ways to make it work and things were easier now that she was old enough to be by herself. Still, I didn’t like her spending too much time alone.

I’d decided not to text her to let her know I was on my way. Not that I expected to catch her breaking any rules. She was a really good kid, and man, I knew how lucky that made me. She could see me on the tracker app we shared—she called it our spy app—if she checked. But I still liked to keep her on her toes. Remind her once in a while that I could catch her breaking the rules.