Thursday Nights (The Charistown Series) (26 page)

Janie arrived at Lyla’s house with tear-streaked cheeks and shaking hands. “Oh my God, honey. Whose ass do I have to kick?” Lyla demanded.

Janie took in Lyla’s appearance; she didn’t look her best, either. Her espresso hair was in a messy bun with pens sticking out of several places. She was wearing her Batgirl T-shirt and ripped leggings. She had been in her Ho-House for almost two weeks, minus the Thursday night that Janie made her go to Danny’s and Sunday dinner. She looked like she had lost weight and barely showered. In a word she looked, well, gross, but Janie loved her that way. This was the Lyla that kicked ass first and asked questions later.

“You have to kick
my
ass, Ly.” Janie sniffled.

Lyla looked at her best friend and then at the bags she had in her hands.

“Can I kick your ass after you feed me? I haven’t eaten since the bagel you brought me this morning. I would hate to break the hands that feed me.” Lyla winked at Janie and then grabbed the Chinese takeout containers. “Come on.”

Janie gave a detailed version of her encounter with Max while Lyla ate directly from the white cartons.

“So I kissed him and then told him I was finished. Could I be a bigger tease?”

Through slurps of lo mien, Lyla said, “You basically told him to shit or get off the pot?”

“Yuck, Ly. I know I taught you not to speak with your mouth full! And don’t forget, I told him that I loved him.” Janie cringed at her own stupidity.

“Yeah, but you do love him, so what’s the problem?” Lyla asked.

“You know, for a woman that writes romance novels for a living, sometimes I think you are clueless when it comes to romance. I told a man who has been running for the hills that I love him, and then I told him that I deserve better than him.” She let out a humorless laugh. “This is why men think women are crazy. We are!”

Lyla looked at Janie’s dejected posture and thwacked her on the side of the head.

“First of all, missy, I
do
write romance novels, and I know a thing or two about how men’s minds work being that I am constantly fucking them, so I can tell you that you just laid down the proverbial gauntlet. It may not happen right away, but Max is going to come for you. Whether or not you want him by the time he reaches you is up to you.”

“This is not a game to me, Lyla Paige Dalton,” Janie all but screamed. “I love him, and I don’t want him to want me just because I’m a challenge. I wanted him to trust me. I wanted to mean something to him.”

Lyla nodded, giving Janie a warm smile as she pulled her into an embrace. Lyla stroked Janie’s hair. “Jane, he loves you. He just can’t see past whatever hurt him in his past. I know how that is…so do you. Move on, date, have fun with ‘nice’ Owen tomorrow night. Things will work out the way they are meant to. Trust me.”

Janie hugged Lyla tighter. “Okay, Ly,” she said softly. “I’ll trust you on this one, but you need to trust me on something, too.”

Lyla stepped back and looked seriously at Janie. “What’s up?”

Janie held her nose. “Lyla, honey, you smell like dirty ass. Please go take a shower, and give me your clothes. I promise I won’t burn them, but they do need to be fumigated.”

Lyla started laughing and began to strip down. “I love you, Janie. Thanks for taking care of me.”

“Right back at ya,” Janie said. “Now, go shower. You smell like ass.”

The previous night’s dinner had been lovely, aside from the service, and the conversation flowed like the wine they drank. The date had felt like aloe on sunburned skin: cool and refreshing on top of raw, blistered pain. It was exactly what she had needed after the emotional encounter with Max the day before.

“No, I swear, don’t you think he acted like we were asking for his kidney? All we wanted was more wine.” Janie couldn’t help but laugh at the amused expression on Owen’s handsome face. “He was our waiter for God’s sake!”

“Oh, I know,” she giggled in the parking lot. “He sucked, but come on, you have to admit he was totally entertaining.” Her breath hitched in her chest as Owen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned in for a kiss. She felt like a teenager getting kissed in the parking lot of the school, but since there was no one around, she let herself sink into his embrace. His kisses were warm and gentle. They made her insides tingle and her heart feel light.

“I’ll call you later,” he promised. He opened her car door and watched her slide in.

Smiling, Janie watched the sexy schoolteacher walk to his own car as the chime of her cell phone alerted her to a text.

Ash and I are at Starbucks waiting for you. We can’t wait to get the goods on ur date with ‘nice O’…get here. L

Rolling her eyes at Lyla’s nickname for Owen, Janie drove to Starbucks to meet her girls.

“Max, do you intend to make a career out of brooding? Because I can get my camera. Women will swoon over a face like that.”

“Oh…hey, Julie. I didn’t even see you there.” At three o’clock the bar was empty, so he was doing prep for the night shift. He had already filled the juices, and now he was cutting the fruit. The smell of the lime had permeated his senses and thoughts of a particular brunette kept hijacking his attention.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Max nodded his agreement and walked out from behind the bar to join Julie on the stools.

“I know you already had a ‘Come to Danny’ chat, and the last thing you probably want is motherly advice from me.” Before Max could speak Julie placed her hand over his and shook her head. “I said it was the last thing you
want
, but you need to hear it, so listen up. You fell in love with a woman, and you got burned. There’s no denying that. I’m not trying to take that from you, Max. It happened. But you’re thirty-seven years old, and no matter how much you want to deny it, you fell in love again, and this time it’s with a wonderful woman. Now you are walking away—no, running away—from something good. And you are making a mistake, Max. You aren’t supposed to end up alone, sweetie. I would hate to see that happen because you were too scared to take a chance.”

He felt Julie squeeze his hand as she got up to head back to her office, but the rest of him felt numb.
I need more time
, he told to himself.
Just a little more time.

“I got you a coffee—lots of cream and a sweetener, just the way you like it,” Ashley declared, looking proud of her accomplishment. Today, pink streaks accented her silky blond hair. After months of discussions, Janie and Lyla decided that Ashley’s streaks had a direct correlation to her mood.
Hmm
, Janie wondered.
Pink. Playful? Happy?

“So, start talking, Jane. How was last night? Did Nice Owen give you a nice O?” When iced coffee shot out of Ashley’s nose, Janie and Lyla howled with laughter.

“No, Ly.
Owen
and I are going slow. We’ve only been out a couple times.”

“Yeah, but don’t you see each other every day?” Ashley questioned.

“And doesn’t he call or text you every night?” Lyla accused.

“Oh my God, guys, yes…we see each other every day. And yes, we talk in some way each night.” Janie shrugged her shoulders. “We’re just not there yet. So, chill out. And speaking of chill, has your nose warmed up, Ash?”

Ashley wiped at her nose as Lyla and Janie laughed again.

“Anyway,” Janie added. “We are going out again on Monday night,” she said as she stood up to grab more napkins. She saw a quick look pass between Lyla and Ashley, but she didn’t care to ask what it meant.

“Shit, I have to go into work,” Ashley announced after receiving a text. “Looks like Kyle called out sick…again.”

Janie’s eyebrows knitted together. “What’s going on with him?”

“Since when is hungover considered sick?” Lyla snorted, letting Janie’s question roll away.

Ashley shrugged her shoulders, tossed her empty cup in the trash, and left her friends at the table.

“To another one in the can.” Janie lifted her glass and clinked it against Lyla’s.

It was Thursday night, and they were sitting at a high-top table, toasting to Lyla’s current novel that was now on its way to production.

“It still amazes me that people want to read my words,” Lyla mused before she sipped her drink.

She really has no idea how talented she is
. “Are you ever going to tell everyone what you actually do for a living? Or do you intend to let them think you’re the neighborhood ‘Dear Abby’ forever?”

“So, did you talk to Nice O before you came out tonight?”

“Lyla!” Janie huffed. “That was the worst avoidance tactic I have ever seen!” They both laughed.

“But it worked, right? So, did you? Come on, Jane. Talk to me.” Lyla lifted her hand to signal for the waitress to bring them another round.

“Hey, Kyle,” Max called from down the bar. “The new waitress is swamped, partly because she spends all of her time staring at you”—he chuckled—“and Janie and Lyla need a round. Since you’re their new best friend, and their table is closest to you, can you be a nice little bartender and bring these drinks over to them?”

Kyle flipped Max the finger and quickly brought the cocktails over to the ladies.

“Hey, Kyle, they have you slinging and bringing drinks now?” Lyla teased.