minute to do. Now here she was on the road on a Friday afternoon and hitting all the traffic on 83 South toward Baltimore—and yep, there was an accident that closed the road, diverting traffic to the alternate route.
For six hours.
By the time she was able to finally get off the rural highway and back onto the state route, Alice had gone through every CD in her car a few times over. She’d stopped for gas and to use the bathroom as well as stock up on some road trip snacks, since at this point, making it to Bernie’s house by dinnertime was so not happening. Thank God for her sleeveless summer dress, because she’d had to drive with her windows down to keep her engine from overheating. By the time she finally pulled into Bernie’s driveway, Alice felt frazzled.
“I’m here!” she cried when she opened the door, flinging it wide and stumbling through it on legs numb from sitting so long, her bag heavy enough to keep her off balance. Graceless, awkward, uncoordinated, she didn’t care how she looked as she let go of the bag and tripped into Bernie’s living room. “Who’s bringing me a drink?”
Too late, she saw the video camera. Bernie waved at her, and she waved back, self-conscious but only a little. She was among friends, after all.
And some strangers, Alice realized as the man talking to Bernie turned and gave her a half smile. It couldn’t be Paul, she knew that at once. Jay had described his new flame as blond and blue-eyed, a Viking. This guy had thick black hair and eyes of piercing, vivid blue beneath dark, knitted brows. Mick, then—Jay’s other friend—unless Bernie had invited some other new stranger for the weekend.
“That’s Mick McManus,” Jay confirmed ten minutes later while Alice dumped her stuff in her room. “Irish as Guinness and
Lord of the Dance
.”
Alice unzipped her bag and shook the three dresses she’d packed to get the wrinkles out, then hung them in the closet, debating if she needed to change her clothes after the horrendous trip. “How’d you meet him?”
“We worked on a project together last year. He’s one of the few guys from Herston Tech I can handle for more than an hour at a time.”
“I thought you could handle most guys for more than an hour at a time,” Alice teased.
Jay made a face and lounged on the bed while she dug through her bag to lay out the rest of her stuff. “Anyway, we’ve managed a couple projects together since then, and sometimes we’ll have drinks after work, and then I just ended up inviting him here. You know Bernie and Cookie love to meet new people.”
“And he’s straight?”
“So straight,” Jay said.
Alice went into the Jack-and-Jill bathroom she was sharing with Cookie’s niece Tanya and ran some cool water on a washcloth she used on her face and the back of her neck. A quick swipe under her arms. After a second’s hesitation, she grabbed her makeup bag and swiped on some powder. A little gloss. From the bedroom, Jay made a
woo-woo
noise.
Alice poked her head out of the bathroom. “Shut up.”
“I thought you were swearing off guys.” Jay grinned.
“What? I’m just trying to look like I didn’t spend six hours on a three-hour car ride.” Alice shrugged and smoothed on a touch of mascara, eyeing her reflection. Her hair was a mess, but not in a bad way. And she didn’t look like she’d made a huge effort at primping. She came out of the bathroom. “Hey, do I smell bad?”
Jay chortled but took an obligatory sniff. “Like spring flowers and gas station doughnuts.”
“You can be such an ass.” She punched his shoulder, and he grabbed her wrist to tug her down next to him.
“Missed you.” He hugged her.
Alice squeezed him. “That’s the problem with being adults, right? Gotta work, pay bills, do responsible things.”
“Yeah.” Jay sighed against her neck and flopped back onto the bed, arms out, to stare at the ceiling. “Shit, Alice. What am I gonna do about Paul?”
She poked his side
For six hours.
By the time she was able to finally get off the rural highway and back onto the state route, Alice had gone through every CD in her car a few times over. She’d stopped for gas and to use the bathroom as well as stock up on some road trip snacks, since at this point, making it to Bernie’s house by dinnertime was so not happening. Thank God for her sleeveless summer dress, because she’d had to drive with her windows down to keep her engine from overheating. By the time she finally pulled into Bernie’s driveway, Alice felt frazzled.
“I’m here!” she cried when she opened the door, flinging it wide and stumbling through it on legs numb from sitting so long, her bag heavy enough to keep her off balance. Graceless, awkward, uncoordinated, she didn’t care how she looked as she let go of the bag and tripped into Bernie’s living room. “Who’s bringing me a drink?”
Too late, she saw the video camera. Bernie waved at her, and she waved back, self-conscious but only a little. She was among friends, after all.
And some strangers, Alice realized as the man talking to Bernie turned and gave her a half smile. It couldn’t be Paul, she knew that at once. Jay had described his new flame as blond and blue-eyed, a Viking. This guy had thick black hair and eyes of piercing, vivid blue beneath dark, knitted brows. Mick, then—Jay’s other friend—unless Bernie had invited some other new stranger for the weekend.
“That’s Mick McManus,” Jay confirmed ten minutes later while Alice dumped her stuff in her room. “Irish as Guinness and
Lord of the Dance
.”
Alice unzipped her bag and shook the three dresses she’d packed to get the wrinkles out, then hung them in the closet, debating if she needed to change her clothes after the horrendous trip. “How’d you meet him?”
“We worked on a project together last year. He’s one of the few guys from Herston Tech I can handle for more than an hour at a time.”
“I thought you could handle most guys for more than an hour at a time,” Alice teased.
Jay made a face and lounged on the bed while she dug through her bag to lay out the rest of her stuff. “Anyway, we’ve managed a couple projects together since then, and sometimes we’ll have drinks after work, and then I just ended up inviting him here. You know Bernie and Cookie love to meet new people.”
“And he’s straight?”
“So straight,” Jay said.
Alice went into the Jack-and-Jill bathroom she was sharing with Cookie’s niece Tanya and ran some cool water on a washcloth she used on her face and the back of her neck. A quick swipe under her arms. After a second’s hesitation, she grabbed her makeup bag and swiped on some powder. A little gloss. From the bedroom, Jay made a
woo-woo
noise.
Alice poked her head out of the bathroom. “Shut up.”
“I thought you were swearing off guys.” Jay grinned.
“What? I’m just trying to look like I didn’t spend six hours on a three-hour car ride.” Alice shrugged and smoothed on a touch of mascara, eyeing her reflection. Her hair was a mess, but not in a bad way. And she didn’t look like she’d made a huge effort at primping. She came out of the bathroom. “Hey, do I smell bad?”
Jay chortled but took an obligatory sniff. “Like spring flowers and gas station doughnuts.”
“You can be such an ass.” She punched his shoulder, and he grabbed her wrist to tug her down next to him.
“Missed you.” He hugged her.
Alice squeezed him. “That’s the problem with being adults, right? Gotta work, pay bills, do responsible things.”
“Yeah.” Jay sighed against her neck and flopped back onto the bed, arms out, to stare at the ceiling. “Shit, Alice. What am I gonna do about Paul?”
She poked his side
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