“Come on inside and let an old woman pick your brain. I want to know what your intentions are for my boy.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Such good manners. Such a sweet girl.” Ruthie’s smile turns devious, and I know Lo is in for it. If I didn’t think she could give as good as she takes, I’d be worried about introducing Lo to my favorite person on earth. “Call me ma’am again and I’ll slap you.”
“I ...” Lo freezes and then shoots me a wild-eyed look. “I’m ... so sorry.”
Ruthie chuckles. “You haven’t got much of a sense of humor, have you? You’ll need it with Gabe.”
“Phew.” Lo laughs nervously. “When Gabe said you were a black belt in karate, he had me worried you’d demonstrate some of your moves.”
We follow her through the house into the old kitchen emitting the sweetest scents of marinara sauce, cheese, and garlic.
“Oh, honey. I only use my moves on the boys.” Ruthie sits at a small kitchen table and fills a glass with red wine before holding it out to Lo.
“Good to know.” Lo takes the glass, and if I know anything about her at this stage in our friendship, it’s that she’s a nervous drinker and is likely resisting the urge to gulp it down. “Thank you.”
“Gabriel, be a dear and set another plate for Lo.”
I press a hand to the small of Lo’s back and lean down to whisper, “She’s the best, right?”
Lo nods and whispers conspiratorially, “You might have some competition as my new best friend.”
“Yeah, well. I love Ruthie,” I murmur and pull back a little so she can see my devilish grin. “But I’m not giving you up without a fight.”
It’s two in the morning when we say goodbye to Ruthie and head back to Lo’s. The streets are quiet, Venice is asleep, and I’m fucking captivated by the way her blue hair catches the streetlights as she skips along beside me, drunk on wine and laughter.Shit. I shouldn’t be thinking of her like this. I shouldn’t be longing to pull her close and kiss the holy living fuck out of her. I’m with Annie. I won’t cost them their friendship, but I can’t do this anymore either. I can’t keep wanting Lo and shacking up with her friend. It’s not fair to either one of them.
“Okay, you have to tell me what is going through that head of yours, because it seriously looks like someone just kicked your puppy.”
I shake my head. “Nothing, I was just thinking I’m glad I ran into you today.”
“Me too.” She beams up at me. “Ruthie was a hoot. She’s a little too generous with her pours though.”
“She is kind of a lush.” I laugh. “She meant what she said about you coming back to Sunday dinner though. She loved you.”
“Really?” She grabs my bicep and squeezes, looking up at me like an excitable little kid. “Because I loooooove her. I mean, at first, she was kind of scary but she’s good people.”
I nod and jam my hands in my pockets to keep from touching her.
“Well, this is me.” She points to the second story walk-up in front of us.
“Nice.”
“So, do you want to come up?”
God, did I want to. I couldn’t think of anything worse than heading back to my tiny apartment above the parlor right now. “I don’t think—”
“Oh my god!” She slaps her forehead. “I didn’t mean like that because ... you’re with Annie and that would be bad.Bad Lo. I just ... I’m lighter around you.” I smile, but I don’t get the chance to tell her I feel the same, because she’s tripping around her words again. “Annnnd that sounded weird. Sorry. I didn’t ...” She presses her lips into a thin line and shakes her head. “Whoo, I’m drunk. So, I’m gonna go inside now.”
“Okay.”
“Okay then.” She climbs the first two stairs leading up to her apartment and then turns. “Thanks for taking me.”
“Thanks for coming.”
She cackles and climbs the stairs. “That sounded so dirty.”
“Good night, Lo.”