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“This is so good,” I groan and quickly eat the rest of the muffin. “Thank you,” I say. Just as I swallow the last mouthful, Jem sets a cup of something pink and iced in front of me. She plops down in the last remaining chair to my left while plucking Audra out of my lap.
“Hey, there, pretty girl. You and Mama are up early.” Jem runs her hand over Audra’s sprouting black hair before turning to me. “Try that.”
She nods to the drink in front of me. I don’t want to insult her by reminding her that I don’t like tea and brace myself for the earthy taste of tree bark before taking a small sip.
Light and refreshing. Something fruity dances along my tastebuds leaving a crisp aftertaste, the chill of it nice as I swallow.
“What is that?” I ask in awe.
“Gummy bear green tea. Tea infused with pomegranate, passion fruit, watermelon, and grapefruit. There’s only about fifty milligrams of caffeine in there, so it should be safe for you to drink. You like it?”
“Oh my god, yes.”
Audra lets a screech out and slaps her hands down on the table as I take another drink.
“Whoa there, girly. Someone’s a morning person,” Andy says to my daughter.
“Yeah. Getting her to sleep past five is a luxury we haven’t discovered yet,” I deadpan.
“Yes, yes, she’s cute and adorable, and I’m dying to hold her. Jem is the queen of all drinking things, Andy can’t finish a muffin and I’m sleep deprived, but Maisie has girl talk,” Giselle whisper-yells to the table.
A quick glance around shows people too interested in mainlining coffee to pay attention to us.
“Don’t worry about them.” Jem nods to the people sitting at the tables near us. “They’re not all the way awake yet. What’s up?”
Am I really about to get the perspective of women who I just met and who just hired me to work on their websites, while the first friend I’ve had in years holds my daughter in a very crowded café? The same new friend that’s related to the subject matter?
What if Harlan doesn’t want anyone to know? What if they think that I’m just using him for a place to stay or that I’m easy? I mean, look at me, I have a baby, whose father is nowhere to be found, and about two seconds after I land at her brother-in-law’s house, he’s kissing me.
What if they think I’m a terrible person?
Jem catches my eye, and there’s a small smile on her face. The smile doesn’t say “you’re a ho” or “how dare you take advantage of my family.” I don’t know exactly what that smile means, but I’m taking it as encouragement to go on.
Here goes nothing.
“Harlan kissed me,” I blurt.
Andy snorts coffee out of her nose, and Giselle claps a hand over her mouth. Jem’s small smile turns into a Cheshire Cat grin.
“Told you so,” she gloats.
I pass Andy a napkin. “Sorry.” My cheeks feel like they’ve been injected with napalm right now.
“Nah, you’re good. Just warn a girl next time, would ya?” She smiles at me after mopping up the mess.
“Wait. Wait. I need backstory,” Giselle says.
“Um, backstory?” I ask.
“Yeah. When, how, what were you doing before, how long was it, was there tongue? Where were your hands? Where were his? That sort of thing.”
“Jesus, Cece. Give the girl a second,” Andy says.
“Don’t judge me, Andy. I haven’t had a decent date in nine months and eight days. I need my thrills from somewhere.”
A snorting laugh and fortifying inhale later, I answer, “Last night, in my apartment after he walked me and Audra home, not long, no tongue, he was holding my hand and kinda cupping my face, I guess.”
“Boo,” Giselle says.
