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She eyes me thoughtfully for a beat. “You’re really having a hard time, huh?” Her voice is tender, but we both know that question is rhetorical. And after the last competition, maybe I just need to let myself know when it’s time to quit, too. “You’ve got to take care of you, Logan. I get it.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing yet, anyway. Like I said, just looking.” My statement sounds non-committal, because itis. Frustratingly so. When I take one step forward, steadfast on making a change, something brings me back. Something else makes me waver.
“How’s Gavin doing, by the way?”
She knows about his layoff. Maybe she notices the similarities in the two of us now looking for new jobs. Or maybe she just wants to let me off the hook for now.
“I … don’t know,” I say. “The other night, I came home and we sat down and watched TV together.”
“Huh,” she mumbles curiously.
“I know.” I nod in agreement. “And it was nice.”
“Is he job searching, too?”
“Not sure.” He might not be, but I’m not going to pressure him into any of it. If it’s evident that I’m having a hard time, it’s sure as hell evident that he is, too. “Areyouokay?”
Tara sighs loudly. “I know it’s the right thing, but it still sucks,” she says.
“I know. They all love you. They’re going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss it here, too,” she says quietly.
We’ve been partners for six years, but we’ve known each other close to ten. Tara and I met at a tango festival, and then kept running into each other after that. It’s a small community that way, always running in the same circles. I always trusted her; we always had fun. When her longtime partner decided to retire from competing, we decided to partner up. And there was no stopping us from there.
But everything comes to an end, especially in this business. We’ve seen many retire or move away. We’ve witnessed divorces and petty arguments break up partnerships. We’ve been privy to too many messes, so we always opted to stay truthful, to keep it professional, to stay friends. And to go out there and kick ass. We spent years competing, teaching, traveling to festivals, hosting our own weekend workshops. Now here we are.
I always thought this would be part of my life forever, but that’s not the reality.
“We’ve had a good run,” I say, lightly teasing.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easy, asshole.”
“Unfortunately.”
“You’ll find my replacement soon enough anyway.”
I laugh. “I’m not looking for a replacement. I’m looking for another job, remember?”
“Whatever you say,” she shrugs, as we both walk out of the studio and head home.
Chapter ten
Julieta
“You’re in my way.”
“Oh! I’m sorry.” I’m looking at the spices in the grocery aisle when a woman pushes her cart up to me. I take a step back and allow her to pass directly in front of me, sighing deeply as she does.
I head down the ready-made foods aisle, grabbing packaged salads and quick meals for the week and whatever snacks I can find on sale. My hectic schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of cooking time, so dinners usually involve premade foods or something in the slow cooker that Delfi got me for Christmas one year.
I grab bags of chips and pretzel sticks, plus Delfi’s favorite hummus. I stock up on the cheese T really likes, beers and LaCroix for my brother, always keeping things available for whenever they show up unannounced.
As I turn the corner, I bump into another cart headfirst, an embarrassing yelp coming from my mouth.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this, Julie.” Logan. Bedhead hair, mischievous grin, warm eyes, tall and lean and … hell, I’m checking this man out in a grocery store.
It’s a Saturday morning, and suddenly I feel under dressed in my bike shorts and faded t-shirt that I threw on before leaving the house.
