I had assured them that if I were into guys, they’d be the first I’d tell.
We walked through the kitchen out to the back yard where I could see Adam’s massive grill smoking. Meg and Sky were playing with Tyler on the swing set. Both women looked up as we arrived.
“He finally showed up. I guess I can call off the search team,” Adam announced, setting the cake down on the patio table.
Meg came over immediately and gave me a long, strawberry-scented hug. “You look tired. You need to take better care of yourself,” she lectured. Adam’s wife was one of those people who worried about everyone else all the time. Being a single guy living on my own, she seemed to think I lived off Ramen noodles. She didn’t seem to believe me when I told her that I often cooked meals for myself and that I actually enjoyed it.
“The man doesn’t know when to stop, Meg. He works more than I do,” Adam quipped, grabbing a beer from the cooler and popped the top. He handed it to me, which I accepted gratefully. I noticed that Skylar hadn’t joined us. She continued to push Adam and Meg’s son on the swing, higher and higher as he squealed in delight.
“Well, no shop talk tonight you two. I think it’s wonderful that you all are so invested in your jobs, but it’s a little boring to those outside of the lawyer circle,” Meg said, making a face.
“Fine. But you and Skylar are forbidden from discussing that reality dating show the two of you are addicted to,” Adam warned.
Meg stuck out her tongue at her husband before turning back to me and looping her arm with mine. “Come with me and say hi to Skylar.” She pulled me along toward her friend.
“Sky and Tyler, look who's here!” Meg called out.
Her son flailed his chubby arms in greeting and Skylar gave me a halfhearted wave.
The tension radiating between us was so noticeable I was surprised Adam and Meg weren’t commenting on it.
“It’s been a while since the two of you hung out, right?” Meg asked. Skylar glared at her and I got the impression that Meg would get an earful later. Adam’s wife gave a “what?” look to her friend.
“Yeah, it’s been a few months. By the way, Sky, I got that Bruce Lee box set finally,” I said, trying to make small talk, wanting to bridge the gap between us in any way that I could.
“Oh yeah? That took a long time to get here.” Skylar went back to pushing Tyler on the swing, her back to me. She wasn’t going to make conversation between us easy, that’s for sure.
I was a bad conversationalist at the best of times, so this was looking to go down as well as a lead balloon. “Yeah,” was all I could think of to say.
Meg looked between me and Skylar, a funny look on her face. “You two are a barrel of fun,” she laughed, shaking her head.
“We could talk about gardening if you like. I know how much Rob loves his gardening,” Skylar retorted sarcastically.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with nicely manicured flower beds. Actually, I was thinking of putting an English-style garden in my front yard. I found this really nice fountain at Home Depot.” Skylar and Meg both looked at me with amusement. Well, it was better than Sky’s scorn.
“Is Rob talking about that fountain again?” Adam asked, coming over to join us. “Just buy the thing already. I’m sick of hearing about it,” he complained.
“It’s a lot of money. I have to make sure it fits into the aesthetic of the house.” My love of gardening was an ongoing joke to my partners, but I didn’t let it get to me. I liked what I liked.
“Don’t give him such a hard time, Adam. Look what he did with our rose bushes. They’re beautiful!” Meg indicated the four bushes lining the fence. They had been near death when she asked me to come and have a look at them. Over the summer, I came over periodically to tend to them and eventually they bounced back better than ever.
“I’m not giving him a hard time. I respect a man and his hobbies,” Adam defended. He clasped my shoulder. “Our Rob is a hands-on kind of guy.”
Skylar’s eyes met mine briefly. And I wondered if she was thinking of the same memory I was.
**
I stood on her doorstep nervously waiting for her to answer. I felt like a kid on his first date. But this wasn’t a date. She didn’t even know I was coming. What the hell was wrong with me?
I had been spending more and more time with Skylar. She was easy to be around. She made me laugh. We liked the same food. The same movies. Our friendship had evolved naturally into something that was starting to feel like more.
That could be a problem, but I felt unable to stop it. I didn’t want to stop it.
The door opened and she stood there, looking a little bewildered at the sight of me. She was wearing torn jeans and a faded t-shirt. She was obviously not wearing a bra and I tried not to stare at her prominent nipples. Her dark hair was held up in a sloppy bun on the top of her head, with half of it falling around her face. She looked fucking beautiful.
“Rob? What are you doing here?” She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Her face was flushed, and she seemed out of breath.
“I brought you this.” I held out the potted plant. “Am I interrupting something?”
She took the plant and
