One Night

by Allie Everhart

  "And Friday morning?" I ask.

  "Yeah."

  "So Donna gave us the same schedule. That explains why she said I'd be working closely with the other intern." I glance at Amber. "It's kind of odd, isn't it?"

  "What's odd?"

  "You're trying to keep us apart and yet somehow we keep being brought back together. First your roommate ends up dating my friend, and now we end up with the same internship. Same hospital. Same department. Same hours."

  She shakes her head. "It's not that unusual."

  I turn and hold her arm, stopping her. "You don't find that odd?"

  We're now at the door that leads to the parking garage. She looks back to see if anyone's trying to go past us, but right now we're alone in the narrow hallway.

  "Okay, yeah, it's odd," she says, looking at me. "But it's also kind of scary."

  "Why is it scary?"

  "Because I don't understand it. Why do we keep finding ourselves together like this? Why did we find each other that night? I almost didn't even go to that party."

  "Neither did I. Which just proves there's something else going on here."

  "Like what?" she asks.

  The door swings open and Amber and I both step back.

  A young woman with blond hair comes through the door. She's wearing colorful scrubs that have cartoon characters printed on them.

  "Amber." The woman stops in front of Amber and smiles. "Was today your first day?"

  "Yeah. I'm just leaving. I'll be back on Wednesday."

  "How do you like it?"

  "It's good. Donna's really nice. I think it'll be a good experience."

  "Are you the only intern?"

  "No. Dylan's also working there." She motions to me. "You know Dylan, right?"

  The girl looks at me, pausing a moment. "Austin's friend?"

  "Yeah." I smile when I see her face, realizing I know her. Her sister, Ivy, dates Jake Wheeler, one of Austin's brothers. "I don't think we've ever met but I've seen you with your sister at some of our concerts. You're Liza, right? Ivy's sister?"

  "Yeah." She smiles back. "And you're the lead singer of Vandyl."

  "That's me."

  "And you're working here?" She seems surprised.

  I shrug. "Music is more of a hobby. My major is marketing. I graduate in May and needed some job experience."

  "So you must know Amber because of Kira. Is that how you guys met?"

  "Not exactly." I flash a grin at Amber.

  "We met at a party," she blurts out. "Last May. But we didn't see each other again until just recently."

  "Why didn't you tell me you were dating Dylan?" Liza asks Amber. "When we had coffee last Saturday you didn't even mention him."

  "Oh, um, no, Dylan and I aren't going out." Amber sounds panicked. "We're just friends."

  "Really?" She glances between us. "That's too bad. You guys make a cute couple."

  I lower my voice and say to Liza, "Can you keep a secret?"

  "Sure. What is it?"

  I put my arm around Amber. "We actually are dating, but we have to hide it when we're at work. There's some rule that says people in the same department can't date."

  Liza waves her hand around. "Forget that. Nobody follows that rule."

  "Donna seemed really serious about it," Amber says, removing my arm from around her shoulder. "And I'm not willing to risk losing my job."

  "Then I guess you'll have to sneak around." Liza smiles. "Hey, I gotta go. I'm working the night shift and if I don't hurry I'm going to be late."

  "Yeah, go ahead," Amber says.

  "See you guys later." She continues down the hall.

  I open the door for Amber. "After you."

  "Why did you tell her about us?"

  "Why wouldn't I?" Putting my hand on her lower back, I lead her through the door into the garage. "She would've found out eventually. She's Ivy's sister. And Ivy's living with Jake. At some point Austin would mention us to Jake or Ivy and word would get back to Liza."

  She stops when we reach her car. "Why would Austin be talking about us to his brother?"

  "Because I'm one of Austin's closest friends and I know his family. If I'm dating someone, chances are he'll bring it up in conversation, especially since I'm dating his girlfriend's best friend. Why are you so worried about this? Liza wouldn't tell anyone."

  "I guess you're right. I just don't want us getting in trouble."

  "We won't." I lean against her car as she searches for her keys in her purse. "So where do you want to go for dinner?"

  "Dinner?" She contemplates it for just a second, but then shakes her head. "No. I can't. I have things to do. I haven't been home all day."

  "You have to eat, right?"

  "Well, yeah, but..."

  "Then let's go out. That way you won't have to make anything. It'll actually be faster to eat out then eat at home."

  She smiles. "I doubt that. I usually heat up a frozen dinner. I can't cook, by the way. That's something you should know."

  "I can't cook either, but it doesn't matter because I like eating out. So where do you want to go?"

  "I didn't agree to it."

  "Amber, don't fight me on this. It's just dinner. We're both tired. We're both hungry. Let's just stop somewhere on the way home. You like Zelliti's?"

  "The spaghetti place?"

  "It's fast so it won't take up your whole night. And from that grin on your face, I'm guessing you like their food."

  "I do. Okay, then I guess I'll meet you there."

  A half hour later, we're at a table waiting for our order. The place only serves spaghetti with like thirty different sauces.

  "Enjoy," the waitress says, dropping off our plates. She doesn't bother to ask if we need anything else. This is no-frills dining. You order at the counter and get your own silverware and napkins.

  "You always get marinara?" I ask Amber as she twirls spaghetti around her fork.

  "Yeah, it's my favorite."

  "You ever try one of the other sauces?"

  "No. I go with what I like."

  "How do you know you wouldn't like one of the others if you've never tried them?"

  "I don't, but why bother trying them if I like this one?"

  "Because you might like one of the other ones better." I hold out my fork, which I've loaded up with spaghetti and sauce. "Try it."

  "I don't like sausage. It's always got that gristle in it that's hard to chew."

  "Not this one. You might like it. Just try it."

  She sighs, then leans forward and parts her lips just enough for me to slip the fork in her mouth, which for some reason I find arousing. I've never fed a girl anything but now I'm thinking this is something I should add to my repertoire.

  She closes her eyes and chews, then smiles slightly as she opens her eyes. "It's good."

  "Better than the marinara?"

  "Hmm. Maybe."

  "You want some more?"

  She sets her fork down and leans forward again.

  "Hold on." I get up and go to the other side of the booth and sit next to her.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I can't reach from that side." I slide my plate over and load up another forkful of spaghetti and hold it up to her.

  "I can feed myself." She tries to take the fork from me but I don't let her have it.

  "It's more fun this way." I chuckle when I see her cheeks turning pink. She's embarrassed because the older couple at the table next to ours is giving us strange looks.

  "Dylan, go back to your seat," she says in a hushed tone.

  "This IS my seat. Now have a taste." I hold my fork up.

  She quickly takes a bite. "Yeah, it's good. Now go sit over there." She points to the other side of the booth.

  "I like this side better," I say, going back to eating my spaghetti.

  She picks up her fork. "This is totally breaking the rules. We shouldn't be out like this."

  "Forget the rules. Obviously the universe wants us together so we might a
s well be together."

  "I'm pretty sure the universe is not involved in this."

  I stop eating and turn to her. "Do you really think that?"

  She pauses, her eyes on her plate. "No."

  "So stop fighting it and just go with it."

  Turning to me, she says, "Okay, yes, I agree there's something going on here. Some cosmic force that keeps bringing us together, but that doesn't mean we can't take some time apart to get to know each other."

  "I can't get to know you with just the letters. It's not enough. We need to see each other. Spend time together."

  "We can't."

  "Why not?" I set my fork down and turn to face her.

  "Because we can't..." She drops her voice to a whisper. "We can't stop ourselves when we're together. Alone."

  "We were alone together yesterday and we didn't do anything."

  "We almost did."

  "And if we had, and if we did going forward, what's the big deal? It's part of dating. It's normal."

  "It complicates things. I want to get to know you without that interfering."

  She's so frustrating. And stubborn. And yet I'll do most anything to see her again.

  "Okay, how about this?" I say. "We make a rule that when we're alone together, there's no physical contact. We're just friends getting to know each other."

  "And when we're not alone?"

  I place my hand under her chin and lift her face up to mine and kiss her. Softly. Slowly. Then I back away.

  "Was that supposed to be your answer?" she asks, sounding breathless.

  I chuckle. "Yes." I pick my fork up and continue eating. "We'll stick with your original rule. And given that rule, I'm guessing a lot of our dates will be in public."

  When I glance at her, I see her trying to fight a smile. "I haven't agreed to date you."

  "You don't have to. We're already dating. You're my sweetheart, remember?" I lean over and kiss her cheek. "And I have to take my sweetheart on dates. I can't leave her sitting at home all alone."

  "I'm not alone. I have Kira. And I'm almost never home. But..." She sighs. "I suppose we could go out now and then."

  "Don't sound so excited about it." I nudge her side before taking a big bite of spaghetti.

  "Dylan." She holds my arm before I scoop up more spaghetti. "It's not that I don't want to see you. I'm just worried our relationship won't have a chance if all we do is...you know...what we did that night."

  "Which is why we'll keep things platonic when we're alone together. At least until you're ready to take things farther. Sound good?"

  She nods. "Yeah."

  I see her eyeing my plate. "You want to share the rest of this?"

  "Could we?" she asks hesitantly.

  I slide my plate between us. "Dig in. And next time we come here, I'm banning the marinara. You have to get this one or something else."

  "It's a deal."

  She scoots closer, our bodies touching as we share the plate of spaghetti. She could've just put some on her plate but instead she's eating off of mine. It's one of those things you'd do after dating someone a long time, and yet this is technically only our second date. But something feels right about it. Like it'd be odd if we didn't share a plate.

  After dinner, I walk her out to her car. "I'll follow you home."

  "That's okay. I'll be fine. But thanks for offering."

  "So I'll see you on Wednesday?"

  "Yeah." She opens her car door. "So um, thanks for dinner."

  "You're welcome." I step up to her, catching her eye and holding her gaze.

  "I should go," she says, her eyes still on mine.

  "I don't want you to."

  "But...I have things to do."

  "So do I. But I don't want to say goodbye. Not yet."

  "Me either." She bites her lip.

  My hand cups the back of her head and I pull her toward me and kiss her for a good long minute, then linger at her lips. "Let's go somewhere."

  "Where?"

  "You want to go to a movie?" I kiss her again but keep it short.

  "We could, but I doubt we'd watch it."

  "That's the point." I kiss her once more. "Why'd you think I suggested it?"

  She laughs. "Let's just go get coffee."

  "How about dessert?" I back away. "You like cupcakes?"

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "There's this bakery I grew up going to that's a few miles from here. They're the only bakery I know of that's open at night. They have all kinds of pastries but they're known for their cupcakes. My mom used to get them for us for birthdays."

  "Okay, but you'll have to show me where to go."

  "Why don't we just ride together? I'll take you back here later to get your car."

  She agrees to it and we head to the bakery. I finally feel like we're on a date. We went to dinner, kissed, and now she's riding in my car on our way to get dessert.

  Earlier today, I wondered if we'd ever go out on a date or if we'd just write letters forever. But now, hours later, we're going out, and she's agreed to go out with me again.

  And it's all because of that internship. The one I didn't even want and never would've taken if I'd had another offer. That can't just be a coincidence. It has to be something else. A sign from the universe, saying Amber and I should be together.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Amber

  It's Saturday morning and I've seen Dylan for four of the past five days. My commitment to only write letters and not actually see him lasted about a day. To be fair, I'm sure I could've kept it going longer if it weren't for the internship.

  You'd think working with him would be enough, but no. It just makes me want to see him even more. Looking across the desk at him for two or three hours a day is like looking at a bowl of candy you're not allowed to eat. Dylan feels the same way. By the time our shift is up, we're both dying for a taste of that candy. We race to our cars, drive to the nearest restaurant, hide away in a booth, and make out while we wait for our food.

  We really need to stop doing that. For one, it makes the waitress uncomfortable and whoever else can see us in the booth. And two, if we keep this up, we'll be moving past kissing and onto other things. That almost happened last night. He was dropping me off at my apartment and we were in his car and things started happening. Hands under clothes, going places they shouldn't be going. I had to force myself to stop. Dylan seemed frustrated, but he wasn't mad. He understands why I don't want to rush this. I just hope he's willing to wait longer. He has girls constantly coming up to him, so if he wanted a girl who'd do more than kiss, there are plenty of girls he could choose from.

  My phone rings the moment I walk in my bedroom. I just showered, my hair sopping wet and a towel wrapped around me.

  "Hello?" I say, answering without checking who it is.

  "Hey, what are you doing?"

  It's Dylan, using that upbeat, casual tone of his that always seems to lighten my mood. Not that I was in a bad mood, but Dylan always seems to make even my good mood a little brighter.

  "I just got out of the shower."

  "Can I come over?"

  "Right now? I thought we said we'd meet for lunch."

  "We did, but I was in the area so I thought I'd stop by."

  I smile. "Why were you in the area?"

  "Not sure. I was driving around and my car just took me here. Maybe because it wanted to see you."

  "Your car wanted to see me?"

  "It's highly influenced by its owner. Now will you let me in?"

  "You're already here? Like at my door?"

  "Yeah, and you need to let me in. There's an old lady out here walking her cat on a leash and she's about to come over and talk to me."

  "That's Mrs. Klanton. If she starts talking to you, you'll be there all day."

  "Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up. She's like ten feet away."

  I laugh as I run to the door. When I open it, I see him standing there in navy track pants and a white, long sleeve t-shirt. It's one of t
hose fitness shirts that fits tight to his body, clinging to the muscles in his arms and chest.

  "Why are you dressed like that?" I ask, not that I'm complaining. He looks really hot. I've never seen him in workout clothes.

  "Are you gonna let me inside?" He glances down the hall.

  "Oh. Yeah." I peek down the hall and see Mrs. Klanton watching us as she pretends to search for something in her purse. She loves to gossip about her neighbors. Seeing Dylan here will give her something new to talk about.

  I shut the door and my towel nearly comes loose. I quickly grab it and realize I'm not dressed.

  "Do you always answer the door like that?" Dylan asks, a big grin on his face. "Or is this just for me?"

  "I told you I just got out of the shower. And then you made me get the door and I didn't have time to put anything on." I'm getting really turned on, being this close to Dylan, wearing nothing but a towel. I'm surprised he hasn't come up to me and tried to take it off, but instead he's standing a few feet away. "So what's the real reason you came over?"

  "I thought I'd see if you want to go for a run. I thought maybe we could do a few loops around the neighborhood. Or around the college. I've never been on the Katswick campus."

  "You want me to run with you?"

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "I haven't been running in like a year."

  "If you're too out of shape to run, we could walk."

  I huff. "I'm not out of shape. Do I look out of shape to you?" I hold my arms out and my towel drops to the floor. "Shit!" I quickly grab it and cover myself.

  The room goes silent. Dylan's eyes are still on my body and I see his throat move as he swallows.

  His eyes slowly rise to my face. "So...back to the run. Yes or no?"

  That's it? He's not going to try anything? He just saw me naked, completely naked, no panties this time. Given how much we want each other, I thought he'd at least attempt to make a move. But he's following the rules, pretending we're just friends whenever we're alone.

  "Sure, I'll go on a run," I say. "I'll be ready in a few minutes. You can watch TV if you want."

  I turn to go to my room.

  "Amber."

  "What?" I turn back and he's right in front of me.

  "I'm not rejecting you." He places his hand on my shoulder and runs it down my arm, causing goosebumps to rise up on my skin. "You know how much I want you, but you told me—"