Kiera is Drake’s sister who moved here in October to help him take care of his boys when he travels. I also notice Brienne didn’t deny that they’ll be related by marriage one day and that makes me wonder if they’re talking about tying the knot.
“How about you join us?” I suggest. “You know Primanti’s is far better than a salad.”
Brienne laughs, wagging a finger at me. “I will not be tempted by that deliciousness. But I truly don’t have time to go anywhere. I’ve got a meeting at one o’clock.”
I glance at my watch and see that I need to head out if I’m going to meet Kiera on time. I stand from my desk and reach into my drawer for my purse. “I’ll be thinking of you while you eat your rabbit food.”
I come around my desk and grab my wool coat off the back of the door. As I’m shrugging into it, Brienne says, “You should just go home for the rest of the afternoon after lunch. No sense in coming back for such a short time before you have to leave to pick up Travis.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to assure her I don’t mind coming back, even though she’s correct. It would only be for about half an hour. Brienne has chastised me on more than one occasion to stop fighting her when she makes legitimate offers like this.
So I nod and say, “I think I’ll do that.”
♦
Kiera arrived earlier than our arranged time so when I walk in, she’s already at the table with our food. Since Brienne introduced us back in November, this has been one of our favorite lunch spots.
Apparently, there was an episode when she first moved here that prompted Brienne to introduce us. Kiera got quite sick while Drake was at an away game and was in a precarious situation because she was too weak to care for the three boys. Brienne was more than happy to help her out but realized that Kiera needed a bit more of a support system. Brienne knew me before the crash since I’d been with the team going on almost a decade. She asked me if I’d mind befriending Kiera, which I didn’t, and it turned out I met somebody who, in a very short time, has become a dear friend. We have so much in common but mainly the thing that binds us together is our shared sense of humor.
Which can be irreverent at times.
I wave at Kiera as I move toward the corner table and she gives me a tiny lift of her chin, mid-bite of her sandwich. When I plop down in the chair, she mumbles a greeting around tender slices of pastrami, layered with french fries and coleslaw.
I have the same sandwich before me and I immediately start to unwrap it.
After she swallows, wipes her mouth and takes a sip of her water. “Girl… I love what you did with your hair.”
I tug on a lock nervously. I’ve always worn my dark brown hair in one length just past my shoulders but I decided to have some layers cut into it. I’m not sure why… maybe a desire to feel a little different.
“It doesn’t look stupid?”
Kiera rolls her eyes at me. “Not even going to justify that with an answer. Someone as obnoxiously beautiful as you has no right to ask such stupid questions.”
I snort and pull a french fry free from my sandwich, waving it at her. “Easy for you to say, Miss You Should Have Been a Supermodel.”
“Okay, okay… I get it. We’re both stunningly beautiful. Which also makes me wonder why we’re both depressingly single.”
Any other person in the world, including every single one of my family members, would have never said that out loud to me. It’s been ten months since Mitch died and no one has ever mentioned the possibility of me dating again.
Finding someone else to love again.
Possibly remarrying.
Not that I’m thinking about that at all. In fact, it seriously has never crossed my mind. I’m so busy trying to give Travis a good life and work a new career, dating and relationships are far enough down on my list of priorities I can’t even really see them.
But I love Kiera for not being afraid to say something like that to me. Because sure, one day, I fully expect I will date again.
I imagine I will probably fall in love. While Mitch was my soul mate, I don’t believe that we’re only allowed one in this lifetime. I love Kiera’s courage not to tippy-toe around such things.
“First, you’re single because you won’t date,” I point out.
Kiera’s eyes sparkle. “Dating’s for romantics. I just want to have a good time. Something super casual with a stud of a man. What’s your excuse?”
“I don’t have time to date,” I say, picking up my sandwich, poised to take a bite. “What’s your excuse in not finding a stud of a man to have a good time with?”
Kiera cocks an eyebrow. “Oh, I don’t know, how about the fact I have a full-time job and look after three nephews?”
“Oh yeah.” I grin mischievously as if that thought had not occurred to me. “I guess we’re in the same boat.”
I sink my teeth into that first sumptuous bite and groan with satisfaction. Whoever decided on this combination of fries and coleslaw as part of a sandwich is spectacularly brilliant.
Kiera eyeballs me over the top of hers held in both hands. “Booty calls are way easier than dating. A little wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am is truly all we need.”
I nearly choke on the food in my mouth and have to take a few sips of water. “Booty calls? Seriously… who even says that?”
“Me,” Kiera replies proudly. “I think booty call is a fabulous term.”
“Well, that’s not exactly something I would understand. Mitch was my one and only.”
Kiera’s mouth drops open as if she can’t believe such a thing is possible but then snaps it shut. “That’s right. He was your first boyfriend so that makes him your first…”
Her words trail off but I understand where she’s going. “Yep. I have never been with another man other than Mitch. Thus, I’ve never had a booty call.”
“Did Mitch, like, ever come home from the arena for a quickie?”
“Yeah.” I sigh wistfully. “He did.”
“Then that was technically a booty call. A monogamous one, mind you, but a booty call all the same.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “I feel so progressive.”
Kiera looks at me, deadpan. “Well… I have perfected the art of non-monogamous booty calls so if you ever want advice, let me know.”
This piques my curiosity and I ignore my sandwich. “Have you had booty calls since coming to Pittsburgh?”
“Yes, I have,” Kiera states with a proud lift of her chin and a satisfied twinkle in her eye. “And it was fucking awesome.”
“I want to be like you when I grow up,” I quip as I pick up my sandwich again.
Talk of hookups subsides and we chitchat about life and all the things. Kiera’s one of those women I could sit and talk to for hours. Our conversational topics range from sex to world politics to cheesy movies. We spend a lot of time comparing notes on raising boys since she’s so involved with her nephews.
When we’re finished, we gather our trash and deposit it in the bin. Outside, I button my coat and turn my collar up against the chill. The sky is dark gray with the smell of snow coming.
“Let’s get the boys together soon,” Kiera says. “Maybe Travis can do an overnight.”