What They Deserve

NINETEEN

The morning seemed to drag on, driving Willow further into a state of boredom. At the risk of busting her ink pen and staining her mouth and clothes blue, she twirled the end of the writing utensil against her bottom lip, staring into space. She never realized how boring work was without April there to annoy her. A smile crept to her lips as she thought about her best friend.

The idea of taking the rest of the day off and going for a jog kept creeping up on her. She couldn't help but hope to run into the mystery man again. It had been several days since she'd last seen him and things didn't seem to be going anywhere with Lucas. He was a nice, good looking guy. But that was it, there were no fireworks.

Her train of thought shifted for the thousandth time that morning, landing on April again.

Willow had offered to take her to the airport. But she'd been turned down.

"There's no reason. I can just take a cab. Fare one way instead of you having to pay more to get back. Besides, you'd end up missing most of the workday."

"That's probably the smartest thing you've ever said." Willow's tone was teasing to match the smile on her face.

April had responded by sticking out her tongue. Willow just wrinkled her nose before pulling April close for a hug.

"Jeez. You act like I'm gonna be gone for a year." It was clear that Willow had surprised her.

"I dunno. We've never missed a day of seeing each other." Willow looked almost sheepish as she released her hold.

"You're right. I never even thought of that before."

There was an awkward silence as they looked at each other before it was apparent that April was past the sentiment and the corners of her lips lifted. "But I'll be back before you know it."

Willow bobbed her head as April led the way to her front door. "Let's go eat. I'm famished."

"I'm the one that's always hungry." Willow pulled the door closed as she walked out.

"I've had a lot to do in two days to make sure I had everything together for this trip. Pretty sure I worked up an appetite."

"Must suck to be you."

April ignored the snark. "I didn't tell you that Jeff brought me wings last night, did I?"

"Keeping secrets now, are we?"

April laughed and gave Willow a light shove. "It just slipped my mind. I never realized how much prep goes into these overseas trips. As much as I know about this project, I feel like I'm not prepared."

Willow looked over to see a little panic in April's eyes.

"You got this. You have gone over these plans with Dylan a thousand times. You probably know it better than he does, to be honest."

April gave her a beaming smile. "Thanks. I needed that."

"What are best friends for?"

After another brief sentimental moment, April spread her arms in front of her in a wide arc. "Can we walk? I feel like I have all this energy that needs to go."

"Of course. Where to?"

"Haven't had Mexican in a long time. Might be nice to have a margarita."

"Ooh, yes. Tamales." Willow rubbed her hands together, sure she resembled an evil villain plotting out some scheme.

The women made their way to the restaurant, chatting about what April planned to do in Beijing during her free time. As usual, the conversation was pretty much one-sided.

"You're staying for a week, right?"

"Well, I don't think it'll take that long. But I do want to stay for an extra day or two."

A sharp knock on the office door brought Willow back to the present. She jerked in surprise, thankful that the pen didn't bust when she bent the tip between her teeth and called out for her visitor to enter.

Lucas strolled in, shoving his hands into his slacks pockets. "Hey. Just wanted to talk if you had a minute."

Willow nodded even though she was a little confused. She held out her hand to offer one of the chairs across from her.

"Not quite sure how to say this." The look on his face made it easy for her.

"Let's just be friends." She blurted it out, instant embarrassment taking over as she realized she hadn't meant to say it. At least not yet.

A mix of shock and relief came over Lucas' face. "Uh. Yeah. I mean, you're fantastic. Please don't take it the wrong way."

"I feel the same way. It's no big deal." The smile she gave him came easy and made her feel a little giddy, washing any traces of embarrassment away. In an instant, her mind went back to the mystery man. She wouldn't let him slip through her fingers again; as long as he showed up.

"You good?" Lucas stuttered as he made a curious face and leaned away from her a little.

Willow realized she'd made a face. "Oh yeah. Great. I just remembered I have a doctor's appointment that I'm not looking forward to." She hoped that was enough to keep Lucas from asking any questions.

"Ah." He pushed himself out of the chair, nodding in understanding. "See ya around."

Willow waved as he left her office and she decided it was now or never.