Page 99 of Drawn Together

But I also knew that my experience was exactly that: mine and not hers. Another reason why I wished she would open up to me. I wondered if she thought it useless to do so, that I would take Liam’s side over hers, and it made me sad to think I’d failed her as a friend.

When I first introduced Liam and Tami, I had the fantasy that they might hit it off and maybe even fall in love. At the time I was going out with that asshole Regan, so I saw everything through rose-colored lenses. I believed in true love and all that crap, but I soon discovered that love is shit and it only makes you suffer. I was living proof of that.

My eyes wandered involuntarily to the back of the coffee shop, where Sebastian was seated, watching the doors and windows of Pret a Manger, a British café chain that Tami and I loved because of the banana cake. I had barely exchanged two sentences with my bodyguard since our brief conversation the night before, and he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to break the ice. He had rejected me, it was that simple, and I wasn’t taking it very well.

“It’s fine, honestly,” Tami told me for the fourth time, taking a sip of her coffee. “The fact that he’s your best friend andyou get on so well doesn’t mean it has to be that way with me. He and I are very different, and his personality drives me crazy.”

“I never thought it possible that someone could drive you crazy, to be honest.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything, or a first person, more like,” she said, looking out the window at the view of Central Park.

We’d spent the better part of the afternoon buying clothes, shoes, and accessories. It had been ages since I’d updated my wardrobe, and I’d forgotten how fun those outings could be. We knew a personal shopper, Tina, who adored us and always filled us in on the latest fashion trends.

Sebastian seemed like he was about to go insane after the hours we’d spent browsing couture, and I secretly enjoyed torturing him in that subtle way.

Tami and I were surrounded by shopping bags, and I had finally led the conversation in the direction I wanted it to go. “If Liam said or did anything offensive, you know you can tell me, right? I’ll give him a good chewing-out for you. It won’t be hard at all now that Sebastian is teaching me self-defense and a bunch of other martial arts nonsense.”

Tami smiled, showing off the dimples in her porcelain cheeks. “I’m sure I injured his fragile fucking ego when I threw him out of my studio.”

Hearing her curse, I sat back and laughed. “Who are you, and what have you done with Tami Hamilton?”

She shrugged and glanced over at Sebastian. “Is there something going on with you two?”

I sighed. “I wish… but no.” I hadn’t told her what had happened between us, and although Liam had guessed, I hadn’t wanted to go into detail.

“Sebastian defended me yesterday,” she said, looking backdown at her coffee cup. “I liked the feeling of someone taking care of me. You’re lucky to have him.”

I made a mental note of that comment, adding it to the collection of information I’d been gathering the entire time I’d known her.

“I know,” I answered, pinching off a piece of banana cake. “And to be honest, I was jealous,” I admitted as I chewed.

Tami seemed to regret having said anything about him. “Listen, it’s not that I like him or anything!”

I smiled. “I know, don’t worry. The problem is me. I’m obsessed with him.”

“That’s not the problem; you’re just not used to anyone saying no to you.”

“Is my hair green?” I answered.

Tami frowned and looked at me as if I had suddenly lost my mind. “No.”

“See? I can hear the word no without any problem. I didn’t make a scene,” I said coldly.

Tami sighed. “Now you’re angry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, no, fuck. I’m sorry, it’s just that sometimes I think Sebastian’s right, and I really am a spoiled brat who can’t take no for an answer.”

“You’re not a spoiled brat. You were just born with a level of privilege that made it easy for you to get everything you want.”

“That’s not true,” I answered quietly, almost in a whisper.

“I loved helping out yesterday. We should do things like that more often,” she said, subtly changing the subject. “People turned out in incredible force. I didn’t expect it.”

I smiled. “I’ve been thinking about trying to open a branch of ST here in New York. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”

We continued talking about the project and about girls’ ballet classes for another half hour; we had both always beeninterested in helping others, feeling guilty for having so much, I guess. We were always the first to raise our hands when they asked for volunteers for the charity drives at school, and we also came up with the Smile Box idea, where all the students wrapped a shoebox filled with presents for a specific age group. Those boxes were later passed out at Christmas to children in need. The program was so successful that we received an award at school. Since then, the Smile Box has been a Christmas tradition.

When we finished our coffees, Tami ordered a ride, and Sebastian and I were once again alone, walking back to where he’d parked the car.