She was truly having an out-of-body moment of elation in order to say something like that. But she wanted to ride the wave. She hadn’t felt this hopeful in . . . she didn’t even remember.
“Yessss,” Dani said. “Let’s go out after work! There’s a bar near me in Crown Heights with a DJ who’s actually decent. Oliver, you have to come too, obviously.”
“Oh, sure,” he said, looking at Lily. “If I’m invited.”
Lily nodded. “Of course.”
“Perfect,” Dani said. “I’ll invite some of the Marketing girls. We were all just saying that we needed to blow off some steam and shake our asses. It’ll be a group thing!”
As they walked to the Thai restaurant around the corner, Dani was telling them the latest publishing drama, but Lily only half listened. She was wondering if it would be weird to invite Nick tonight. Like Dani said, it was a group thing, and wasn’t it normal to invite friends to group outings?
The truth was that she really wanted to share her good news with Nick, so she sent him a text.
Hey, I have an interview with Marcus’s friend Francesca at the children’s publishing house where she works. I’m going out with coworkers to celebrate. Do you want to meet us?
Her pulse soared as the word Delivered appeared beneath her text. But she had no reason to be so nervous. Nick didn’t like crowds or parties. He’d probably say no.
His response came right away.
Congrats! That’s so dope, Lily. Yeah, I’ll meet you. Just send me the address.
Once they arrived at the spot in Crown Heights that night, Lily was running on jittery fumes. She was beginning to see the folly in inviting Nick, knowing that Oliver would be there too.
Nick is just your friend now. There’s nothing to worry about!
“Let’s do shots!” Dani shouted, snapping Lily out of her nervous spiral. Dani’s colleagues from Marketing, Hannah and Emily, cheered.
Oliver leaned down and whispered to Lily, “You all right?”
“Yep!” she said quickly. A shot was exactly what she needed to calm down. They were here to help her celebrate, after all.
Dani waved down the bartender, who brought them a round of tequila shots. Lily threw her shot back and felt the tequila burn her throat and chest. She shook it off. “Another round?”
“Yes!” Dani yelled over the music.
Lily ordered more shots and they crowded closer to the bar as the room began to fill. When their second round of shots arrived, Lily quickly gulped hers down. She stood on tiptoe and looked around the room, wobbling slightly. Two shots in and she was already slightly off her rocker. It was probably because she’d eaten only a spring roll and a bowl of egg fried rice for lunch. It was all she’d been able to afford at the expensive Thai restaurant. She needed to slow down. Then she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned to see Nick standing right behind her.
“Hi!” She threw her arms around him, surprising them both.
“Hey,” he said, hugging her back.
With his arms wrapped snuggly around her, she realized how much she’d missed him, and it had been only a few days since they’d last seen each other. This was a problem.
Dani cleared her throat, and Lily stepped away from Nick, feeling herself blush. Nick smiled at her, and she brought him closer to the group.
“Nick, these are my coworkers, Dani, Hannah, Emily and Oliver,” she said. “Everyone, this is my neighbor Nick.”
“What’s up?” Nick said.
Dani, Hannah and Emily openly gawked at Nick. Oliver was the only one who responded normally by shaking Nick’s hand.
Hannah and Emily snapped out of their daze when the DJ began to play the newest Wizkid song. They ran to the dance floor, and Dani grabbed Lily’s hand, bringing her along too.
“Girl,” she whispered in Lily’s ear. “When were you gonna tell me that your neighbor looks good as hell? Are y’all messing around?”
“No,” Lily said, her cheeks flushing. “We’re friends.”
“Even if the look on your face wasn’t a dead giveaway that you’re lying, I wouldn’t believe you after seeing the way you just hugged him.”
“Stop it.” Lily pushed Dani away when she saw Nick and Oliver walking toward them. They were both smiling at her. Oh God.
The DJ started a reggae mix and Oliver reached Lily first, smoothly sidling up beside her.
“Want to dance?” he asked, shimmying his shoulders.
“Okay,” she said, careful not to look at Nick as Oliver took both of her hands and led her away from the group and closer to the DJ. Oliver continued to shimmy his shoulders and wind his hips, laughing. Lily liked that he didn’t take himself too seriously. He pulled her closer, bumping his hip into hers, and Lily laughed too. Oliver was only a few inches taller than her. They fit well together.