Shoe Strings

“You scared?”   When Colleen smiled at Bryce
flirtatiously, the fork slipped out of Kerri Ann’s hand and crashed to the
plate.
    “Sorry,” she mumbled.
    “I’ll let you enjoy your meal.   It was a pleasure to meet you,
Kerri.”  
    She stepped back from the table and disappeared around the
fireplace in an instant.   Seeing
someone Bryce worked with everyday, the circles he ran in where she could never
fit in, was just the reality check she’d needed.   She’d let the old embers of desire come
to life where Bryce was concerned, a fantasy that could never come true.   Meeting one of his contemporaries doused
the flame in an instant.  
    “You okay?” he asked.
    “Fine.”   She knew
she was scowling, but couldn’t help it.   If they weren’t so far from home, she’d have sprinted away from the
table and given Bryce the opportunity to track down Colleen to schedule a
date.  
    “You aren’t eating the fish.   Don’t you like it?”
    Kerri Ann forced a small bite through her suddenly cold lips
and tried to smile.   “It’s good, I’m
just getting full.”
    “After half a meal?   What’s wrong, Kerri Ann?   Do
you feel okay?”
    Good Lord, the man knew her too well.   “I’m fine, Bryce.   I think I’ll use the restroom if you
don’t mind.”
    “Of course not.”   He stood as she did and gave her a worried smile before she turned away.
    She felt herself blush and hurried to the bathroom.   Why was he making her explain the
obvious?   She’d just pushed the door
open when she spotted Colleen dabbing powder on her aristocratic nose.   She turned around when Kerri Ann entered
the fancy bathroom.
    “Hello again,” Colleen said.  
    “Hi.”   Kerri Ann
tried to scoot past her without another word.   The last thing she wanted to do was
cavort with the enemy.
    “Kerri, right?”
    “Kerri Ann.”   No
such luck.
    Colleen turned from the mirror and cleared her throat.   “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but
how do you know Bryce?”
    Here we go.   If
she hadn’t been expecting the question, she would have been pissed.   “Bryce and I grew up together.   He’s probably my oldest friend.”
    “Oh?”   The woman
couldn’t mask her smile.   “So you’re
just friends?”
    The question of the hour.   “Yes,” she said with a lump in her
throat.   “We’re just friends.”
    Colleen closed her purse with a snap and laughed at herself
for a moment.   “Sorry to be so
forward, but I’ve been trying to get his attention for months now.   When I saw you two, I just assumed…well,
I thought you were together.”   She
shrugged nervously and Kerri Ann felt a stab of connection with the woman.   She’d been trying to get Bryce to notice
her for years.   “It looked like you
were, anyway.   I just thought I’d
ask.”
    Kerri Ann could only nod before practically running to lock
herself in a stall.   “Great shoes,
by the way,” Colleen called as the stall door closed.  
    The tears she never shed were threatening to erupt if she
didn’t get a hold of herself.   What
was wrong with her?   It’s not like
she didn’t know where she stood with Bryce.   She just needed to remember it.  
    After washing her hands, she gazed at herself in the
mirror.   She was thirty-one years old
and still pining after the man she’d loved since high school.   No matter how nice he was to her, no
matter how he looked at her, he wasn’t hers and never would be.   It was time they ended the charade and
headed home.  
    He stood as she approached the table and Kerri Ann saw Bryce
tuck Colleen’s business card into his suit jacket.   The woman certainly worked fast.   “Everything okay?” he asked as they sat.
    “Fine.”   Her
teeth were clenched so hard her jaw ached.   Couldn’t Colleen have waited until tomorrow to hit on him?
    She tried to take a sip of water, but barely got any down
through her tight throat.   She
didn’t know why, but she had to fight back the tears that threatened to fall
without cause.   Her emotions were
swinging faster than a pendulum.   Within a few minutes, the waiter was back, politely taking their plates
and asking about dessert.
    “You want any?” Bryce asked.
    “I don’t think so.”
    When the waiter left to prepare the check, Bryce stared at
her through narrowed eyes.   “I’ve
never seen you decline dessert.   Are
you sure you’re feeling okay?”
    “Just tired.”
    He shifted in his seat and looked