Chapter 62
Her mind drifted, playing out the scenario—the two of them living in the heart of the city, Bethany at the newspaper and herself in the copyright office, receiving copies of books by all her favorite authors that weren’t even published yet. At the end of the day, they’d come home to a shared apartment, where one of them would make dinner while the other poured glasses of wine or brewed espresso. Dana didn’t know if she liked straight up espresso, but maybe they’d splurge and invest in a cappuccino maker; those were tasty.
When dinner was ready, they’d sit together on their apartment’s small balcony overlooking the city skyline as they ate and chatted to unwind. Dana couldn’t decide if they’d have a table and chairs or just a loveseat, and in the end thought, why not both? A little bistro dining set of wrought iron that seated two, and a wicker porch swing where they could cuddle afterward.
Of course, in real life they weren’t cozy enough to “cuddle” just yet, but Dana could dream, couldn’t she? They’d be together as a couple, not just roommates, by the time they both had jobs in DC and were sharing an apartment there. Exactly howthey’d hooked up, she didn’t know, but she would just skip over that for now. Cross that bridge when she came to it.
Though now that Terrance was out of the picture, she hoped she might be one step closer to making her daydream a reality. She glanced at the dashboard clock—in another half an hour she’d reach Bethany’s and find out.
* * * *
It was almost one in the morning when Dana finally arrived at Bethany’s. She hadn’t visited the apartment before and didn’t really know what it was like, but she expected a cluster of small buildings in a gated community, perhaps, huddled together off the highway. She knew Bethany lived “upstairs,” whatever that meant, so in her mind she pictured a building similar to the dorm room they had shared the past two years.
But the name of the complex should’ve clued her in. Fairlane Towers consisted of three long, tall high-rises that wouldn’t have looked out of place in New York City. Dana craned her neck as she slowed the car, trying to see to the top of the buildings, but they disappeared into the cloudy night sky. It took a good ten minutes of circling around before she figured out which building was Bethany’s, then another five to find the entrance to the underground parking garage beneath the first floor. She didn’t even bother to keep track of how long it took to find an empty visitor’s parking spot; everything seemed full. Of course, at this late hour, most everyone was home in bed, their cars parked, the spaces filled.
“This isn’t an apartment, it’s a freaking hotel,” Dana muttered, locking her car. As she hiked to the nearest elevator, she wondered if she’d be allowed in building without a key.
She was, but only as far as the lobby. There a security guard paged Bethany, who had to come down and get her. “Can’t she just buzz me up or something?” Dana asked.
The guard looked up from his John Grisham paperback, unamused. “You need an apartment key to access any floor above this one by elevator. Do you have an apartment key?”
Dana frowned at him. “Obviously not. I could take the stairs.”
“Stairwell’s locked.” He turned back to his book, dismissing her. “You need—”
“A key.” Dana sighed. “I get the picture.”
She didn’t have to wait too long; within a few minutes, the elevator dinged, the doors slid open, and Bethany stepped out into the lobby, curls wild around her pale face, her eyes rimmed red from crying. When she saw Dana, she rushed over to collapse in her friend’s arms. “You made it!”
“I said I would.” Dana hugged Bethany as tight as she dared, savoring the moment. “God, I missed you. How are you doing?”
Bethany sniffled against Dana’s shoulder. “Been better,” she admitted. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“This is a swanky place.” Dana looked around the lobby, taking in the crystal chandeliers, the plush carpets, the high-end furniture. “You must be making pretty good money as an intern to be able to afford living here.”
“I’m subletting. It’s a lotcheaper.” Shooting a glance at the security guard, Bethany took Dana’s arm and pulled her to the elevator. “Come on. Let’s go back upstairs.”
In the elevator car, Dana whistled to see the three rows of buttons. “Twenty-three floors? Damn.”
“Don’t worry,” Bethany assured her, pressing the button for the fifteenth floor. “It’s fast. Did you park in the garage?”
“I think I’m on the third level.” With a laugh, Dana asked, “Wasn’t that, what, gluttony or something in Dante’s Inferno? The third circle of hell?”
Bethany smiled, a shadow of her former self peeking through her melancholy. “You should try getting out of there in the mornings. It really ishell.” Suddenly she grabbed Dana around the waist with both arms and hugged her again, fiercely this time. “I’ve missed us. You need to move up here, right now. Move in with me.”
Wasn’t I just thinking the same thing earlier? Dana didn’t rush to accept the offer, though. She wasn’t even sure Bethany was being serious. Her friend was hurting, and she didn’t want anything that happened between them during the visit to be on the rebound. So she hesitated. “Bethy…”
“I know, I know.” Bethany sighed and let Dana go. “Just…think about it, will you? While you’re here. If you like it, maybe we can make it work. I’d love to have you as a roomie again.”
“Yeah, me too.” Though all Dana had heard was, I’d love to have you.