Free Five Minute Man: A Contemporary Love Story by Abbie Zanders

rest of the weekend. She tried not to read too much into that, but it was hard not to. Especially after the kiss they had shared. “Kiss” really didn’t describe it at all. It was like trying to call the Adirondacks a series of consecutive bumps in the landscape.
    But maybe that had just been her. Maybe he hadn’t felt the same thing. Maybe it had been just the opposite for him. She didn’t think so, though. Right afterwards, when she’d looked into his eyes, she could have sworn she saw the same awe, the same surprise, that she’d felt.
    Although, it might be easier to believe that if he hadn’t practically left skid marks on his way out.
    ***
    T he gum-smacking hostess at Applebees was one they hadn’t seen before. Holly decided right off the bat she didn’t like the girl, especially when they were told Brandon’s section was full up and they were seated on the other side of the restaurant.
    “Whatever happened to the customer is always right?” Holly muttered.
    Liz looked back, narrowing her eyes at the young, ebullient foursome of college age girls, sitting at Liz and Holly’s usual table and shamelessly vying for Brandon’s attention. As a matter of fact, nearly all the tables in his section were occupied by young females.
    She snorted. “Looks like we’ve been put out to pasture.”
    “Whatever,” Holly said, feigning disinterest. She’d been hoping maybe Brandon would say something about his uncle, but that wasn’t likely to happen now. “Next week maybe we should change things up a little. Hit Chili’s or Olive Garden instead.”
    “Works for me.” God bless Liz, she got it.
    After waiting much longer than usual, they gave their selections to the plump, middle-aged server with the bad dye job. Liz wasted no time in swooping in for the scoop the moment the woman moved away. “So. What‘s up with you and the contractor?”
    Because Liz was her best friend, and because Holly felt like she was going to implode if she didn’t talk to someone, she brought Liz up to speed. Maybe Liz could help her sort things through, because she sure as hell wasn’t doing very well on her own. A best-friend biased, semi-objective analysis was just what she needed.
    “Back to back evenings, then nothing?” Liz asked, frowning. “What’s up with that?”
    “You’re the one with real-life experience. I was hoping you could tell me.”
    Liz thought about it. “Maybe he’s afraid things are moving too fast,” she said thoughtfully. “If you guys hit it off as well as you say you did, he’s probably pissing his pants right about now. Maybe he’s just giving it a few days, letting things settle till he can make sense of them.”
    “Maybe ,” Holly said doubtfully.
    “Or... maybe he’s waiting for you to make the next move. He asked you to coffee, you invited him over, then he called and asked you out. Could be your turn.”
    It sounded reasonable enough when Liz put it that way, but Holly didn’t think so. It just didn’t feel right, somehow. “You think?”
    Liz shrugged. “Hard to say. Some guys love it when the woman makes a move, some guys hate it. What’s your read on him?”
    “I don’t know.” Holly wasn’t sure that second time really counted as her asking him out, especially since they spent most of the night talking about renovating her cottage. Adam had been the one to suggest and provide dinner, so technically he was the one who kind of turned it into something more than a professional consult (not that she minded in the least). “I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable calling him, though.” If he was having doubts, he might see it as pushy.
    “Yeah. I got the impression he likes to be the one taking the lead.” Liz tapped her fingernails – now a dark blue with silver sparkles – against the table. “You said he has pick-up games at the Y, right? Why not come to my yoga class with me this week? You could accidently run into him on purpose, see how he reacts.”
    After briefly