Free It's a Waverly Life by Maria Murnane Page B

crazy.”
    “I’m sure it was. Details please.”
    After ordering, Andie turned to face me and spread her hands on the table, her eyes open wide.
    “Okay, so the third day we were there, a bunch of us from my firm were at dinner when my coworker Alyssa suggested we do a round of shots and head out to a karaoke bar.”
    “Shots and karaoke? This story can only go downhill.”
    She laughed. “I know, I know. So we all did a tequila shot, right there at the dinner table. Then we went to a random karaoke bar, where we ended up mixing with a big group of other people from the conference. There were so many of us that we basically took over the place.”
    “Nice.”
    “Everyone totally sucked at karaoke. I mean sucked . Of course I was laughing at how bad they all were—you know how much I love to make fun of people.”
    I nodded. “It’s one of your best qualities.”
    “Then this guy standing next to me called me out for mocking everyone, and dared me to go up there with him and do better.”
    The waiter served us our coffee. I turned mine into a milk-shake with cream and sugar. “Okay, keep going.”
    She pushed her hair behind her ears. “So we got up on stage and sang ‘Islands in the Stream.’”
    “‘Islands in the Stream’? As in Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers?”
    “We were awful, Waverly. So awful.”
    “How could you not be awful? I mean, ‘Islands in the Stream’? Yikes.”
    “It was hilarious, but so much fun. Afterward, we went back to the bar and started chatting. And before I knew it, it was two in the morning, and the bar was closing.”
    “Awesome. So you hooked up with him?”
    She shook her head. “If you can believe it, we said goodbye, and I went back to my hotel to sleep for like four hours. The next day at the conference was a bitch, by the way.”
    “I know that feeling.”
    “But it was so weird , Waverly, I mean, I really clicked with this guy. I think I would have hooked up with him if I hadn’t. Does that make sense?”
    I laughed. “That’s so twisted, but I know exactly what you mean.”
    “So anyhow, the next day I ran into him at the conference, and we ended up having dinner that night.”
    “Nice.”
    She added sugar to her coffee and stirred it. “We went to this cute place in the Gaslamp Quarter, had an outrageously unhealthy dinner, and chatted about… everything . He’s really interesting. And it was almost like hanging out with you and McKenna, that’s how comfortable I was with him. Then after dinner, we strolled around and made fun of all the muscle people.”
    “Muscle people?”
    “Have you ever been to the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego? If so, you’d totally understand.”
    “A lot of big hair? Overly tan people, men in tank tops, women wearing banana clips? That sort of thing?”
    She snapped her fingers. “ Exactly . For such a small area, it’s got to be one of the top selling markets in the world for acrylic nails. I loved it.”
    “I’ll put that on my list of places to visit.”
    She lowered her voice. “I think I like him, Waverly. Like like him, like him.”
    I smiled. “Are you going to see him again? Where does he live?”
    “He’s from Nebraska, but he lives here. Isn’t that awesome?”
    “No way. He lives in San Francisco? Or just near here?”
    “ In San Francisco.”
    “Wow. What are the chances?”
    “I know, can you believe it?”
    I leaned back in the booth. “That’s really great that he lives here, Andie. Because trying to get a relationship off the ground long distance is…brutal.”
    “Oh no. What happened with Jake?”
    I sighed. I might as well just come out with it .
    “Well, let’s just say that Mackie might not be the only one wearing mom-to-be jeans around here.”
    “WHAT?!”
    I leaned across the booth and put my hand on her mouth. “Shhh, you’re screaming.”
    She lowered her voice. “Holy frick, Waverly, you’re pregnant?”
    “No, no, I don’t know for sure, I’m just…late.”
    “How