Seeing Clearly Read Free

with her, sure. But that didn't mean I shouldn't help her out.
    "Really?" she asked. She was smiling at me like I was her hero. "Are you sure? That would be a huge favor, Joel. You think you can find my apartment?"
    "Of course, I'll just put the address in my GPS."
    "Let me go," Caleb cut in, "I just came from there. I can be back in a half hour. Just give me the keys to your apartment."
    What the hell? Was this guy for real? As if I would be going any slower just because I'd never been to her apartment. I started to tell him how ridiculous the notion was when it dawned on me that I didn't mind the idea of him making himself scarce for a while.
    "Yeah, you're right, you could probably get there a lot faster since you've been there before," I said. I was being sarcastic, but neither of them seemed to catch on. 
    "Caleb, thank you so much." Gretchen turned to him and regarded him lik e he'd just agreed to donate a kidney or something.
    "No sweat," he said. He bent down and placed a kiss on her cheek. I diverted my gaze, but didn't leave her side. I could have found something else to do, but I didn't want to. She gave Baby Face her apartment key and explained where he could find the photo. He left us standing alone.
    Even though it was still early, more guests were starting to arrive. I recognized Ian Craig, the photographer I hired to do the photo shoot for my company's new ad campaign. He was toting his camera and had already begun snapping photos.
    "I guess it's safe to assume that's Ian Craig," Gretchen said, looking at me.
    "Yeah, he's a character. You haven't met him?" I asked.
    "No, but Rachel told me he'd be here. She said he was taking photos for free in exchange for the rights to use them as he pleases."
    "That's what I hear," I said, "seems like a win-win."
    Just then, a group of people surprised us by coming from the outside terrace. Gretchen was caught off-guard by their appearance and I assumed it was because she didn't realize they were already here when she arrived.
    "I think that's Collin's family," she said, staring intently at the group of people as if she still couldn't believe they'd been here the whole time. "I guess they were outside."
    "Do you want to go introduce yourself?" I asked.
    She gave it some thought before replying, "I think I'll wait for Rachel. I checked my phone when I pulled out my keys, and I had a text from her saying she was just a few minutes away."
    Just then, the group of people passed us and headed for the entrance. We heard them saying they were going to wait for Collin to arrive.
    Gretchen turned to me. "Yep, that's his family all right. Did you see the brother? Spitting image of Collin."
    I wasn't listening to what she was saying. I was just getting to look at her for the first time and it struck me that her pale green dress was the exact same color of her eyes. Come to think of it, her eyes were almost the same color as mine. I had the oddest sensation for a split second that I was staring into my own eyes. They looked so much better on her, though. The sight of them against her red hair and freckles could take your breath away.
    "Don't you think so?" she asked, snapping me back to reality.
    "Think what?" I asked.
    "Think that must've been Collin's brother."
    "I guess so," I said, even though I hadn't really seen the guy. "Let's go out there." I pointed to the door that led to the terrace. "Who knows? Maybe there's a whole bunch of people out there you don't know about."
    She faked a punch to my shoulder. "Why do you have to be so mean? Do you just like to torture me?" Gretchen looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot of us before continuing, "And why do you have to walk in telling Caleb to keep his pants on? That makes it sound like I'm slut or something. You want my date to think the worst of me?"
    "Of course not," I said… and I meant it. I didn't want anyone to think the worst of Gretchen. I tried to remember what prompted me to be so rude, and I realized it was