The Sure Thing Read Free Page B

terrifying feelings she was having for Nick, the stress of wondering how the hell was going to pay for this damn cab ride ?   It was all too much.
    She arrived home at midnight, exhausted and emotionally spent.  Noticing a missed c all from Katie on her cell, she listened to the message as she pulled a Twinkie from the pantry . I t was time for some comfort food.  Katie's message was short but frantic .  
    “ Where are you ?  Nick is worried.  He was afraid he'd done something wrong.  Please call. ”
    Becca opened her keyboard and sent Katie a quick text, letting her know she'd made it home safely.  Her sticky fingers paused over the keys.  Finally, she added , Tell Nick thank you, and that he did nothing wrong. I'm sorry.   Then she hit send, and fell asleep on the couch.
    Which was where she found herself when the stray dogs came to liberate her trash from its metal prison.   She was picking up the last pile of debris with her gloved hands when she saw a familiar car pull up and heard the sharp, quick beep of its horn.  It was Gabe, his red Jeep Wrangler blaring top forty hits, shattering the quiet blanketing the block.
    “What the hell are you doing?  Did your birth control pills fall in the trash can again ?” 
    “Shut up and help me, this is disgusting.  Oh, and I got you a stray dog for your birthday.  You're welcome.”
    Gabe was Becca's best Las Vegas friend.  They met when she was still a line chef at Hugo's Cellar, and when she decided to go out on her own as a caterer she hired Gabe as her pastry chef and general right-hand man.  Gabe and his partner Logan pretty much adopted Becca after her break-up with Kevin, and she knew that if it weren't for them she'd either be in jail or back in Asheville.  She didn't know which prospect was worse, but she would be forever thankful for their friendship.
    “So where were you last night?” Gabe asked as they righted the trash can and walked back to the apartment.  “Logan and I came by to kidnap you, but you were gone.  Since when do you go out, especially without your car?”
    “I have a life, you know.”  Gabe's eyebrow arched sharply.  Look who you're talking to .
    “Where did you go?  Tell the truth, or I'll tell everyone you went to that pole-dancing for Jesus class.”
    “If you must know, I was out with a guy.  A man.”
    “A man ?”  Gabe clutched his invisible pearls.  “Becca Ellison out with a man?  The over-under odds on you being a lesbian just took quite a hit.”
    “Not just a man, a dentist ,” she said smugly. 
    Gabe raised his face to the sky and laughed.  “God, the drill jokes alone will take me up to lunchtime.  So what did you and Dr. Dreamy do?  He is dreamy, right?”
    “Very much so.”
    “Good, I won't accept less.  Did you get lucky?  Were you searching for your dignity in that trash can?”
    “No, nothing like that.  He's a groomsman in Katie and Jordan's wedding.  He's...”
    “Ye-e-e-s-s?”
    Becca grinned.  “He's a good kisser.”  Gabe's eyebrows shot up an inch.  “And funny.  And smart.  And a pretty good blackjack player, from what I could tell.”  Becca turned to the kitchen and washed her hands as she let that little nugget of information sink in.
    “Shut the front door!  You went to a casino?”  Gabe tossed her a hand towel, his face a mask of incredulity.  “Did you...”
    “No!  Of course not.  I just watched.  And then he asked me to play some slots with him.  That's when I panicked and ran.”
    “Literally?”
    “Yes, I freaked … ran out of there like the bank was after me...Wait, the bank is after me.”
    “Stay on task here, Becca. What on earth made you agree to go to a casino with him?”
    “I don't know...” she whined.  “He was so hot, and so sweet, and he said 'Hey, come with me to this party at the Venetian', and I was like 'Oh, no, I'm busy', and he was like 'Come on, it'll be fun, I'll have you home early', and then I was