If lunch had been uncomfortable at all, it was only because Echo was surprised at how easily Luke seemed to get along with everyone. She didn't know how to feel- he was courteous and amiable and the type of complete and polite gentleman she'd never met. When they were alone, he was always more direct, more audacious and more demanding... although, in retrospect, it was better he had behaved.

Still, she wasn't used to sharing his attention this way. She wasn't used to not getting any of his attention at all and so she couldn't help feeling strangely disappointed.

"So did you name the little guy yet?" Ben asked at one point as he pulled the pup out of the purse, teasing him.

"No," Echo said with a smile, taking the puppy and cradling it like a baby.

"Careful, if you treat him like it, he'll begin to think he's a person." Vera teased, making them chuckle.

"Don't listen to them, baby, you are a person." Echo whispered, putting him back in the bag. It was a good thing no one was looking at him, otherwise they would have noticed the look in Luke's eyes as he watched Echo with the puppy.

"I'll walk you to your car."Ben said, after Luke said goodbye and everyone started heading back upstairs.

"Sure." Echo replied with a shrug. Echo never used the parking garage in the building- she constantly forgot her parking pass and so she usually ended up across the street by the park.

"Just keep the pass in the glove compartment." Ben would tell her.

"I know but I don't even remember where it is, I'm never here anyway..." One excuse after the other. The truth was that dark parking garages like that made her uncomfortable.

"So..." Ben said, as they neared her car.

"I wasn't expecting such a big lunch party." Echo said, a little annoyed that he hadn't warned her.

"It wasn't planned. Mom and dad just sprung it on us." He said. They stopped in front of her car and Echo sighed.

"It happens. Anyways, I'll see you later." She said, turning to get into the car but he stopped her.

"I wanted to talk to you." He said, making her turn back.

"About?" She asked, raising her brow.

"I was wondering who you were with last night when you ran out of that restaurant." He said, noting as the color immediately drained from her face.

"What?" Echo said, playing dumb.

"You heard me." He said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She insisted.

"Stop that, Echo. You're a big girl, if you want to go out on a date that's your business." He said and she frowned.

"It wasn't a date!" She said before she could stop herself.

"So you were there?" He said, "I knew it. I knew it was you."

She stared at him for a second, realizing she had given herself away.

"What the hell were you doing there? Dressed like that?" Ben said, "and who were you with?"

"Ben, this is not a conversation I feel comfortable with." She said, feeling overwhelmed.

"Well, we're going to have it. Was that the guy that sent you the flowers?" He asked. Echo put a hand to her head and took a deep breath.

"Yes." She said finally.

"His name? How'd you meet him?" Ben asked.

"That's none of your business." Echo replied.

"That's a bullshit reply." Ben said.

"Why are you so interested? I never thought you were the jealous older brother type." She said. "At least you've never acted this way when Romy or Vera goes out with someone."

"Don't compare yourself to them. They don't run around like it's a secret. They don't dress completely out of character and go to restaurants they won't be seen at." He said and Echo frowned.

"It wasn't about being seen. The food is good." Echo said.

"Echo, I don't think you understand how men are." He said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said.

"You're not as experienced with men as Romy or Vera." He said, "You don't have to dress that way to impress a man and you don't have to sneak around like that."

Echo stared at him quietly.

"You don't have to let him pressure you into doing anything you don't want to do." He finally said and Echo nodded.

"Because it's not possible that a guy would take me out because he likes me...he probably only wants one thing." Echo said and Ben could have kicked himself.

"That's not what i meant." Ben said and Echo sighed.

"It is but I know you weren't trying to insult me, you were trying to protect me." She said, turning back to her car. She actually wasn't even sure that what he was saying wasn't true. For some reason, she had believed Luke automatically when he said he wanted to spend time with her. She opened the passenger door and put the purse with the dog on the seat.

"Echo... I just want you to be alert." He said.

"I am, and it wasn't a date." She said, looking at him. "It's just dinner with a friend... as a favor."

She lied. She was actually lying to Ben. She never lied to him.

"Dressed like that?" he asked.

"It's a long story." Echo said, "Listen, I'm tired. Too many people."

Ben looked at her, he'd hurt her feelings and had no idea how to act about it.

"I'll swing by this weekend." He said, trying to make things less awkward but she was already walking around to the driver's side and waiving good bye.

---

"What's the matter?" Nadia stared down at her nails, holding them in front of her and realizing it was time for a refill. 

"Nothing." Grace said but she was pouting and had spent the last half hour hovering over her coffee. 

"Yeah, there is and I bet I know what it is." Nadia said with a sigh, turning to look at her. 

"Don't start." Grace replied, combing a hand through her long hair and tossing it behind her back. 

"Oh don't start with that don't start nonsense. You're the one that told me we needed to grab some coffee asap. I'm here, I'm your best friend, I'm listening. Although, I'm pretty sure I know what this was about." Nadia said. She looked at Grace closely, she looked annoyed but she also knew that Grace was searching for words. 

It was always the same with Grace. She played hard to get at everything. It was obvious that she had something on her mind and it was obvious that it was about Luke Farina AND it was obvious that she wanted to talk about it but she wasn't going to make it easy. So, Nadia did what she had always done, ever since they were little girls in primary school, she would coax it out of her. How?

"Look, Grace. You're my best friend and all I want is to see you happy. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met but you're more beautiful when you smile. So tell me, what do we have to do to get your to smile?" Nadia said, as sweetly as ever. 

How? By playing up to Grace's ego, that's how. Nineteen years. They had been friends for nineteen years and Nadia had always been Grace's most faithful friend. Of course, Grace didn't have a lot of real friends. That was a funny thing- a girl as beautiful and confident as Grace also one of the loneliest people she knew. She supposed it was because most girls were jealous of how beautiful Grace was, at least that's what Grace said, but Nadia also knew that some of it had to do with how very self absorbed Grace could be. Everything, EVERYTHING, had to be about Grace. 

"Oh Nadia, I doubt you would understand." Grace said. 

"This is about Luke, right?" Nadia asked directly this time. 

"Do you know how long it's been since he called?" Grace finally spat. Nadia lifted her brow. "Over a week... almost two."

"Longer than usual but you never seemed to mind before." Even as she spoke, Nadia knew what the problem really was. 

"That was before I changed my mind about him." Grace said and Nadia nodded. 

Nadia was afraid this might happen when Grace got involved with Luke and she'd cautioned her about it too. She'd tried to discourage Grace from going down that route, after all, Luke was known to be... well a total asshole. It wasn't like they were just rumors or as if it was all speculation, no- Nadia knew firsthand about Luke. 

Of course, not because she'd ever been involved with Luke, that would be wrong... and illegal. They were first cousins! Nadia was one of the few girls around who was not at danger of falling prey to Luke Farina. She tried to tell Grace that she should steer clear of him, and not because she thought her friend would fall in love, but because she knew the way Grace thought. In Grace's mind, she deserved the best and being isolated by all the girls they'd grown up with, Grace had a huge chip on her shoulder. She was determined to come out on top and show those girls that she was better than them. 

Nadia knew it from the moment Luke showed interest in Grace that Grace would, unfortunately, set her cap on him. 

Nadia also knew, because she knew both Luke and Grace so well, that Grace was not the woman would win him over. 

"Grace, why not just let it go and move on? There isn't a guy around for miles who wouldn't give you the sun and the moon if you so much as looked in their direction." Nadia said, as always flattering her as much as possible. It was the only way she knew to get across to her. 

"Nadia, dear, we both know that once I've set my mind to it, there's not changing it. I've carefully evaluated the situation and come to the conclusion that the best thing would be to keep him." Grace said, taking a sip of the cold coffee. "But I'm never going to convince him of that if he's always disappearing."

"You're never going to convince him of that at all." Nadia said, prompting Grace to sneer at her. "I'm sorry but it's the truth.  I know Luke and he's just not interested in anything permanent, or even steady with anyone."

"Well, I'm not just anyone." Grace said, "No, the problem is he isn't around enough to really see how happy I could make him."

Nadia sighed. Grace was just not going to see sense, at least not until Luke completely cut her off. The only good thing was that by the looks of things, he was preparing to do just that. Two weeks was a long time to go without visiting Grace, he was obviously not as interested any more. She turned to Grace who was now rambling away about what she had to do  and how she was going to do it- it hadn't taken too much work to get her to talk. It was always the same and to be honest, after all these years, Nadia hardly listened any more. She only picked out the bits and pieces of what she considered to be important. 

Nadia did dearly love Grace because, like her, Nadia had never had any friends either. The two women were not an obvious choice for best friends, they were completely different. Grace was a tall, elegant, blonde babe- glamorous and so very dedicated to it. Nadia was just as tall but not a bit glamorous or beautiful. She had dark, straight hair she wore with thick fringe and equally thick glasses over her eyes. Grace was parties and shopping with the sophisticated 'friends' who hung around her out of envy, and Nadia was books and podcasts as she snuggled with her cat on the sofa. 

That their friendship had survived almost seemed a miracle. 

"So what do you think?" Grace said, making Nadia realize she had missed an important bit of the conversation. "Will you do it?"

Nadia wondered what she should do, uncertain if it would be more dangerous to agree to what Grace said without knowing or ask her to repeat herself. 

"Umm... yeah, sure." Nadia said. 

"Great, that's great. Come on, let's go get our nails done- my treat." Grace said, standing. "Yours are starting to look like claws."