After we'd climbed into the cab, Emily squeed with delight. "Oh, God! Neil adores you."

"He seems to like me as a friend at least," I admitted. "It's too early to tell anything else."

"Dude, seriously?"

"Neil is great, but I don't want to jump to conclusions."

"I realize you don't know him as well as I do yet." She smiled. "If you did, it would be clear how much he's interested in you."

"Really?"

"I can tell you—categorically—Neil has never role-played that way, despite his very active imagination and creativity."

My heart thudded with anticipation. Could life finally be taking a turn for the better?

"Do you think Neil wants to be more than friends? As in, he's not flirting for fun?"

"He couldn't have made the message clearer if he'd hung a banner from the ceiling," replied Emily. "And how can I phrase this? Neil doesn't 'flirt for fun' like some guys. He's friendly but fairly stoic."

"Neil didn't seem stoic with me tonight."

"That's because he's got it bad." Emily grinned. "When Neil's tipsy, he tends to emote more. At least with a cute girl he likes."

We exchanged a knowing glance and chortled.

"I'm not oblivious, but I don't want to rush." I trembled with happy nerves. "It doesn't make sense to encourage a strawfire right after I've broken up with my ex."

She hummed.

"I don't know him that well." My heart lurched. "Hell, I don't even know if he's single."

"Oh, he's single all right." Emily nudged me in the ribs. "But hopefully not for long."

"How in the hell is a man like Neil single?" I mused aloud. "He's perfect: smart, funny, kind, stable, employed in a good profession, and handsome in a young Doc Brown kind of way."

"Doc Brown?" She scoffed. "You weirdo."

"What can I say? I like smart guys." I crossed my arms. "That wasn't a rhetorical question, by the way."

"Luck of the draw, I guess." Emily paused in thought. "Neil drew a poor hand."

"Nuh-uh." I crossed my arms. "Be honest."

"What do you mean?"

"Does Neil have some evil, dark secret I don't know?" I asked.

I bet he did. Maybe his ex-girlfriend would go all Fatal Attraction on my ass if she found out we were dating. Or he needed to support four illegitimate children. Perhaps he liked weird sex. Or he might have been a compulsive gambler working for the mafia.

"If you used your vivid imagination to solve the world's problems, you might have cured cancer by now," Emily retorted.

"Nice."

"Learn to take a joke, Vee."

"I'm being serious right now."

"Not sure I should be telling you his life story." Emily shrugged. "It's his to tell. But I can speak in vague generalities in the cause of helping two perfect people get together..."

"Don't break any confidences."

"I wouldn't."

"Alrighty then."

"Neil married super young when his ex got pregnant in order to do the right thing." Emily sighed. "But they had no chemistry. No joke, I saw them: they're like roommates."

"Oh, dang!"

"Exactly. They stayed together until their kid went off to college." She sighed. "Now they're finalizing an amicable divorce after two years of separation."

"Is Neil even old enough to have an adult kid?" I asked, incredulous.

"Dude, he's forty." Emily scoffed. "How old did you think he was?"

Daaaang, he ages well.

"Like, my age..."

Emily waved a dismissive hand. "At thirty-two, forty doesn't matter."

"It's not his age that bothers me." My heart sank. "Neil's been married so long, and his divorced isn't finalized yet."

"Who cares, Ms. Glass-House?"

"It's one thing to divorce an asshole you've been married to for five years when you have no kids," I insisted. "It's quite another to separate from a woman you've known half your life."

"Okay, let me stop you right there." Emily adopted that headmistress tone of voice she used whenever she thought I was being an idiot. "They both counted down the days until Alexis graduated. They're not getting back together. His ex already lives with another dude."

"Seriously?"

"Look, don't judge. They lived like friends for two decades."

My heart thudded. "How can you be so sure?"

"He confessed it to me after they'd gotten separated," she said. "We both got really drunk. If he'd been a woman, I would have taken him home and shown him the meaning of passion."

I gaped.

"Alas, I've liked only a handful of guys in my life, and Neil ain't my type."

Thank God for that. I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of competing with her.

More to the point, if she liked Neil, I couldn't interfere in good conscience.

"Now if Neil had been hot and wanted a glorious weekend of decadence..." Emily pretended to fan herself. "I'd have gladly obliged. But I date women only."

My best friend didn't realize it, but her words of reassurance simply made me even more anxious. After two decades of denying his innermost desires, would Neil hope for a deep connection with me? Or did he want wild, meaningless passion to bring him back to life?

If so, I couldn't give him what he needed most.

"Do you think Neil wants a relationship or a fling?" I asked warily.

"The only way to know for sure is to ask," she replied. "But if his confession is any indication, I think he's looking for the real deal."

I sighed in relief.

"Don't think of reasons to say no, hon." She squeezed me. "If you're ready, think of reasons to say yes: common interests, compatible personalities, and a similar intellect."

"You're right." I smiled. "We are pretty well suited."

"You've always been a badass," said Emily. "Pursuing your dreams, moving continents, and starting your own business. So be your usual badass self and tell him if you like him."

As always, Emily was right. Neil had even given me the perfect excuse: a hiking trip.

___

Word count: 937
Total word count: 10,837/20,000 (min)

Woot, halfway to the minimum word limit! *confetti*