“I don’t mean it like that, Mia.” Lou glanced away from her coffee cup. “Surely you know why we can’t go out.”

“You’re the one who asked.” The coffee didn’t seem to be perking up Lou at all.

“And you’re the one who said to ask you again when I was sober,” Lou replied snippily.

Was this about Mia not saying yes immediately? Not jumping at the chance to barge through the door to forgiveness Lou was leaving wide open? “Yes, and here we are. Both of us stone cold sober.”

Mia could tell Lou was warring with something in her head. She could guess pretty easily what that would be. She tried her warmest, most symmetric smile. Just to see if it would unsettle Lou more. To test a theory.

“I enjoyed talking to you last night. I really did. And maybe we can be friends. I don’t know. We can hang out, I guess. But I can’t go out with you,” Lou said.

“Would it really be such a hardship to share a meal with me?” It wasn’t so much the sting of rejection that got Mia’s hackles up, but that she was starting to get sick of being cast in the role of villain. If anything, she’d believed last night would have at least coaxed Lou’s thoughts about her in a different direction.

“No, I mean, we can have dinner. But as friends. I wouldn’t want you to think I was interested in anything more than that.”

“There really isn’t much chance of me doing so, Lou. Trust me, you’re making that very clear.” Mia leaned over the table, making Lou lean back. “But for the record, if you’d asked me again today, I would have said yes. And to take matters even further, I think we would have fun on our date. Because I get the distinct impression that, in spite of yourself, you actually quite like me. And that’s the real problem here.”

“So what if I like you? Sure, you’re attractive. Any fool can see that. And you’re nice to me. Now.”

“Fine.” Mia pushed her chair back. She didn’t feel like this right now. This was ten steps back in whatever it was they were to each other now. “As long as that’s the only way you can see me, then there is nothing between us. No date and no friendship either.”

“Please.” Lou’s voice shook. “Don’t go.” She dragged her own chair closer to the table, as if to give the good example. “I overreacted. I’m prone to doing that sometimes.”

Mia pulled her chair closer again. It was too hard to walk away from Lou in the state she was in right now. It would have made her feel like a coward.