“Well, if we’re going to be lady friends, get me the Tonight Dough and a spoon.” He sighs and sits on a barstool at the marble counter. I grab him the ice cream and a spoon and sit next to him.
“The week before we met, I took my first vacation in five years and went to my dad’s in Halifax. But like I said before, my stepmom is kinda mean, so I came back to New York early and was going to surprise my boyfriend, Ben.”
“Oh shit, I see where this is going.” He takes a big bite.
“I was bringing him a coffee from his favorite café and it started pissing rain. I dropped my house key in the mud and spilled coffee and mud all over me. I was in the middle of fishing the key out of the mud when his work friend, who he swore up and down he didn’t have a thing with, Aslin—”
“That’s a mean-girl name, for sure. Continue.”
“Right, so she comes out of the house and is talking to him about hearing something, and he tells her to come back to bed. They couldn’t see me because of the barbecue, and I was ducked down by the stairs trying to find the key in the puddle.”
“Damn. Did you bust in and beat some asses?”
“No.” I laugh but it’s a bit of a snort, unfortunately. “I actually left and changed everything. Cell number, Facebook, Insta, everything. WI-FI password, iTunes password, Netflix password. Everything.”
“You ghosted him?” He stops eating and stares. I use the stunned pause to hand him the Cherry Garcia and I take the Tonight Dough.
“Yeah. And then Stan called a few hours later wanting me to take his place at the wedding. I said I couldn’t; I had to apartment shop so I would never see Ben again.”
“That’s aggressive,” he says with a chuckle.
“I was raging, Lawrence. And betrayed and irrational. I agree it’s aggressive but it’s where I was, okay?”
“Yes, please continue.” He motions with his hand and the spoon for me to go on.
“Anyway, Stan was so desperate for me to take the wedding invite—and he’s so rich, he doesn’t think like a normal person—he gave me the apartment.” I glance at him. “No offense.”
“Yeah, I’m actually offended.”
“We barely knew each other when you hired movers to unpack me while I slept off the bottle of champagne you sent, so I don’t care.” I take another bite. “Anyway, crazy-rich person Stan tells me he can take care of the apartment and move me while I’m at the wedding, if I agree to take his place. I tried to fight him on it, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was adamant and I was upset. So when I got to Sami’s wedding, I was having a mini meltdown the day we met. In a bad spot, let’s say.”
“And of course, you didn’t tell me this because it’s insane, and we barely knew each other, and you didn’t want to look like a headcase who ghosts dudes and takes bribes to go to celebrity weddings?”
“Asshole!” I hit him lightly with my spoon, leaving a wet bit of ice cream on his cheek.
His eyes flash revenge, but I’m up running and screaming before he can catch me. Except his house is a maze. He vanishes, no longer chasing me.
My heart is racing as I stop in the foyer and spin, trying to gauge where he’ll come from. A creak makes me turn to the left but he isn’t there. I duck into a closet and wait, breathing heavily.
Minutes pass and I don’t know what to do. I can’t hear him moving in the hallway.
After a long silence, I take a deep breath and push the door open, smiling when I see flower petals on the floor from the closet leading down the hall to the right.
My nerves are still on edge, certain it’s a trap but the littering of white petals, from what appears to be a rose, leading me toward the bedroom, is worth a trap.
And as much as I want to fight this and be rational, I think he might be worth the insanity of letting go and giving in to my feelings. Feelings I can’t recall ever having before.
28 Magic vag
Thursday, July 6
Lori
Sitting in the sunny part of the games room at Matt and Sami’s place in the city, my mind is stuck replaying the night spent with Jenny. Her laugh and the way she played a sexy version of hide and seek still makes me smile.
For the second time, I fell asleep with her in my bed and woke to her gone. She left a note this time, but it didn’t change the casual sex, friends-with-benefits stage we’re stuck at. And for the first time in my life that bothers me.
At least she told me about Ben. The guy must be the biggest loser on earth to let her slip through his fingers.
Mike Smolensky comes and sits next to me, interrupting my thoughts with his presence though he sits quietly for a minute, watching me set up the poker game. We’ve barely seen Mike since his and Liz’s wedding and their move to Florida, but he’s one of those people who you slip comfortably back into your friendship with.
“Did you hear Laramie’s getting traded again? Colorado is sending him to the Oilers.”
“No. Damn,” I mutter. We don’t mention his name loudly in here. Him being the traitor who tried to break things off between Sami
