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But if I take her, I’ll never hear the end of it. My mom will assume we’re dating, and Mia will make inappropriate comments at my expense. My grandma will ask me every Sunday for two years when that nice girl is coming back for dinner.
Be sure. Fuck.
43
Callie
“I’m here,” Luz trills. “And I want all the details.” She bursts into the wine bar that Thursday, the wind gusting in behind her as the door opens. The space is cozy with small groups of friends, the windows fogged up from conversations around us.
“Finally.” Adriana shimmies in her seat. “An emergency meeting. Spill.” She gives me a direct look.
In answer I slide my phone to my friends. On the screen are Jonah’s messages.
Jonah
I need you at an event next weekend.
Not like last time.
The message is from hours ago, but I still haven’t responded.
Adriana looks at me with knowing eyes. I slept at her apartment that night after Eric and I broke up. “What does he mean by not like last time?”
I take a healthy gulp of white wine to fortify myself, the slide of cool liquid down my throat unsticking my tongue. “He means last time when he took me to an event. I showed up looking like I’d been dragged across the island of Manhattan by my hair. And I had a panic attack.” I fiddle with my napkin, not wanting to meet my friends’ eyes. “He did it intentionally. He wanted to embarrass me.”
“That prick,” Adriana says in a low voice.
“But he apologized. He begged for my forgiveness actually. On his knees.”
“Woah.” Luz’s eyes are wide. “So you obviously forgave him.”
“I did. And our relationship has changed since then.”
Luz and Adriana give each other a look. “You’re sleeping with him.”
My cheeks are hot as I nod. “I like him.” I press my glass to my face. “I like him a lot. And I think he likes me too.”
Luz lets out a squeal. Adriana sips her wine thoughtfully. “I knew it,” Luz says. “I knew it. Adri, didn’t I tell you she was going to fall for him?”
“Fall for him? No. That’s not this.” I shake my head, but Luz is undeterred.
“He’s so handsome. I bet he has a huge dick.”
I choke on my saliva.
Adriana grins. “He so does, doesn’t he?”
“He so does,” I whisper, my eyes dropping shut in mortification. “This is bad, you guys.”
“Bad how? Go to the ball, Cinderella. What’s the worst that could happen?” Adriana is so matter of fact about everything, and usually, I am too. But something shifted after Eric. A fundamental part of me can’t leap before looking, not when it comes to love.
“The worst is that I fall for him, and he breaks my heart.” I blow out a breath. I said it. My secret fear. Because his messages might seem like those of a boss to an employee, but I know they’re a promise. To protect me, to make sure I’m okay. The man who sent those messages is someone I could easily fall for. “If I fall for him, he will consume me.”
Adriana and Luz look skeptical.
“Guys. He’s like Eric times a hundred. He’s a force of nature. You haven’t been in the room with him, but he takes up all the air. He’s the only one people focus on. And being with him would mean being in the spotlight. All the time. My needs would always come second. Just like they did with Eric. His life would swallow mine up. Hell, it already is. I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“Okay, but look at it this way.” Luz leans forward. “It could also be amazing.
