He gave me a casual shrug, taking a sip of his Coke.
“Or,” he began, “maybe I just wanted to wait until you were sober to show my freaky side.”
My center tightened as I remembered the dream I’d had the night before.
Dream Luca’s words had started a forest fire in my belly.The truth is, McKenzie, when I fuck you, I want you to be able to remember every perfect fucking minute of it.Unfortunately, though, it had all been a dream.
“That should be fun,” I quipped. “Gives me a chance to test out my taser.”
“Yourwhat?” he asked around a bite of pizza.
“My mom got it for me last year off QVC or something,” I explained. “It looks like a tube of lipstick, but it’s actually a mini taser.”
“I’m intrigued.”
“You want me to use it on you?”
“Um, kind of,” he said with a smirk. “Okay, so what else do you like to watch besides true crime?”
“Well, I also have a fascination with cults.”
“Anything that doesn’t involve coercion, manipulation, or murder?”
“Ah, so nothing fun,” I teased. “I like a lot of stuff. Horror movies, rom-coms from the eighties and nineties.”
“Rom-coms?”
“You know,” I said, reaching for my soda. “Romantic comedies.”
“I know what they are,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m just surprised. You don’t strike me as the mushy type.”
“I’m not, but Meg Ryan is. And I happen to enjoy watching her find love in hopeless places.”
“If Meg Ryan can do it, why can’t you?” he asked.
“Because she isn’t real,” I explained. “I mean, Meg is, but the characters she plays aren’t. That’s why it’s fun. There’s no danger of getting hurt. Unless, of course, you watch the one where she gets with Nicholas Cage, in which case, prepare to cry.”
“So, you’re saying real people cause pain and heartbreak?”
“Duh.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Have youmetpeople?” I asked.
A strand of hair fell into his eyes as he looked over at me. “What about Dallas and Katie? They seem to be doing pretty okay for a couple of real people.”
“For now,” I said before I could stop myself. “It’s just…I mean, you never know. People leave.” I paused, clearing my throat. “What about you? Do you believe in all that?”
He chewed his pizza, forehead creased, deep in thought.
“I don’t know,” he said finally. “I used to think that love stuff was all made up. Something people used as an excuse to justify their unhinged behavior over a silly crush or for some deep-seated desire to get married and start a family so they won’t be alone.”
I nearly choked on my pizza. “And what do you think now?”
“Marriage is still questionable, and kids are a definite no.”
“I know, right? Gross.”
