Chapter Five
“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Juliana said from across table we’d commandeered at Halcyon.
The place was hopping, music thumping. And I’d spotted no fewer than two celebrities in the short amount of time we’d been here. Two celebrities and countless hot men, though I suspected a number of them were gay. I could be wrong, but my gaydar was usually spot-on.
“I miss your running commentary on all the man-candy at the bar.” She grinned, but there was sadness lurking beneath the surface.
How did I tell her it seemed irreverent when we were here toasting what should’ve been her wedding day? But it was more than that… There was no shortage of hot guys, but none of them caught my eye. In fact, no man had caught my eye since Target Guy. And that had been weeks ago.
I didn’t know what it was about him—the tousled blond hair, those captivating pale blue eyes, or maybe the fact that I knew he used magnum condoms. Whatever it was, he was like a ghost stalking me. Everywhere I went, I thought I saw him. But it was just an illusion, nothing more than my mind playing tricks on me.
“Lauren?” She waved a hand in front of my face. “Earth to Lauren. What’s going on with you?”
“I’m sort of going through a dry spell,” I admitted.
“Tell me about it.” Her shoulders slumped. “I haven’t had sex in ten months. Not since the morning…”
She trailed off, and I knew she was thinking about that horrific day. The day everything changed. I couldn’t stand seeing her looking so forlorn, so lost. So, I did what I did best when it came to feelings—distracted, deflected with humor.
My jaw dropped. “Ten months. Oh honey, we need to do something about that before your vag shrivels up and dies.”
Juliana was gorgeous. Tall. Long blond hair that hung in waves to the middle of her back. A killer body. She could easily take home any man she wanted. But she wouldn’t; she wasn’t like me. She wanted a relationship, commitment, connection.
“Har-har.” She took a swig of her drink, then her expression turned more serious. “I can’t even fathom having sex with anyone other than Ryan. We were together for five years, and I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with him.”
A tear snaked its way down her cheek. “I’m sorry.” She glanced toward the ceiling, swiping away the moisture so as not to smear her makeup. “I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry.”
“Sweetie.” I covered her hand with mine. “It’s okay. Tonight is about you and what you need.”
“Ineeda distraction.” She sniffled, swiping away her tears. “Please.”
“Okay. Let’s see. Hmm.” I placed a finger to my lips, glancing around the room. “That guy needs to stop shopping in the women’s department.”
Juliana laughed when she saw the man I was referring to. He was built like a brick shithouse, and I swore his bicep was bigger than my thigh. And I wasn’t one of those stick models teetering around the city on their heels. No, I had curves. I was what you might call…voluptuous. My body shape would fit in better with the screen sirens of the 1950s than the waif-thin actresses in vogue today.
“Wait. Can we get back to your dry spell?” she asked after I’d pointed out a few more men and provided commentary on them. It felt good to make her laugh. “What’s up with that?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, the sound both wistful and frustrated.
Her brow lifted. “I know that sigh, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard it from you. You’re pining after someone.”
“I’m not ‘pining’ after someone.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean, I did meet this super-hot guy at Target, and I can’t seem to stop thinking about him.” The words spilled out before I could stop them.
I immediately regretted it, knowing my friends would give me shit about this till the end of time.
I didn’t get attached.
I didn’t do relationships.
And I certainly didn’t pine over random men I met on the family planning aisle at Target. Men who stole my wine.
I still hadn’t gotten over that.
“Pretty sure that fits the definition of pining.” She grinned, downing the rest of her drink.
I looked away, unwilling to admit she was right. Which only made me more determined to prove her wrong. I needed to find a new man to focus on, though I wasn’t minding my current break from men as much as I would’ve expected. It was…refreshing.
It gave me a chance to focus more on my work, especially in the wake of theCasa Beautifulnomination. I was still trying to find the perfect client, the perfect house. I had a few prospects, but none really felt right. None felt like the show-stopping, jaw-dropping home I needed to win.
