She folded her arms across the table, leaning closer. “Oh, my God. What is going on with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I called you about lunch, you were frazzled. Last night, you were absent from the conversation, staring off into space. And now, you’re in another galaxy. Please don’t tell me you’re still worried about the fire. I thought you’d already heard about the horrific situation since it’s been plastered all over the news.”
“I don’t watch much television, but it’s not the fire. I mean, yes, I can’t stand hearing about someone dying in a horrific situation and I’m still waiting not so patiently for someone to find the person who murdered my parents, but I’m just…” My groan was deep and rattled.
“Spill it.”
I finished off the half and grabbed my napkin first. Being around Viper had both a calming and erratic effect on me. If that was possible. “Have you ever met someone who just touched you. I mean, right here.” I placed my hand on my heart. “A person who could end up being your soulmate. That is if you managed to get through layers of pent-up hostility, fear, and complications? The type of person to make you question everything about yourself while enjoying doing so?”
A wide smile slowly slid across her face. “Did you fuck someone?”
With my head cocked, I tried my best to assimilate the same glare she used on me. “Why in the world would you think that?”
“Because I know you. You’re flushed. You’re sweating. You’re panting. And your skin is glistening. Where did you meet this person?”
“At the pet store. I didn’t meet him. I challenged him for locking his dog in in his truck in the heat. Even though it was only a few minutes. Okay, so I yelled at him, but at the time I’d thought he deserved it. He said nothing, but we glared at each other. There was a spark. A huge spark.”
I gasped for air, reaching for and gulping some of the wine.
She fanned her face. “A spark. Wow. Okay, so you kind of met this guy and suddenly, he’s your soulmate.” With the wine in her hand, she crooked her brow as she did when she thought me hysterical.
Which lately was a hell of lot.
“Not exactly. I figured that out after we slept together, but before I invited him to live with me.”
It was her turn to spit out her wine, immediately reaching for her napkin. “What the…”
With the second half of the sandwich in my hand, I laughed, seeing the expression on her face.
“You’re shitting me. You wouldn’t do something like that. You don’t cut the tags off pillows.” Her eyes were huge.
“No, I’m not kidding. Maybe it was time I let loose a little bit. Aren’t you always telling me that’s what I need to do? The whole thing is a very long story, but he just moved to town and we hit it off when he brought a dog he saved from the side of the road to my free clinic on Saturday. One thing led to another, and he then brought the dog, whose name is Sailor, by the house. He washot. Not the dog. Well, the dog is cute, although kind of scraggly because he needs to put on weight. The man. A real man. One who fills out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business. We sparred. We argued. So I was in the mood. We had wild and crazy sex and I never thought I’d see him again, but fate had other things in mind, including your father pushing him out of the park after dark.” My words had been spit out a hundred miles an hour.
“Okay, now I am lost. What do you mean my father pushed him out of the park?”
“Yep. Just like the asshole piece of shit at the Super 8, who I’m going to have a long chat with, tossed him out of the room he’d rented because he had a dog. Well, I know for certain that’s a lie since I stayed there for three nights when I moved here. They allow dogs.”
She was digging in her purse.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
“Valium. You need it or maybe we can find a dealer and get you some pot to calm your ass down. I’ve never seen you like this.”
At least I could laugh around her. “I don’t need valium. More hot sex would work. But you’re right. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way. Not in my entire life.”
“Why now?” She shook her head, sweating as much as I’d done before.
Her question was valid. I looked out the picture window, watching families and couples walking by on the sidewalk. Some happy. Some arguing. All trying to find their place in the world.
“I don’t know really. Maybe because you’re right in that for my entire life I’ve been considered a good girl. I was the straight-A student. I was the kid who became a candy striper at the hospital at fourteen. When I was sixteen, I was all about animals, every spare minute spent at a rescue. Never a parking ticket. No chance I’d break the law. I went about the paces thinking my life was planned out and all the pieces would be in their places when I needed or wanted them. Then my parents died and everything changed.”
Sliding her hand across the table, she squeezed mine. In the reflection of the golden light streaming in through the glass, I could see the concerned look on her face.
“I think I finally realized that life isn’t perfect and the pieces don’t necessarily fit together. Or if they do then life and the future is just too predictable. And you know what? I don’t want predictable. I want a little wild and crazy sometimes. I want to be breathless in the middle of the day for no reason at all. When I die, I don’t want people to remember me as being the careful girl, the boring girl. I want excitement. Is that too much to ask for?”
I’d obviously caught her off guard. When I turned my head, her grin was supersized.
