Page 54 of Tony

“Mmm. Yeah. I’m pretty sure.”

“Because he asked me out on a date.”

“Great! That’s super awesome.”

“I should go, right?”

“Absolutely. Vann…” She sighs. “I mean, he’s such a good guy, ya know? Except for that time he ambushed me and told me the FBI was crawling all over Fort Collins and I was in the middle of some deep, dark secret shit. He showed his ruthless side during that meeting. But sometimes you need a ruthless guy.”

“Yeah. Ruthless.”

“So go on the date. Have fun. Kiss him, Belinda.”

“He already kissed me. Twice.”

“Was it amazing?”

I sigh. Smile. Sit down on the couch. Sink back into the cushions. Smile wider. “It was so amazing. It kinda made me feel weird though.”

“Weird how?”

“Like… my head got all fuzzy. And my stomach was unsettled. And I couldn’t think straight.”

“You swooned.”

“I what now?”

“You know, like in the movies. In the olden days. When the proper ladies would be kissed by the dashing hero and they’d faint?”

“I didn’t faint. But then Tony appeared and that’s when I let him fuck me.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“No?”

“No. You were in the middle of swooning, Belinda. You can’t be expected to make rational decisions in the afterglow of swooning.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better. It was a shitty thing to do.”

“So Vann’s pissed off about it?”

“No. Not really. I mean, probably. But no. He was fucking Soshee at the same time!”

“Wow. You guys are weird. But OK. And you’re pissed off about that?”

“No. Not really. I mean, yeah. Little bit. But no. He doesn’t like her that way. It was just…”

“Oh! He was swooning too!”

“Hmm. Maybe? So he’s not responsible, is he?”

“Nope. I’m pretty sure all the blame falls on Soshee and Tony for taking advantage of the two of you.”

“And our swooning over each other.”

“And that.”

I sigh.