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“You’re cranky. You need to get laid.” She’s invaluable at the office. Her hands are on her hips. Her long black hair has purple tips now, and it’s spread down way past her shoulders. She glares.

I need to calm down and handle this better. “No. We can’t be that anymore. We’re co-workers.” She glares harder at me, and I wish she weren’t the glue holding our office together. She’s the master of this shit show, and I never should have slept with her last summer—or kissed her in Vermont.

She scolds me, “Christ, not relevant right now. And I know, trust me, I know. But I don’t know where the hell your thing is. Yell at marketing.”

My phone pings, and like a trained seal, jumping for fish, I pick it up.

“Did you just stop berating me and working to look at a text?”

I smile. “Yup. Go bug Mikey for a while. And find the thing. And thank you, Ness.” She salutes and walks out.

TESS: Day’s too long without your laugh.

ALEX: Not thinking about your laugh. Just your jugs.

TESS: HAHAHAHAHA! Jugs? They’re respectable ladies, not a roadside attraction.

ALEX: My apologies to the ladies. I have plans for them.

TESS: The girls miss you too. And would love a formal invitation to whatever you have planned.

ALEX: Would they settle for an evite? I have a super busy day.

TESS: If you want high-class tits, they deserve better than an evite.

ALEX: Where are you right now?

TESS: My favorite place.

ALEX: Bookstore?

TESS: Yes. Cape Cod.

ALEX: You know my family is from near. Boston Baby!

TESS: The daffy British librarian and her formerly top international news correspondent?

ALEX: And the wayward sister. All there except the black sheep workaholic west coast pansy.

TESS: Want me to drop by and see them?

ALEX: They won’t believe that we’re dating. Mostly because I don’t do that.

TESS: Dating, huh? I wasn’t sure that’s what we were doing.

ALEX: Boning on the reg.

TESS: Not so reg.

Now I think I’ve overstepped. Aren’t we dating? Or our version of it. I made a joke to dispel it, but I think it’s dating. And I don’t date. I change the subject.

ALEX: Dallas. Flight 218. I’ll be at the United lounge at 4.

TESS: I’ll be waiting. Someday.

ALEX: Someday.

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