AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Yet, he gobbled up every new bit of information like a starving man. He’d never felt this way about any Nost girl before. After exploring their bodies, he’d been content to just let them go. But something about Emma was different. She intrigued him.
Was it her fire? Her determination to challenge him on his beliefs that a no-strings relationship was the best kind? Was it the way she’d stood up to Happy Fun Time at the bar? Or, was it the way she’d given herself to him so authentically, so honestly the night before. She’d let herself be vulnerable in a way no woman had before, not even Sasha.
He soon found her articles online and devoured them, one after another. Emma came across as thoughtful, razor-sharp and insightful. More liberal than he on most issues, he found, she was the kind of woman who wasn’t afraid to put herself out there. To let others know how she really felt. Her writing mimicked her passion the night before. Emma was just herself—no pretense.
He found that amazingly refreshing.
So many of the women he’d been with were so concerned with pleasing him, with molding themselves into something they thought he’d like, rather than just being them. He made no apologies for who he was and always wanted a partner do the same.
Before he’d realized what he was doing, he’d spent the entire morning combing the internet for information on Emma.
But, he reasoned, it didn’t mean anything. Did it?
CHAPTER EIGHT
EMMA THREW ON a sweater and headed out of her modest, one-bedroom Lincoln Square condo. She skipped down two flights and outside into the fresh fall air. The morning chill had lifted beneath the bright, warm haze of the midday sun, and the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn shades of red and gold. A cab rushed down her tree-lined street as she made her way for Armitage Street nearby. She wasn’t sure if it was the beautiful fall day in the city or the fact she still felt like she was glowing from her amazing night with Mr. X, but everything just felt shinier...and brighter.
Emma turned the corner and saw the little diner where she’d planned to meet Sarah for lunch. She saw her pretty redheaded friend sitting at a booth near the window and waved to her as she slipped inside and almost skipped to the booth where Sarah sat. Sarah, wearing one of her striking business suits, stood and gave her friend a hug.
“You got laid,” Sarah declared, the second Emma sat down.
“What? How do you know that?” Emma exclaimed.
“Because you’re literally glowing. Radioactive glowing. So... Happy Fun Time was...happy?” Sarah sat, adjusting her expensive wool blazer. No doubt, she planned an afternoon of showing off business offices to corporate representatives.
Emma wrinkled her nose. “God no. He was horrible. Probably a date rapist. Maybe a serial killer.”
“Oh, no.” Sarah leaned forward. “Then don’t tell me you hooked up with your ex, because so help me...” Sarah was no fan of Devin’s. She’d once said he was about as exciting as watching someone else watch paint dry.
“No! He’s in Seattle.” Emma shook her head furiously even as the waitress sat down waters in front of them and a couple of laminated menus. “No, another Nost candidate. Mr. X.”
“Ooh. Mr. X. Mysterious. I like it. Have a picture?” Emma pulled up Mr. X’s profile on her phone and showed her friend. Sarah snatched the phone out of Emma’s hand.
“No way.” She peered at Mr. X’s photograph. “I’m impressed.” Sarah bit her pink lip. “Now, this is what I’m talking about.” She handed Emma’s phone back. “Now...on to a new one tonight?” she half joked as she picked up the menu.
“New one! No. I’m going to meet Mr. X again.”
Sarah dropped the menu in her hands. “Emma. No Strings. No second dates!” Sarah shook her head. “Second dates just get...complicated.”
Emma felt a little disappointment. “Why?”
Sarah shook her head. “Because. Then, you start to almost expect to see them. Best to just keep it at a single date. Trust me. Guys are the worst. You think they’ll be able to cut things off easier than women, but sometimes, it’s just the opposite.”
“What do you mean?” The waitress returned and quickly took their orders. Sarah opted for a lightly dressed salad, and Emma, feeling famished from all her exercise the night before, chose a hamburger and fries.
“Just that. Last time I went on a second date, the guy online stalked me. Started leaving messages for me on Facebook. I had to eventually block him.” Sarah took a sip of water and shrugged. “He actually said he wanted to marry me!”
“No way!” Emma shook her head. “I mean...what on earth did you do to him?”
