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Carla got the message though. She was pretty quiet all the way to the pub where they were meeting Alex and his friend, Jay. She didn’t ask for any more details or ask how far the line was crossed, or what the definition of that line was. She chatted about work and about going thrift shopping or looking for antiques on the weekend, or maybe giving the new bakery down the street a try.
Muffy knew what her friend was doing. She was trying to keep her mind off how nervous she was about meeting one of Alex’s friends. His good friend. She got the impression that Jay was to Alex like Carla was to her. She didn’t want to think about the possibility of Jay not liking her. Or Carla. Or maybe both of them. Would Alex stop seeing her then? When she tried not to think about that, she went back to thinking about the whipped cream and how talented Alex was with his tongue and that made her whole body go hot and tingly. She didn’t exactly need her ovaries doing cartwheels of excitement after she hadn’t seen Alex all week, so she tamped it down and just went back to being so nervous about the whole date that her hands left sweaty marks on the steering wheel.
“Relax,” Carla said easily as Muffy navigated the car into a tight parking space outside the pub and killed the engine. “It’s going to be fine. This is supposed to be fun, not something horrible that you have to endure just to get to another date.”
“What if his friend hates me? He’s probably the kind of friend that’s closer than a brother. What if he tells Alex that I’m homely and my name is stupid and that I look desperate or that I’m baby hungry or that Alex could do better or something and then he never wants to see me again?”
Carla, because she was Carla and there was a reason Muffy loved her like a sister, set her hand on top of Muffy’s clammy fingers. “Seriously, if Alex stopped dating you because someone said something that stupid, he’s not worth dating. There are lots of guys out there. Don’t worry.”
“So you keep saying, but seriously, this isn’t easy. I didn’t even want to do that stupid online profile or go out with anyone. This is a lot of work for me. It takes courage to do this.”
“Look how rewarding it is though. And I was right. About it all. You still have one more strike, if I remember correctly.”
“I don’t want any more strikes,” Muffy grumbled. “I’m enjoying hanging out with Alex. I don’t want his friend to hate me. Friends do that, don’t they? Judge immediately and then spoil everything?”
“The only way he could spoil everything is if he’s extremely jealous.”
“Oh god. I didn’t even think of that.”
Carla squeezed Muffy’s fingers and winked. “Relax. If he starts acting like a dick or looking at you funny, I’ll make sure that I distract him.”
“What would you do? Seriously, keep it to conversation only.”
“Oh, I was planning on it. I’ve been trained over the years to talk endlessly about boring topics like sports and cars all night. Or maybe I’ll just lean over and make sure that my camisole dips just right and give him an eyeful of the girls. That usually gets them off track pretty fast.”
“You’re impossible.”
“The best kind of impossible or the worst kind?”
Muffy giggled. Some of the tension eased out of her shoulders. “The best kind.”
“Good. Now. Grab your purse and stop being so nervous. Put a smile on that face. You look great. You are great. Any guy who can’t see that seriously isn’t worth wasting your time on no matter how talented they are with their mouth.”
“Carla!” How her BFF knew was beyond Muffy. She hadn’t breathed a word about what happened at Alex’s apartment.
Carla’s laughter trailed after her as she let herself out of the car. There was nothing left to do but take a deep breath, slide out of the safety of the nice warm car, and trail after her best friend.
CHAPTER 16
Alex
Muffy and her roommate didn’t just steal his breath when they walked into the pub. Beside him, Alex felt Jay actually tense. He shoved an elbow into his friend’s side without looking at him.
They’d taken a booth near the back. The place was small and crowded. Apparently, it was one of the favorite Irish pubs in the neighborhood. Alex hated crowds at the best of time and being rammed up against Jay, who didn’t exactly smell rosy at the moment, since it was hot in the place and all the bodies taking up all the other booths and chairs and tables weren’t exactly helping with the temperature control. Jay was smart and had dressed in a plain black t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. The jeans were designer but underneath the table hopefully, no one would notice.
