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* * *
“So why didn’tyou kiss her?” Linley asked the next day, when I stopped by the bakery to give her an update on my afternoon with Esme.
“Because it wasn’t the right time,” I said.
“Why not?”
“Because!” I said, and then realized I was yelling. “Because I have a plan, and kissing is the next step, but I have to lure her some more first. Wyatt would have tried to kiss her. I’m being better than Wyatt.”
“Okay, okay,” she said. Currently she was rolling out pie crusts for the summer strawberry pie. I had already ordered one for myself and one for my mom when they were done, with a tub of fresh whipped cream that they made in huge fluffy batches. Sometimes I just ate that stuff with a spoon.
“I’ll just have you know that my cake played a part in this plan, and I’m going to be smug about it,” she said, pushing the rolling pin with practiced ease.
“Your smugness has been well-earned. You’re welcome to it.”
“Excellent.”
She carefully lay the pie crust in the pan and then crimped the edges before getting it back in the fridge and moving on to the next crust.
“Gray’s taking me out this weekend. We’re meeting in the middle again, but this time at a new place. I let him pick this time.”
I leaned on the counter. “What are you wearing?”
“So, I was thinking about that cute dress I got when we went thrifting last month. You know, the yellow one with the flowers?”
“The one that’s both pioneer and sexy at the same time?”
“Yeah. If it wasn’t so hot, I’d wear it with my black boots, but I think sandals will be better.”
I nodded in agreement.
“I’m packing condoms and lube in my purse. Just in case,” she admitted, as if she was commenting on a change in the weather.
I cupped my hand around my ear. “Excuse me, Linley? Did I hear that right? You’re bringing condoms and lube on your date?”
Her eyes went wide. “Shhhh, I don’t want my parents to hear. They don’t need to know about my sex life.” She said the last part in a hushed voice.
“Well, you shouldn’t have brought up condoms,” I said just as Martha walked into the room.
“What about condoms?” She glared at me and then looked at Linley and back at me as I floundered.
“I was uhhh, just talking about them because people should use them. People who are having sex. Not me, obviously. I never have sex.” I couldn’t stop babbling and Martha’s eyes just got more and more narrow as I flailed.
“Mom, I’ll be done in ten,” Linley said, saving me. Martha gave me one last look and then turned to her daughter.
“Condoms are important, not just for pregnancy prevention, but they also protect you from STDs. I want you girls to remember that.” We each got a Mom Glare before she left the kitchen again. I almost collapsed on the floor.
“Your mom can be terrifying sometimes. Holy shit,” I said.
Linley braced herself on the counter. “I am never talking about that in here again. Thanks for trying to save me.”
“I’m not sure how much saving I did, but you’re welcome anyway. What are friends for?”
* * *
Esmeand I kept sporadically talking via text and voice memo for the rest of the week. I stayed away from the bar on purpose and tried not to talk to her too much. Had to leave her wanting more. She also had times when she was just unavailable, probably while she was at work, so I got used to not hearing from her for a while.
Esme had a biting wit that I hadn’t known about until now. She didn’t take a whole lot of things too seriously, and she loved her dad fiercely. She didn’t talk about what happened to her mom, but it wasn’t like everyone in town didn’t know that she’d passed away from cancer when Esme was nine or ten. I couldn’t relate to losing a parent like that, but my dad was gone from my life, so that part I could understand.
