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Fleur set aside her pizza. “He’s barely looked up from his typewriter in weeks. When I go upstairs to check on him, he doesn’t even see me.” But they still ran together sometimes in the morning, although they never spoke about anything important, and Jake had shown up in her kitchen for breakfast a couple of times.
“Translated that means that you’re not sleeping together.”
The topic of Jake was too complicated, so she settled on the simplest response. “He was my mother’s lover.”
“Not technically,” Kissy replied. “And I’ve been thinking about that. Everything I’ve heard about her indicates Belinda’s a very seductive woman. Jake was a young guy. She came on to him. You and Jake weren’t lovers at the time, and whatever happened between them didn’t have anything to do with you.”
“She had to know how I felt about him,” Fleur said bitterly, “but she jumped into bed with him anyway.”
“That speaks volumes about her, but not about him.” Kissy tucked her legs under her. “You don’t really still believe that old garbage about Jake seducing you for the sake of his movie, do you? I’ve only met him a few times, but that’s obviously not his style. I’m sure he has his faults, but blind ambition doesn’t seem to be one of them.”
“He has his faults, all right. He’s the most emotionally dishonest person I’ve ever met. You should see the way he puts up a barrier against anyone who gets too close. He’ll give me little glimpses of who he is, then he slams the door. That’s fine in a casual friendship, but not for someone who loves him.”
Kissy set down the pizza crust and stared at her. Fleur’s cheeks grew hot. “I’m not in love with him! God, Kissy, I was talking generally. Yes, there are things about him I love—mainly his looks and his body. But…” She let her hand fall into her lap. “I can’t afford him. I’ve had too many dishonest, manipulative people in my life, and I don’t need another one.”
Kissy mercifully changed the subject. They chatted about Olivia Creighton’s latest neurosis, and what clothes Kissy should take to London. Eventually, however, Kissy seemed to run out of things to say, and that’s when Fleur realized the name “Charlie Kincannon” hadn’t crossed her lips all evening. But Kissy’s eyes were sparkling, and she could barely sit still to eat. Maybe her excitement wasn’t all about work. “Something’s going on with you and Charlie.”
“Charlie?”
“It is! Spit it out.”
“Really, Fleur, such a vulgar expression.”
She pulled the pizza crust from Kissy’s fingers. “No more food until you tell me what’s happening.”
Kissy hesitated and then pulled her knees up. “Don’t laugh, okay? I know you’ll think this is silly…” She twisted a curl around her finger. “Actually…” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “I think I might be in love.”
“Why would I think that’s silly?”
“Because Charlie isn’t exactly the most likely companion for me, considering my history.”
Fleur smiled. “I’ve always thought you and Charlie were the most likely of companions. You were the one who didn’t agree.”
Now that Kissy’s news was out, she wanted to tell everything before she lost her nerve. “I feel so stupid. He’s the most wonderful man I ever met, but I didn’t know how to relate to a guy who wanted me for something other than sex. Every time I tried to seduce him, he started talking about Kierkegaard, or dadaism, or the Knicks, for God’s sake. And…listen to this…No matter what we were talking about, he never once tried to dominate the conversation. He didn’t talk at me like other men do. He was genuinely interested in my opinions. He challenged me. And the more we talked, the more I remembered how smart I really am.” Kissy’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Fleur, it felt so good.”
Fleur’s own eyes stung. “Charlie’s a special person, and so are you.”
“The funny thing was that at first all I could think about was getting him into bed, which, let’s face it, is where I’m most comfortable. I’d brush up against him or tell him my muscles were sore and I needed a back rub. Or when he’d come to pick me up, I wouldn’t quite have all my clothes on. But no matter how brazen I acted, he didn’t seem to notice. After a while, I started to forget about seducing him and just started enjoying his company. That’s when I realized he wasn’t quite as unaffected by me as he pretended. But it still took forever for him to get serious.”
At Kissy’s dreamy expression, Fleur smiled. “Looks like it was worth the wait.”
Kissy grinned. “I didn’t let him touch me.”
“You’re kidding?”
“It was so nice being courted. Then, two weeks ago, he came over to the apartment one night after rehearsal. He started kissing me, and I was really enjoying it, but I started to feel afraid. You know. Afraid that after everything that had gone on, I’d disappoint him. I could tell by his expression that he knew how I felt because he just smiled that sweet, understanding smile of his. And then he said we ought to play Scrabble.”
“Scrabble?” There was such a thing as carrying restraint too far, and Fleur was disappointed in Charlie.
“Well…not regular Scrabble. Sort of—strip Scrabble.”
Good for you, Charlie. Fleur arched an eyebrow. “Might one ask how this particular perversion is played?”
“It’s really pretty simple. For every twenty points your opponent scores, you have to take off one item of clothing. And you know, Fleur, as much as I wanted to go to bed with him, I really did like being courted, and I happen to be a truly exceptional Scrabble player.” She swept a dramatic arc through the air. “I started out strong with ‘klepht’ and ‘pewit.’”
“I’m impressed.”
“Then I hit him right between the eyes with ‘whey’ and ‘jargon’ on a double word score.”
