AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sooooo,” Serena prompts, “what’s up?”
“Serena…” I pause for dramatic effect. “I think I’m in love.”
“What?” She gasps and giggles at the same time. “With who?”
“Grayson’s friend or brother or whatever. Dex.”
“Is he still mowing your lawn?”
“Sometimes. I think his friend is taking care of it now. Listen,” I demand. I need to tell her this before I lose my nerve. What if she repeats this to Grayson, and he tells Dex, and Dex thinks I’m a nutjob? No, Serena wouldn’t do that. She already holds plenty of my secrets.
“I’m listening,” Serena says so warmly, I can picture her eager-to-hear-my-story smile.
I relay the day’s events, leaving out the bit where I was so nervous riding on the back of Dex’s bike, I probably cracked a few of his ribs.
When she finishes laughing, she sighs. “Dex has always been really nice. I’m not surprised he helped you out.”
“I’m sure it’s just out of obligation to your fiancé, or ol’ man—whatever you call your Silver Wolf Murder Daddy.”
“Wow, what a mouthful. I can’t wait to tell Gray you called him my—”
“Don’t you dare tell him I said that.” My cheeks heat. “I’m kidding, anyway.”
“You’re on point, though,” she says with a gentle, dreamy laugh.
“Please don’t regale me with stories of all the sex you’re having.”
“I wouldnever,” she gasps in mock indignation.
“Anyway, I invited Dex over for dinner Friday.” I plow ahead with my story, needing her thoughts on the situation. “But he was kind of weird about it.”
“Wait, what? You invited a guy to yourhouse?” Her voice rises a few octaves to punctuate her surprise. “Why, Ms. Walker, that’s a violation of rule number three,” she teases.
“That rule is for dates I meetonline. To avoid inviting strangers into my house. It’s a safety precaution,” I argue in my haughtiest tone. “Dex isn’t a stranger.”
“All right. That’s fair. Rule four is no cooking on a first date, though.”
“This isn’t a date,” I insist. “Trust me. Dex was very clear on that. I just wanted to thank him for being so nice to me today.”
“What do you mean he said it wasn’t a date?”
“At first, he made up some excuse about going on a trip? But then said he’d postpone it until my car is ready. That’s weird, though. Right?”
“I’m stumped. But Dex has always been a bit of an enigma.”
Enigma.That’s a good word for him. “Hey, enough about me and my lonely libido. How are you feeling?”
“My ankles are three times larger than they used to be, but it’s okay because I can’t even see my feet—”
“Then how do you know your ankles are bigger?”
“Shut up. I’m serious. I need this baby out of menow.” She sniffles. “I’ve been reduced to wearing Crocs.”
Do not laugh.To my beauty-blogger best friend, Crocs must be the ultimate style indignity.“Are they at least in a cute color?”
“They’re pink with a fuzzy lining.”
“Sounds cozy.” I sip my tea and try not to laugh.
