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“I can’t text him first. I’ll let him get off his flight and text me he’s landed safely and then send him a selfie. I’ve got to let the boy chase me a bit.”
Kat snorts. “As opposed to what you did last night?”
She’s teasing me playfully, not judging me. As we both know, Kat has had more than her fair share of first-night hookups. In fact, she loves hooking up on first dates, if the guy is hot enough—as all her dates are, basically—as long as she’s sure he doesn’t have long-term potential. But what I did with Henn last night, including the raunchy way I invited him into my room, was a first for me, and Kat not only knows that, she’s enthralled by it.
“In all seriousness,” I say, “do you think I hopped into bed with Henn too quickly?”
“What? Of course, not. You were feeling it, and so was he, so you both went for it. Godspeed, my friends.”
“Studies say sex too soon lowers the chances of a relationship becoming serious. I’m not looking for a fun hook-up. I’m looking for a boyfriend.”
“Henn knows that. I personally think it’s a great sign you couldn’t resist inviting him to ride your Slip ‘n’ Slide.” She snickers.
“I never should have told you that.”
“And yet, you did. And now it’s my favorite thing.”
“If first-date sex is no big deal, then why were you so determined not to sleep with Josh too soon?”
Kat scoffs. “Because Josh is a playboy—a guy used to getting anything and anyone he wants at the snap of his fingers. But Henn’s nothing like that. He’s humble. Plus, he’s made it abundantly clear he’s into you as a person. With Josh and me, our connection is so fucking sexual, it’s hard for me to figure out if that’s all there is.”
“Of course, that’s not all there is. He’s obviously totally into you.”
“We shall see. In the meantime, there’s no doubt we’ll have a whole lot of fun.”
Kat turns over onto her back again and sips her rum punch, looking contemplative, so I drink my piña colada and try to decipher the source of my pitted stomach. I think maybe I’m paranoid, thanks to my whirlwind romance with Angus two years ago that turned out to be nothing but a scam on his part. A cruel money grab. It’s not that I think, even for a minute, that Henn is using me like that, but I’m not willing to trust every word out of anyone’s mouth this early on, either.
“I think, out of an abundance of caution,” I say, “when Henn comes to Seattle, I’ll tell him I want to press the reset button on our physical relationship and slow things down. I think we both got swept up in the fantasy vibe of Vegas, but when we’re back to real life, we’ll benefit from taking things at a normal pace.”
“I’m sure Henn will be supportive of whatever you want to do.”
“It’s not that I doubt Henn. It’s just that I’ve been stupid and gullible in the past.”
Kat looks sympathetic. “You’re talking about that dumb jock scammer you told me about?” Kat juts her lower lip in sympathy. “Aw, honey. Don’t beat yourself up about him. All women, including me, have at least one embarrassing story about some dumbass lying sack of shit who played them like a fiddle. I certainly have a story like that. Live and learn, sister.”
“Yeah, but at least you didn’t say yes to marrying your dumbass lying sack of shit.”
“Pfft,” Kat says. “I’ve had belches that lasted longer than your so-called engagement to that scumbag.” To prove her point, she opens her mouth and lets out a loud, disgusting burp that makes me wince and guffaw in equal measure.
“It’s so jarring when you do that,” I say. “My brain can’t process a sound that hideous coming out of something so pretty.”
“That’s what happens when a girl grows up with four disgusting brothers, babe; she learns to out-belch ‘em all.” Kat giggles with me. “Seriously, though, don’t beat yourself up about saying yes when that asshole proposed to you. He was a master manipulator.”
“The crazy thing is I’ve never even wanted to get married all that much. Yes, I want to fall in love with my soulmate and have a life partner and maybe even a kid one day. But the whole idea of marriage has never appealed to me all that much.”
“Because of your parents’ divorce?”
“Maybe. All I know is I’ve never once dreamed of myself walking down the aisle in a white dress.”
“Oh, I have.”
That’s not news to me, but even so, Kat’s Disney-like expression nonetheless touches my heart. I know Kat comes across at first blush as a wild, fun party girl, but when you get to know her, she turns out to be a diehard romantic who’s awaiting her prince—a girl who genuinely believes in fairytales. Maybe that’s because she grew up observing parents who’ve always been deeply in love. Maybe she’s simply wired differently than me. Either way, I know for a fact Kat’s excited to one day meet the love of her life and become his wife.
