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“What kind of things does she say?” Lora slumped into a chair at the kitchen table. “Also, do either of you want pizza?”
“Yeah, I could go for some pizza.” We agreed to order our usual from the same spot that we always got it from. Ivy tapped away on her phone while I continued recounting the story. “She’ll be like, ‘I wonder what else tastes as good as the beer you deliver.’ Or, ‘If only I were one of those barrels so you could push me around.’”
“Wo-o-ow,” Lora said, raising both her eyebrows. “She sounds like a player.”
“Isn’t that weird? I’ve never had a girl make moves on me like that before.”
“You look like you enjoyed it,” Ivy said. “You’re glowing with pride.”
Was I? I shrugged. “It’s nice to know I have a wide appeal.”
“Ah, so this girl is stroking your ego,” Ivy said.
I couldn’t deny that. “I’m kind of worried I’m letting it go too far, though. What if I don’t draw the line and she thinks something’s actually going to happen?”
“That’s on her, not on you,” Lora said. “She knows you’re straight, right?”
“I think so.” We hadn’t talked about our love lives, but wasn’t it obvious?
Lora leaned back in her chair with a chuckle. “All right, as long as you’re not misleading the poor girl. I’d try kissing a girl for fun, but anything more than that… blech.”
I made a face, too. I couldn’t imagine going past first base with a girl. Well, maybe second.
“Remember that one time?” Ivy asked, pointing at me and Lora.
Lora snorted. “How could I forget?”
I dropped my head into my hands. “Oh God, don’t remind me.”
I had been wasted. Like,wasted.I blacked out later in the night, but unfortunately too late to erase my most embarrassing moment from my mind.
We’d been at a club on vacation in Miami, and everything had felt wild and free. People were bumping and grinding all around us, the heat of their bodies sending shockwaves through my veins. It was ladies night, so all drinks were free, and I partook over and over.
Someone in the crowd slammed into me, shoving me straight against Lora. She caught me in her arms, and I looked up at her, and I just felt so grateful that she’d saved me, something overtook me. That was all it was, gratitude, but in that moment my mind wasn’t working right, and I thought the best way to thank her would be to plant one on her.
So I kissed her, all wet and sloppy, and when people started whooping and cheering around us, she kissed me back for another long moment. It felt strange, with the softness of her lips and the smell of her hair, but not in a bad way.
Afterwards, my friends seemed to forget it had happened. They never brought it up. It’d just been one of those wild, crazy things that happened when you partied too much. I’d definitely never talked about it with Lora.
“You were a terrible kisser,” Lora told me.
“Excuse you! I happen to be a great kisser.”
She rolled her eyes. “Keep lying to yourself.”
As the conversation moved onward, a strange thought formed fuzzily in the back of my mind.
If I ever went for a girl for real, it’d be someone like Tara.
5
Tara
I weighed a cantaloupe in each hand, trying to guess which one was smaller. Now that I was working full-time, I had the luxury of buying fresh fruits and vegetables. Still, I didn’t want to waste too much money on something with so little nutritional content.
I’d already stocked up on frozen dinners, as well as bread and deli meat for sandwiches. This would be my single luxury for the week.Treat yourself, Tara.I set the smaller cantaloupe back and added the larger one to my shopping cart.
As I headed for the check-out, a familiar face caught my eye. “Chelsea?” I squinted at the pretty girl who delivered alcohol to my bookstore. “What are you doing here?”
