“They were for me. Twice.”
“I really don’t want that for us.”
“Ditto.”
“But the problem is I kissed you.”
“And I kissed you back. I’m the one who escalated the?—”
“Nice try, but as the dumpee, I was the one acting out because of low self-esteem.”
“I wouldn’t say that you have?—”
“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck.”
“You just wanted to scratch an itch.”
“It goes deeper than that. I should be practicing self-love.”
“Are we talking battery-operated boyfriend?”
“No! I mean, maybe, but mostly positive self-talk, like in the mirror. I need to build my?—”
“I would love to agree with you on the self-esteem thing, but?—”
“My actions speak for me, Adam. Not a single expert recommends hitting on your best friend eight lousy days after a breakup. This is my issue and I?—”
“You’re not taking all the blame. I won’t let you.”
“Try and stop me.”
“Evidently I’ll have to. You’ve been around the square twice.”
“Damn it.” She checked her location. Sure enough, she was on the opposite side from the Raccoon. She headed Bluebell down the street in that direction, picking out an empty parking spot near the entrance. “Did you hang out the window and wave?”
“Missed my chance. I was too busy arguing with you.”
“At least I hope I made my point.”
“Sounds to me like you plan to substitute mirrors and vibrators for the real thing.”
She groaned. “You’re no help. It’s not just about sex. My actions on New Year’s Eve demonstrate that something’s wacko with my self-image.”
“What if itisjust about sex? I wasn’t gonna ask this, but under the circumstances maybe I need to. Was Sean any good?”
“None of your business.” She slipped into the parking space and switched off the engine.
“You’re right. Never mind. I shouldn’t have?—”
“It was one of our areas of disagreement.”
“Look, you don’t have to?—”
“He thought we should have more of it.”
“But you didn’t?”
“He’s a great guy, a wonderful person. I wanted so much to make it work, but I… he didn’t… I wasn’t….”
