“Your brother and Sue? I swear, I leave for one day and it’s like the world tilts off its axis.”
“Tell me about Italy,” I asked him. “Now that everyone’s done boning, I can hear Mike snoring on the couch. He sounds like a sawmill. So I doubt I’ll fall asleep anytime soon.”
He chuckled and yawned. “There’s not much to tell. The airplane landed, I guess you figured that out. I slept most of the flight. Our ride to the hotel was an adventure, because the driver was talking a mile a minute and no one could understand a word he said. I only got here ten minutes ago.”
“You’re all at the same hotel?” I asked.
“Yeah. But Vivian’s at the other end of the hall! Don’t worry, I promise there’s no way we’ll…hey, are you laughing at me?”
“I am,” I said. “I’m not used to you being nervous. It’s cute.”
“Jen, have some respect for my reputation as an insensitive man.”
“Jack, I trust you.”
“I know, but I want you toreallytrust me.”
“OK,” I said, “we’ll make a deal. Go do your work, don’t do anything stupid, prove to me Vivian’s just your friend, and I’ll agree that I overreacted. Then we can put the whole thing behind us.”
“How will you know if I’m lying?”
“Let’s get one thing straight,” I told him. “There’s no girl who can compare to me, so I’m really not worried about it.”
“Is this a new you, or have you just been keeping this sassy side of yourself hidden from me all this time?” he asked.
“I’m the same woman,” I said. “I’m just trying to be less timid.”
“Oh, we should get in some practice, then,” he murmured slyly. “I’ve got an idea. You could tell me what you have on. Or better yet, what you don’t have on. That way, we can see if you’re telling the truth or just boasting.”
Putting on my sexiest voice, I purred, “Well, let’s see here… I have on a T-shirt from a very erotic amusement park…some cotton pants… I’ve got my hair pulled back with a scrunchie…”
“And underneath that?”
“There is nothing underneath that.”
“Are you lying?” he asked.
“No. Do you want a photo?”
I could almost feel the steam coming out of his ears. “Hell yes, I want a photo. Two photos. A photo album, if you’ve got time for it.”
“I wonder what you can do to convince me.”
“Jen, this is torture. You know how I get.”
I started laughing. I was telling the truth, though. I usually slept in panties and a T-shirt, but I hadn’t done the wash today, so I had raided Jack’s closet for something to wear to bed.
“OK, we’ll let it go, then. Maybe we can resume tomorrow. I’m not exactly in a sexting mood right now anyway. I’d love to keep talking, but I need some sleep, and you’ve got to get to work, right?”
“For sure.”
I smiled and said, “Don’t overdo it, Jack. You’re gonna knock their socks off, but that takes energy, and I don’t want you getting sick or stressed out. I need you back in the condition I left you in.” I kissed the screen as I heard him laugh.
“Love you, Jen.”
“Love you, too, Jack.”
We both hung up at the same time. I looked at the ceiling a moment, then down at myself, and tugged at my pants until they revealed the curveof my hip and one side of my buttocks. I took a photo, then erased it. Then another. Then ten more.
