She laughs and pushes on my arm. “And tonight, I’m totally going to let him have my ass.”
Jesus, she really does like him. I’ve known Julia for about five years now, since the first day we met at work, and backdoor parties were always something she used as leverage in relationships. You know, when she wanted something, or for birthdays. She didn’t just give her ass up for nothing. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“Oh holy orgasms of Heaven, he’s walking down the hallway now,” she whispers, squeezing my hand like a vice grip then spins me around and shoves me back out of the conference room.
“Jane.” Julia says my name with a half a nervous giggle. “This is Nathanial, but everyone calls him Nate. Nate this is one of my closest work friends, Jane.”
Oh God. No freaking way.
I want the floor to open up and swallow me.
I open my mouth to say hello, but nothing but a tiny “Eh, uh-oh-ugh,” comes tumbling out. My heart beats out of my chest and heat spreads across my cheeks andOh My God, I can’t even swallow. I think I’m dying.
I’m dead.
It’s Kiss Cam guy.
It’s Mr. FREAKING PERFECT.
I mean, of course it is. The one guy I shared the best, most romantic, panty-melting kiss with, gave my best friend five orgasms last night.
Nate clears his throat, “Uh…Hey, Jane. It’s uh, nice to meet you.” His eyes are a brilliant mix of blues and greens that match his shirt, and the way they look at me in that moment makes me a bit dizzy and a lot heart attacky.Fuck my life.
Our hands entwine in a weird shake and electric sparks dance up my arms from touching him. “Nate,” I choke out. “It’s a great thing to see—me you, and well, hi—uh,” I look spastically between Julia and Mr. Perfect Nathaniel Kiss Cam Five Ohs In One Freaking Night and nod stupidly. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s not be late for the uh, meeting.”
I might have stumbled into the wall while trying to go through the open door of the conference room, and cried out a curse, but let’s not dwell on the details of meeting the one guy I’d been dreaming about for the last month. I desperately want to turn around and run out of the conference room. I want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him and scream and yell and cry out,“Why did you have to kiss me like that? When you were supposed to be dating Julia?”
Why did he have to be at that game? Did he go to the game then straight out to dinner with her that night, rightafterkissing me? Did it feel like nothing to him? Did it feel like nothing to him when it felt like the world lined up a little closer to perfection for me that night?
What am I supposed to say to Julia? Do I tell her? What the freaking hell would I say, “Hey, when you just started dating your new guy, he stuck his tongue in my mouth? Oh, and he’s the guy I want to marry.”
And I’ve been dreaming about having his babies.
A boy and a girl, Noah and Olivia. That stupid kiss started some sort of biological countdown inside me and my ovaries have been planning some sort of wild celebration.
What kind of hellish karma is this? I finish my stumble through the conference room, with the burn of vomit teasing the back of my throat, and my heart dragging lifelessly on the floor behind me.
“So nice of you to join us,” Gail chirps from her seat at the head of the conference table. I give her a curt nod and take my regular seat. There’s no need to rush. We’re not late, and seriously, I know exactly the article I’m getting stuck with. Either the one about thesexiest eye shadow trends this monthor thehottest novels to jill off too. Maybe I should ask to do an article about secretly kissing your best friend’s boyfriend—wait, this isn’t all bad. Well, it’s shitty for me, but she said they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend yet, they were just dating. Technically, he didn’t cheat on her. God, I feel sick.
I’m barely focusing on the meeting, tapping out another quick tweet about people in the workplace who bring tuna for lunch and how they should be fired on the spot, and what a great devilish bitch Karma is, when Gail’s bird-like nose whistles in a deep inhale. She also claps wildly to get my attention.
I toss my phone down and bite the inside of my cheek, flustered.
“How to not get caught cheating. Gavin you take this. You seem a champ at it.Great ways to enhance blowjobs. Nice pitch, but let’s take it from a guy’s point of view. Dex, you write it,” Gail says.
I slowly shift my eyes across the room toMr. PerfectNate. He’s staring straight at Gail, listening intently. He obviously isn’t my Mr. Perfect any longer; I need to step over the shit that’s landed in my life, not in it.
Okay, just breathe and focus on the meeting. Dex is going to write an article about ways to enhance blowjobs. That’s perfect for him since he’s such a dick.
Dex’s face reddens as he tries to persuade her to give him another story. She holds up her hand to stop him from talking. I muffle a laugh. Of course, Gail catches it and hits me with a sinister smirk, “Jane, darling, I want you doing the front piece on one-night stands.”
Wait, what?
“That was my pitch,” Dex cuts in, leaning forward. “I’m a much better—”
“And you’re a man,” Gail snaps, standing up and slapping her palms down on the table. “The opposite view from a lonely, shy, frumpy girl in her late thirties would be a fuck of a lot funnier. And really, Dex, we’ve all heard of your exploits, and they aren’t as newsworthy. It’s the same old story, the player and the one-night stand. That’s boring and has been done thousands of times. I want a fresh eye on this story. A new point of view.”
Late thirties? Did she say late fucking thirties? I’m only thirty-two.
