With a sigh, Justine told her all about Wednesday evening coffee and meeting Auggie, and then the near kiss in the laundry room. “And I swear,” she ended, “I can’t be sure, as I was trying not to get caught staring, that he was pretty excited to be near me, if you know what I mean.”
“What? No.” Katie shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth and chewed like a hungry squirrel.
“What do you mean, no? And ew, I can see your food.”
“I can’t believe you waited until now to tell me. How are we best friends?”
“Oh stop. I haven’t told anyone else.” Not that she had anyone else to tell. Well, if Aunt Rosie had been around, she might have called her. But then, probably not. Her aunt had a way of making her feel like an old cow put out to pasture, as her aunt liked to say, and Justine had yet to reach thirty.
“I’m still a little confused,” Katie said. “I know you and Mitch didn’t end in a good way. Well, minus any drama, it was the driest breakup ever. No screaming or throwing things. You just took a few extra weeks to get all your stuff together, slept in the spare room, and were never home. Then you moved all your stuff here.”
“I thought it was a mature way to end things.”
“Bah.” Katie scowled. “You’re an amazing person with creative ideas and a real passion for life. Except when it comes to guys. Xavier seems intelligent.”
“He is.”
“Nice.”
“He’s nice.”
“And he’s freaking hot. You have to admit that.”
Her cheeks still felt warm as she answered, “He is.”
“So what’s the problem? There’s no time limit between getting new boyfriends. And let’s face it. Mitch was a pain for a long time,” Katie pointed out. “You and he had emotionally broken up months ago. Why not see where this thing with Xavier leads?”
“That’s my point. There is no thing with Xavier.” But there could have been yesterday. Right? Or had she been readinginto the situation? She shook her head. “No, I know he felt something. He touched my cheek.”
“To remove an eyelash, you said.” Katie snorted. “That’s right up there with the stretch to land an arm around your shoulders. I can’t believe neither of you made a move.”
“Well, Sam interrupted. Or maybe I’m delusional.”
“No, you know what you felt and saw.” Katie added with a sly smile, “So what exactly did you see that made you think he might be super ‘excited’ to see you?”
Justine blushed, remembering. “I didn’t mean to look down at him. I couldn’t help myself. And it was just... His jeans looked pretty tight. And he was pretty, um, er, big.”
“Um, er, big? Which in Justine-ese, meanshuge,right?”
“Stop it.” Justine laughed. “How are you so able to talk about all this without blushing?”
“Have you met my mother? The one who’s sonotembarrassed about anything that she’s actually embarrassing about everything?”
“Oh, right.”
“And anyway, you’re repressed. Not your fault, since your parents are always on you to conform and behave—whatever that means. But come on, sex should be fun. Adventurous. And always with a man with wonderful proportions.” Katie paused. “Unless you’re not into men or physical sex. Not judging, just saying.”
Justine sighed. “You know I like guys.”
Katie brightened. “Right. So you want ‘em hung and into making you happy. Seriously, sixty-second wonders, no matter how big they are, aren’t worth more than the eye candy.”
A knock at the door startled them both.
Justine answered to find Xavier standing in the doorway.
“Hi, Justine. Can I talk to you?”
She pulled back, and he glanced at Katie sitting in the living room munching on popcorn.
