Charlotte waited until the server brought our drinks and took our order before leaning her elbows on the table. She rested her chin on her hands in a move that made it clear I held her full focus. “Tell us about the more.”
I inhaled, suddenly nervous and not just because Charlotte’s focus could make a powerful CEO confess a litany of sins. Inviting Jake to the party meant he’d be meeting my friends. For me that was a much bigger deal than meeting biological family.
“It’s my friends-with-benefits guy.”
“The sex toys were a hit, and you want more,” Alex said at a volume sure to carry to the neighboring tables. “I knew you’d love them. What was it—the beads or the clamps?”
“Jesus. Keep it down.” I felt my face flush. “I don’t think the people inside the restaurant heard you.”
“Sorry,” she said, sounding anything but. “I got excited. Did you get excited?” She took a sip of her café au lait and waggled her eyebrows at me.
“Not exactly. We haven’t had a chance to try them out yet.” I looked around the table at my friends’ expectant faces and decided I was done being a coward. “I took the toys to his house and when he invited me inside, I threw up on his feet.”
“You are kidding me.” Charlotte looked equal parts horrified and amused.
“This is a whole new level.” Kindra nodded to herself as if I’d unlocked a video game quest or something.
“It’s not a level I intend on repeating. Ever.”
“What did he do?” asked Meredith.
“He took care of me.” I felt the weight of the words as I said them. After a lifetime of taking care of myself, Jake took care of me. Even my mother had been rubbish at that.
“Oh, honey.” Kindra’s warm brown-eyed gaze met mine. “That’s fantastic.”
“That’s just human,” said Charlotte. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing if the tables were turned.”
I thought for a moment and realized I wasn’t sure I would. I hadn’t even invited Jake to my home.That had to mean something, didn’t it?
“I don’t know.” I didn’t love what that said about me. “Of course, I’d make sure he was okay and that he made it home safely, but I don’t know if I’d have nursed him at my place for three days.”
I told them everything over eggs Benedict and lots of coffee. The way Jake cleaned up after me. The way he’d bought out the sports drink aisle and got his doctor friend to make sure I’d be okay. The way he helped me shower, got me dressed, put me to bed, and then stayed with me, watching movies. I told them the way the sex changed between us and playing girlfriend and how much I’d wanted to spend the night at his place.
“Wow,” said Meredith when I’d finally run out of words.
Alex leaned back in her chair, grinning at me, while Kindra sipped her coffee, watching me over the rim of her cup as if I’d passed some kind of secret intimacy test.
“He saw you without your makeup?” Charlotte set her cup on the saucer and leaned toward me. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you without your makeup. Not that you wear too much. I don’t mean that. You’re just always put together.”
“I’ve known you for years,” said Meredith. “And I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look less than perfect.”
“I have,” said Alex. “But it was at a spa and behind closed doors. You still looked pretty perfect. All glowy.”
Kindra was the only one who didn’t pile on, and I tried hard not to feel attacked. It had been drilled into me for as long as I could remember that my worth was tied to how I looked. Not just the normal pretty girl thing: my worth as a woman, opportunities available to me, everything. My mother lived it every damn day, and she made sure I knew it too.
Jake had seen me at my worst, and he still wanted me.
“When do we get to meet this man?” asked Kindra, bringing the conversation back to the place I’d meant to end up.
“I invited him to Charlotte’s party.” I held my breath, waiting to see how my friends responded.
“Yes,” said Meredith, doing a little chair dance.
“What’s he like—aside from the admittedly awesome bits while you were sick?” asked Charlotte.
I thought about Jake explaining his work to me, and how crazy I’d been to ask him to do computer work for Essex. It was like getting someone like that Turing guy to teach middle school math. Worse, because it wouldn’t be as satisfying. But he hadn’t said anything. He’d done it because I asked him to.
“I’m not sure I can even explain it. He’s wicked smart. He does all kinds of work for universities and research scientists, helping them set up systems to analyze their data and stuff. To map genomes and create drugs and such.” As I struggled to find the words to explain Jake’s work, I got more impressed with him. His work made a real difference in people’s lives. That was important to me too.
