“Wait.” Alex squints, puzzled. “I thought youdidwant to sleep with him?”
“Well, yeah, eventually. But you know I’m looking for more than just sex. I’ve had enough one night stands that go nowhere and I’m over it. I thought we had something, but he couldn’t wait. He got annoyed when I refused to go home with him on our last date, so I walked out.”
Geoff screws up his face. “What a dick.”
“Yeah, that sucks,” Alex says, nodding in sympathy. “What a shame. He was sexyandrich.”
“You’re welcome to him.”
“Oh, no thanks. I’ve got Michael, and he’s better than any other guy out there. He’s it, for me.”
“How do you know that?” I ask. Geoff directs a warning look at me, but I wave him away. I’m not going to get all cynical on her—I’m genuinely interested to hear her explain it.
“Because the feeling is different. Being with him feels unlike any other guy I’ve been with.”
“But… how?” People always say this—that theyknewthis person was “the one” because things were different—but they never say how.
Her lips curl dreamily. “I don’t know. I can’t describe it. There’s just this quality that my other relationships never had. A kind of knowing, deep inside. Things justfeeldifferent, you know?”
I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. Typical Alex and her romantic nonsense.
“Yeah,” Geoff chimes in. “It’s like that with Daniel. Things—”
“Who’s Daniel?” I ask, bewildered. I glance at Alex and she hikes up a shoulder, then turns back to Geoff.
“Well?”
But instead of answering us, he just sits there with a Cheshire grin.
Alex emits an impatient huff. “Geoffrey Howard, if you don’t tell us who thisDanielis, I swear to God…”
“Alright!” He laughs. “I met him at a class in the Village a while ago.”
Alex squeals in delight. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
Fantastic. Even Geoff, my stalwart single friend, is jumping on the love train.
“Yeah, I didn’t want to jinx it,” Geoff says. “But he’s great. And you’re right, Alex; things justfeeldifferent when you meet the right person.”
I release a long, frustrated breath, furrowing my brow. How am I the only one who hasn’t felt this “different” feeling? The last time I felt something close to that was with Mark, and look how that turned out. I thought I’d felt that spark with Shane—thought things had felt different with him—and that wasn’t right either. Fuck, that wasn’t evenclose. My internal compass is completely off. Maybe I don’t even have one.
I look at my two friends, chatting excitedly about their partners, and feel a trickle of despair. What’s so broken in me that I can’t figure this out?
“And the sex is different, too,” Geoff says, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. “Like, things just feel better than with anyone else.”
“Yes!” Alex clasps her hands together. “It’s way different. Sex with Michael is easily the best sex I’ve ever had.”
A wicked grin splits Geoff’s face. “I bet it is,” he says, bouncing his eyebrows.
I chuckle. Even in love with someone else, Geoff can still appreciate the thought of Michael in bed. I know Alex certainly does—she’s filled an entire romance novel with the things they’ve done. And let me just tell you, as a friend… it was way too much information.
Alex swats Geoff on the arm. “You’ve got Daniel now. You have to stop crushing on Michael.”
“Yeah, you’re right. And anyway, Daniel is better.”
“Ugh, you two,” I mutter. “Let’s get another round.” I catch Cory’s eye from the bar and wave, gesturing for more drinks.
“There’s just something about having sex with the right person that makes all the sex you’ve had in the past pale in comparison,” Geoff says.
