“Girl.” Maeve shook her head.
“He needs a woman in his life.”
“Does he now?” My friend crossed her arms.
“Not like that! I just meant he needs a woman to make it seem like there’s nothing shady going on with his sisters.”
“As long as the girls aren’t stumbling out of clubs at two a.m. in the morning, I don’t think people are going to give him a second look.”
“They might,” I said stubbornly. “Beck is very concerned.”
“You’re not getting paid enough to get involved in his drama. You have your own drama,” my friend reminded me. “One of the student loan creditors showed up at the apartment last night looking for you.”
“If you don’t pay it off after seven years, the debt is forgiven, right?” I asked nervously.
“I think student loan debt is the exception.”
“I sent you the rent payment, right?” I asked hopefully.
“No, you sent me a wine emoji with a promise to pay later.”
“I had to pay my phone bill!” I said, tangling my fingers in my hair. “And pay off some credit card debt on a card I forgot I had even used.”
“At least if you sleep with Beck, you can probably pillow talk him into a raise.”
“Doesn’t that make me, like, I don’t know, a sugar baby or something?” I chewed on my lip.
“No, it makes you like Julia Roberts inPretty Woman.”
“I’m not that thin, and my hair isn’t wavy; it’s just frizzy.”
“As long as it’s thick enough for Beck to grab onto while he’s reaming you from behind!” Maeve waggled her eyebrows.
“Oh my gosh!”
“Just sleep with him,” Maeve said, “or at least let him eat you out. All this lovey-dovey talk is very out of character for you. You’re probably hyped-up on hormones from living in his house, surrounded by his scent. If you sleep with him, it will probably reset your brain. Not to mention, he was pretty clear about how your job had an expiration date. You don’t want to fall in love with him from afar then be blindsided when he fires you as soon as the adoption goes through.”
“Right,” I said, then tugged at my skirt. I needed new clothes that actually fit. “But I can’t just throw myself at him.”
“You also can’t give him bad sex,” Maeve reminded me. “You don’t want to make it awkward. It’s still a few months before the adoption, right? You don’t want to have to see him every day and have him think about the time that you just starfished and made weird noises while you guys did missionary. You can’t embarrass yourself.”
“Oh gosh. I haven’t had sex since Kaden, and we know what that turned into. I suck at sex.”
“You just have to make him do all the work but make him think you’re participating more than you are,” Maeve coached.
“That sounds like psychology, and you know I barely passed that class in college.” I grimaced.
“It’s easy,” Maeve instructed. “Just when he’s getting all hot and heavy, go like a bit dominatrix and tell him to eat you out, then he’ll be like, ‘Oh this woman is interesting and really doing things for me.’ It will keep him intrigued. Just don’t fall asleep.”
“This sounds like a lot,” I said desperately. “I shouldn’t sleep with him. This is crazy. I don’t know why I’m even talking like that. I need a snack.”
Maeve followed me to the floor’s kitchen.
“You need to get laid,” Maeve hissed in my ear. “You’re sprouting off crazy ideas about how awesome Beck is. You’re dangerously close to falling in love with him.”
“I’m not. I’m just hungry,” I whispered. “I have my leftover lunch in the fridge. I’ll feel better after I eat.”
I had a large slice of quiche from brunch and a cinnamon roll in my lunch box in the fridge. I had written my name all over it and included a note that read, “Don’t you dare eat this!”
