‘Seriously, babe, he’ll put himself out of commission,’ Paisley advises, composing herself and straightening the wide neckline of her dress. ‘You’ve got to protect your own interests. If it was Keir—’
‘Keir is too much the gentleman,’ protests Ella.
‘That’s not what you would’ve said this morning,’ I quickly add.
‘He was a little handsy when he dropped me off,’ Paisley adds a little shyly. ‘And not very gentlemanly at all.’
‘Even the good ones have a naughty side.’ At Ella’s words, both sets of eyes turn to me.
‘What?’
‘The sentiment totally fits you.’ Paisley’s mouth hitches in one corner as the pair continue to examine me. ‘You look like butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth—like an angel—but you absolutely have a naughty side.’ It’s not an insult or even teasing as she leans across the table, her hand raised, inviting a high five.
‘I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t even get the benefit of naughty,’ I say as my palm meets hers. ‘Not very often, at least.’
‘I don’t get it,’ Ella says. ‘You must meet lots of fit men in your line of business.’
‘Call me old fashioned, a hypocrite, or whatever’—I shake my head and the thought away—‘but I prefer monogamy. I know some adult actors consider themselves faithful to their partners and sex at work is exactly that—just work—but I can’t think like that. I’m not wired that way, maybe. I’d be too jealous. I’d be the crazy girlfriend, and no one wants to deal with that.’
‘I hadn’t thought about it that way,’ she adds. ‘But there must be other men you meet.’
‘Not ones I want to date.’
‘Not true. What about the guy you introduced me to last year—the one who looked like Clark Kent? God, what was his name again?’
‘Troy,’ I supply. ‘And I can’t believe I went to the trouble of introducing you to a completely nice, not to mention hot, man when you were already in love with Keir. Sneaky much?’
‘What can I say? I thought I was protecting my heart.’
‘More like fooling yourself. We’ve all been there,’ says Ella.
‘Why don’t you ask him out? Or get hot Tate’s number?’ Paisley’s eyes slide to the bar, her eyes sparkling with mischief and her fingernails twirling the straw in her glass.
‘Don’t even think about it.’ I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I just want my orgasm back. And maybe a baby sometime in the not too distant future. There, I said it. Admitted it to myself. Time is a-ticking, and I’m tired of waiting for the right man to come along. Besides, the right man is a unicorn—a mythical beast. ‘Who’d want to marry someone who does what I do for a living?
‘Who said anything about marriage?’Oops. A slight Freudian slip. ‘We’re talking dating here. And if porn stars can find partners, you sure as hell can.’
‘Really? You make me sound as appealing as a tin of Spam.’
‘What about online dating?’ Ella asks.
‘Tried it.’ I shrug. ‘It’s like that adage; the odds are good, but the goods are odd. Or married.’ Yep, that happened one time.
‘When did you try online dating.’
‘Before we met. In fact, I found Jesus there.’ Both women laugh as I slip my clutch onto the table from the empty space on the booth next to me. ‘It’s true,’ I say, pulling out my phone to show them the snapshot of the profile of the Spanish model I’d dated early last year. I saydatedbut banged for three days straight would be a better description. It was a three-day weekend.‘His name is pronouncedJesús, but whatever.’
‘Swipe right if you need Jesus in you,’ Ella reads from the snapshot. ‘Oh my God, talk about talking yourself up. What a chancer!’
‘I can’t say I found redemption, but he nailed me well and good.’
‘Oh, the puns!’ Ella cries, clutching the blouse covering her ample chest. ‘The puns!’
‘He’s seriously hot.’ Paisley looks up from my phone. ‘What happened with him?’
‘I decided I couldn’t date a man who uses more hair product than I do.’ And that’s saying something because curly locks are no joke. Unimpressed, she shoots me herbullshitlook. ‘He was just a bit of fun,’ I add with a tight shrug. ‘We found we weren’t really compatible on our next date. Young, dumb, and full of...’
‘Eww!’ Paisley protests.
