Page 27 of Roses for Rosie

“And then he kissed my neck, and my shoulder.”

“And…”

“And then he took off my shirt.”

Susie rubs her hands together, “Now we’re getting somewhere. Don’t make us drag it out of you. What happened? All of it!”

“Fine, he went down on me and ate me out until I came. OK? Happy now?” I bury my face in my hands, afraid to look at any of them.

Vivian’s arm snakes around my shoulder, pulling me in for a hug.

“About time you got some.”

“Was it as good in person as it is in his books?”

I don’t hear any judgement in their tones. They don’t think I’m completely insane for letting this happen. They aren’t laughing at me for being taken advantage of by a man like Adam.

I look up at them and see grins a mile wide on all three of their faces. They are truly happy for me.

“It was pretty great.”

“Where did you leave things?” Joanne asks. “Are you going to see him again?”

“I don’t know,” I wail. “I want to, but we didn’t really talk about it. You know how he is with the parade of women on his arm. I can’t hold a candle to any one of them.”

“You underestimate yourself.”

“No, really,” I pick up a magazine from the rack behind me and flip to a picture of Adam and Scarlett. “Look at her! And she wasn’t good enough for him. They broke up. He broke up with that goddess and you really think I stand a chance?”

“One, she isn’t that hot. It’s obvious she’s had work done. Two, you have a lot going for you that she doesn’t.”

“Like a drunk dad and a collection of vibrators?” I ask.

“Like being smart, and funny, and straightforward, and courageous, and generally awesome,” Vivian says.

Tears prick the back of my eyes. Is that how they see me? I trust these three women more than anyone else in the world and they are all nodding at me earnestly. Nobody looks like they are putting me on or just trying to make me feel better. They honestly think those things about me.

My father has been tearing me down for so long, I’ve gotten used to it. Hearing Vivian rattle off my best qualities without even pausing to think makes me realize that not everyone sees me like he does. It never occurred to me that I projected all that. I thought I just faded into the background, trying hard not to be seen or heard.

“Adam Smythe would be lucky to have a woman like you,” Joanne says.

“Here, here,” Susie adds.

“I did leave one part out,” I say.

They all lean forward in their seats, eager for more information.

“He took me back home this morning so I could change before he dropped me off here. While we were there, he gave my dad a bad ass threatening lecture about how to treat other people, especially me. He said I should call him if my dad so much as looks at me funny.”

“I assume you have him on speed dial and you are going to enter your house tonight with your finger hovering over his contact info,” Susie says.

“He isn’t that bad.”

They all stare at me, nobody blinks. “OK, fine. Maybe he is that bad.”

“Call him,” Joanne chants. “Call him, call him, call him,” Susie and Vivian join in.

“Stop it.”

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