Page 10 of The Last Good Man

My boobs were too small, which back then mattered, and there was no rhyme or reason to how I’d grown into my body.

I had skinny legs, flailing arms, and a rear like a tiny tin of cookies. My front was flat like cardboard, and my nipples looked like pimples.

Things have remedied themselves throughout the years.

Quite nicely, I might say.

I laugh quietly.

But everything had sort of come too late when all the crazy years of the hormonal-fueled passion had faded in the background.

Jenna was lucky. She found her man, and so did other friends of mine.

My mother had never admitted it to me––she came from a different era when people weren’t so explicit about these things––but early attraction had been abigfactor in her sticking with my father.

My smile fades.

My parents were lucky too.

Despite having chemistry and perhaps a hint of madness, they became best friends before developing deep feelings for each other, and that was the key.

Sharing the same values and never letting each other down, no matter how difficult the journey, was instrumental in making their story last.

They have also never cheated on each other.

Why am I even thinking about that?

Annoyed, I curl my hand around the door handle a little too hard when my phone pings in the bag.

“Now, you come to life,” I murmur, snatching the little bugger from inside my purse and swiping my finger across the screen.

A text message fills my view.

Thomas: Dinner and opera tomorrow night? Are you free?

A smile struggles to land on my lips.

Why does it sound like he’s going down a list of names?

If I’m not available, maybe the next person is. A pragmatic man indeed.

We’re not dating exclusively, anyway. Haven’t even talked about it, and Thomas Everett might be good with numbers and fattening his bank account, but he also knows a thing or two about women.

I ponder.

I ponder hard.

Opera, dinner, and having somecompany for the evening? Or going to sleep early and driving to Connecticut thenext morning?

What does the weather look like?

Not great, I suppose.It’s been raining for the past few days, and they said… Yup. It’s getting cold this weekend, and it might snow again.

There’s fog, and the roads are wet.

Horrible weather for a scenic drive.

I stare at the calendar.

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