Page 48 of Body Shot

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure he is. Which is why I’m keeping my distance. The writing’s on the wall with that one—one kiss and I’d probably lose my mind over him.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You and Anders got frisky during the fireworks.” Her eyes twinkle with amusement.

“Yeah, yeah.” Why am I embarrassed to talk about sex? It’s always been that way, and I don’t understand it.

“Enjoy yourself and whatever time you have with him,” she says sincerely, squeezing my arm. “Johan says he’s a great guy. Things may or may not go somewhere, but not because he’s a jerk.”

“No, he’s not a jerk,” I admit softly. “He’s sweet and funny and has been incredibly patient with all my sexual neuroses.”

“Maybe he’s the one,” she teases.

“The one what?” I ask, laughing. “The one who can get me off? He is definitely the one for that. Anything else, well, I’m going back to Philly in a few days.”

“There’s this cool new invention I heard about,” she replies. “It’s called a plane? I understand it can get you from Philly to Fort Lauderdale in about two hours.”

I roll my eyes. “Very funny. You know what I mean. We’re not going to start something long-distance.”

“Why not?”

I frown. “Because that’s not…I mean, look at him! You think he’s going to stay faithful to his asexual long-distance girlfriend?”

“Based on what happened at the beach, I’m fairly certainasexualis the wrong term for what you are.”

I flush.

She’s right, of course.

I’m more traumatized than asexual, but a word like asexual makes it easier for me to wrap my head around my lack of interest in sex.

Well, mypreviouslack of interest.

I’m pretty interested in it when I’m with Anders.

I’m still nervous because my past trauma is always brimming just beneath the surface of my psyche, but he’s made me rethink a few things.

Maybe a lot of things.

But not whether or not I want to see him again.

Because I do.

And he’s picking me up in twenty minutes, so I need to get moving.

We’re taking two cars down to Miami, with Anders and me in his Corvette and Hana riding with Johan and Sloane in Johan’s SUV.

“Don’t think so much,” Hana says lightly.

“I could giveyouthe same advice.”

“I need to be thinking,” she replies in an edgy tone. “My life is kind of a mess. No job, no direction, no relationship, nothing going on. I’m living off my brother—who’s expecting a baby and getting married—and wondering what kind of future I’m going to have in Bratislava. Because there really isn’t much for me there.”

“We’re going to try to get you a job with me, in Philadelphia. But you can probably live here if they let you work remotely.”

“I can’t live with Johan and Sloane!” She seems almost angry.

“Why not? Don’t you like her?”

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