Page 32 of Head Over Heels

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

She tilts her head. “Bullshit.”

Now that’s a good friend, right? “Um. You remember how when I said I was moving in with Chase, you asked if I knew what I was doing?”

Both her eyebrows shoot up. “Yeah.”

“And I said, ‘Nothing will ever happen between Chase and me. Not in a million years. From a sexual perspective, it’s as safe as sleeping on your couch.’ ”

If possible, her eyebrows go higher. “Idoremember that. Very clearly.”

“Well, unless there’s something you’re not telling me about your couch, I was wrong.”

She whistles. “Girl, I knew it! Iknewit! Holyshit,Liv, what happened?”

I frown at her. “It’s nice of you not to say ‘I told you so.’ ”

“Asaintwould say ‘I told you so’ in this situation,” she says.

Eve, like most people, doesn’t believe men and women can be friends. To quoteWhen Harry Met Sally,she thinks the sex always gets in the way. Plus, she and her friend Jesse, who were the ones who fixed Chase and me up, have been mystified all along by Chase’s and my friendship. If we get along so well, and we’re both attractive, what’s preventing us from bonking like bunnies?

Not much, apparently.

“Whathappened?”

The waitress is eyeing our still untouched menus. “We should order first.”

“Quit stalling,” Eve commands, but we do put our orders in, and then I do my best to give her an accurate accounting of what’s gone down since Thursday. It feels like about ten lifetimes, but it’s less than a week.

When I get to the part where Chase says, “So when he gets close, you feel this?” Eve shakes her head in disbelief, and—I think—awed respect for Chase’s moves. And why shouldn’t she? He did reduce me to jelly in seconds flat.

She’s shaking her head again when I finish the story. “How do youknowhe was trying to prove a point?”

“It’sChase,” I say. “That’s what he and Ido.”

She stares long and hard at me, but doesn’t contradict.

I say, “I think I should come back to your place.”

“You can’t do that. Bail out on Katie. Bail out on Chase.”

“Screw Chase. Hekissedme. But you’re right about Katie. I can’t bail on her.”

“Anyway, are you sure that’s what you really want? To walk away from this?”

“What’s the alternative?”

“Tell him you didn’t mean what you said about it never happening. Tell him it happened and you want it to happen again.”

My mouth falls open. “You can’t be serious.”

“Let me ask you something. Was it good?”

That was the one set of details I left out of my retelling. And I apparently am not going to get away with it.

Eve crows. “The answer is obviously yes. You’re blushing.”

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