“Oh, hey—I forgot you were in here.Didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“I was awake before you came in.Is that coffee brewing?”She sat up.
“Stay there.I’ll bring you a mug.”
He came back with a steaming mug that had the logo of his new nonprofit emblazoned across it.Nate was part-time aquatic director at R&R, but most of his time was spent working on his nonprofit, KidsUp, which helped kids in low-income rural communities stay away from drugs and other kinds of trouble.He handed her the mug and eyed the two beer steins still sitting on the coffee table.“Were you double fisting it after we went to bed?”
Damn it; she hadn’t rinsed out her and Griff’s glasses.“No.Griff stuck around a while after the party.”
Nate raised an eyebrow.
She shook her head.“Believe me, there is nothing going on.Griff wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot pole.”
Even if I begged him.
Granted, she hadn’t exactlybegged, but in the cold (and sober) light of day, her behavior seemed totally outrageous and embarrassing.She would never be able to look him in the eye again.Luckily for her, she could probably mostly avoid him; she only saw him every few months for a couple of hours at a time, and if she skipped Friday Night Dinners, she probably wouldn’t see him at all.
She didn’t dwell on how she felt aboutthat.
“Good,” Nate said.“I love Griff, but he’snota good guy for you.You’re not his type at all.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?That he’s a player and I’m the Virgin Mary?”
“I’m just saying, he goes for women who know their way around.”
She glared at him.“You better not be implying that that’s a bad thing.”Shehatedslut-shaming.It was the flip side of virgin-worshipping.You couldn’t have one without the other.Madonna, whore: women lost either way.
He held up his hands, palms out.“It’s not good or bad.No judgment.It’s just what he does.The bottom line is, you and he want different things.”
“And whatdoesGriff want, in your opinion?”
“To bang enough women that he forgets his ex-wife.Which, I might add, is a lost cause.He’s totally not over her.I think he’d take her back in a heartbeat if she asked.Even though she is a cold-hearted—”
Nate looked down at Robbie, who was drooling and whapping his hands up and down happily.
“She’s not a nice human being,” Nate finished.
Robbie hooted, by way of punctuation.Nate smoothed his son’s wispy baby hair back off his forehead.“Are you sticking around for the Memorial Day picnic on Monday?”
Becca shrugged.“Sure.The salon’s closed till Tuesday, so if you guys are okay with having me here all weekend, I can stay and help out with this little goober.”She scrunched her face in Robbie’s direction.
“If you don’t mind the couch.Trina and Hunter are coming with the girls for the picnic, and they have dibs on the guest room.”
“Nah.It’s fine.And it’ll be great to see them.”Hunter was the fourth guy in Nate, Griff, and Jake’s group of friends.He and his wife and their girls lived a few hours away but often came down for picnics or other events.
Becca’s coffee was finally cool enough to hazard a sip.It was terrific—dark and hot.Like Griff’s eyes, the split second after she’d told him she was a virgin,beforeshe’d propositioned him.
It was that brief look he’d given her, thick with longing, that had made her brave and stupid enough to ask the question.But she’d miscalculated.Or hallucinated.
“How’s it going with KidsUp?”she asked Nate, before she could think about Griff any more.
“Mostly really good.But we’re having a hell of a time getting enough homework helpers.You wouldn’t believe the demand that’s coming out of the woodwork.So many of these kidswantto do well, but they’re flailing.And their wealthier peers can afford tutors, so kids with money are killing it and kids without money are falling through the cracks.”
“That sucks.”
“I know, right?Griff’s been taking on a few kids.He’s really great with them.”
“I can see it.He’s so friggin’ cute with Robbie.”