Page 26 of Luck of the Draw

“About seeing each other again? Nothing. I think he was just thinking about what was going on between us at the time. Neither of us talked about the future.”

“So why the hell did you sneak out?” she asked, then turned to me. “Does he have toe hair? I bet it’s so long he has to braid it so it doesn’t get tangled in his socks.”

“What?”

“Well, I know he’s good-looking. I saw him. Oh! Is he one of those bodybuilder guys who likes to walk around without a shirt, flexing his arms, and watch his reflection in the window?”

Hehadwalked around without a shirt quite a bit, but only because I kept taking it off him. “No. He isn’t like that.”

“What is it about him that sent you running, then? Don’t tell me he was a partner in the dog car venture.”

I laughed even though my heart was breaking. “No. Nothing like that.” I turned to face her. “He’s thirty years old, Sam.”

She waited a few seconds, then waved her arm in a hurry-up motion. “And?”

“And I’m thirty-eight!”

“I’m well aware of this fact since I’m the one who put candles with the numbers three and eight on your Boston cream pie for your birthday, and since we graduated together, I know you’re not eighty-three.”

“Sam,” I groaned. “Be serious.”

“I’m deadly serious.” She turned to face me. “Please don’t tell me you ran out of his apartment because he’s eight years younger than you.”

“Seven, but it doesn’t matter. Samantha, I can’t have a thing with a younger guy!”

“Why the hell not?” she demanded. “Haven’t you heard that cougars are hot?”

I didn’t answer, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

She turned down my street and pulled into the driveway. The car was safely in park, so at least we weren’t going to get into a car wreck. “Was he an asshole?”

“No. He was thoughtful. Sweet. He treated me better than Randy ever did.”

“So you walked away from a sweet, thoughtful, insanely good-looking man because he’s seven years younger than you.”

It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t confirm it.

“Dee.” She turned to me and cupped my cheek, her eyes glassy with tears. “I love you more than my sister, God bless her stupid heart, so I hope you take this in the loving spirit in which it’s intended.” Her eyes narrowed and her mom face took over her features. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”

“What?”

“You donotwalk away from a good man because he’s younger than you!”

“But—”

“I have half a mind to drive you back over there!”

I gasped. “Don’t you dare!”

“Dee! Why are you sabotaging yourself like this?”

I stared at her, trying to comprehend her question. I wasn’t sabotaging myself. “I’m a mother, Samantha,” I said, pleading with her to understand. “I have two little boys who need their mother. I can’t be dating and hooking up with guys when they’re with their dad.”

“First of all, they’re ten and thirteen, and they’re no longer little boys. Second, you may be a mother, but you are still entitled to a life outside of your children. And third, if you choose to screw every single guy in a half-mile radius when your kids are with their father, that’s no one’s damn business but your own.” She shrugged. “And the men you’re screwing.” She made a face and shrugged. “Just make sure they cover it up.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, hell. Tell me he covered it up.”

Groaning, I said, “He covered it up, although he had to DoorDash condoms this morning from CVS.”

Her jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”

---