Page 22 of The Secret Play

“Gemma,” Megan’s voice broke through my thoughts. She leaned against the doorway to my home office, holding a steaming mug of tea. “Why are you smiling like that? Did someone send you another email about how brilliant you are?”

“No,” I said quickly, though my cheeks heated. “I was just thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” she asked, setting the mug on my desk and settling into the chair opposite me.

I hesitated for half a second before deciding to tell her the truth. Megan was my best friend. She knew everything about me, and there was no way I could keep this from her any longer. Besides, if I didn’t spill, she’d probably drag it out of me eventually.

“Okay,” I said, sitting up straighter. “The other night when I told you I had a work thing that I needed you to babysit Winnie for?—”

“It was really a date, right?”

I gulped. “How did you know?

“Because you came back giddy like you used to when you got laid in high school,” she said, her eyebrows arching.

I’d forgotten all about that. “Wait—so you knew?”

“Duh. I’ve only known you since we were assigned seats in Mrs. Wilson’s class in third grade. Of course I knew. Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you’re building up to.”

“I wanted to tell you about the date, actually. It?—”

“Was a perfect fairytale?”

I snickered. “Actually, no. It went terribly wrong. The waiter spilled wine on him, the food was awful, a kid stole my purse, his credit card got declined, and we ended up soaked in the rain.”

Megan looked horrified. “Then why are you smiling while telling me about it?”

“Because he called me this morning to ask me out on another date.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Megan said, holding up a hand. “Hecalledyou? Like, on the phone? Who does that?”

“Apparently, older guys,” I said, laughing.

“How much older are we talking?”

I took a breath, hoping she wouldn’t judge me for it. “He’s forty-eight.”

“That’s…nineteen years older than us.”

“Trust me, I’ve done the math.” Too many times. “Is that weird?”

She frowned and thought about it. “It’s not normal, and is therefore weird, but do I think it’s bad? Not really. You’re both adults. I’m pretty much of the opinion that as long as everyone involved is over twenty-five, do whatever you want.”

Thinking about that night, I couldn’t help but sigh. “I did. I really, really did.”

“The sex was that good?”

“Good is an insufficient word for it. The man knows his way around a woman’s body.”

“Well he should. He was there when Eve was made from Adam’s rib.”

I smacked her shoulder. “Hey.”

She only grinned. “Oh, come on. You’re dating a fossil and I can’t say anything about it?”

“He’s not that old.”

“Okay, sure. But seriously, you think this might go somewhere?”

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