Page 11 of Friends With Benefits

“He seems nice,” she said. “So it’s something. Thanks.”

“But what about me?” His fake whine made her smile. “I want to see that movie too.”

“Get a date and come with us,” she suggested. “Hey, whatever happened with your date last weekend? I was so wrapped up in my own disaster I forgot you had a date that night too. Who was it with?”

“Oh, yeah…that was…I forget her name.”

“Mitch!”

“Oh, Sandra, that’s it. It was okay.”

“Are you going to see her again?”

“Uh…no. I don’t think so. Just didn’t click.”

“That’s too bad. You need someone too, you know.”

“Oh no,” he warned. “Don’t get any ideas about me. You’re the one that’s looking. And, unlike you, I don’t have any trouble getting my own dates, thank you very much.”

“Hey!”

“What? You did ask me for help, didn’t you? Wasn’t that what this was all about? Or did I misunderstand?”

“Shut up.” She gave a little laugh. “Hey, why does the bar association prohibit sex between lawyers and their clients?”

“Huh?”

She repeated the question.

“Oh jeez,” he said with a sigh. “Why?”

“To prevent clients from being billed twice for essentially the same service.” She laughed at her own joke as Mitch groaned.

***

Kerri enjoyed the movie as much as she’d anticipated, and Jason seemed to like it too. He should have been dream date material—polite, friendly, considerate. The only awkward moment had been at the beginning of the evening, when Jason had asked where Mitch was. Apparently he’d assumed Mitch was joining them, and Kerri had explained a little clumsily that it would just be the two of them.

After the movie, she proposed going out for coffee somewhere. Jason suggested a popular, crowded coffee shop near the theater. They managed to find a table, squeezed between two good-looking guys sitting on their left—wow!—and another pair of men on their right.

When they’d ordered, Kerri excused herself to go to the restroom. She brushed her hair and touched up her lip gloss, making sure she looked her best, glumly aware there still were no sparks happening between her and Jason. This date was about as exciting as a dental check up. He seemed to like her and he wasn’t running away, but she would have been happier if there had been a little attraction there. Maybe she’d have better luck with one of the guys at the table next to them.

When she returned to their table, another man sat there with Jason. She took her seat and smiled inquiringly at Jason.

“Hey, Kerri,” he said. “This is Matt. I met him the other day at Starbucks. He just happened to be here too, so I asked him to join us.”

Ooookay. Fine. She supposed if he didn’t know anybody in town, running into a familiar face was nice for him. This kind of reduced the chances of any heat growing between them, though. Oh well.

She sipped her chai tea and listened while Matt and Jason had an animated conversation about a book about someone who was both man and woman they’d just read. Which she hadn’t.

“Oprah picked it this year for her book club,” Matt enthused.

“It’s like Teiresias, in the Greek tragedies,” Jason said. “Since he lived as both a male and a female, the gods asked him to settle an argument about whether males or females get more pleasure from lovemaking.”

Matt grinned. “What was his answer?”

“He said females did, and Hera struck him blind.” They both laughed. Kerri blinked and contemplated the coffee shop. This really wasn’t turning out like she’d hoped. She glanced at her watch and finished her tea.

“Um…Jason…it’s getting late…” she said. His brows rose and he, too, looked at his watch.

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