Page 16 of Sleepless Nights and Hockey Fights

Ramona purses her lips at me and invites herself to sit in one of my kitchen chairs. “The man is a professional athlete. A tiny crush is inevitable. Amir knows Tommy Fury and Jalen Hurts are both my hall passes.”

“Both?”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Do you know how many erogenous zones women have?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“This is worse than I thought.” She straightens her glasses. “Woman, you need to know your body. You’re forty years old, for god’s sake!”

I sink into the chair next to her before dropping my head into my hands. “I know, okay. But can you cut me some slack? I was married to a gay man for fifteen years. Neither one of us was very good at knowing how to please a woman.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Molls.”

“It’s fine.” I let my hands fall back to the table and straighten in my seat as I inhale the lovely coffee aroma. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about getting back out there.”

Ramona beams at me. “That’s great!”

“Coco signed me up for a dating app.”

“Shut up! I love that old broad!” My bestie gives me a hand-it-over gesture. “Let’s see it.”

“No way! Coco already gave me a username suggesting that I’m a stripper. I’m not letting you get your hands on my profile too.”

She rolls her lips between her teeth to keep from laughing.

“I did start talking to one guy, though.”

“I’m so proud of you. Go get it.” She covers one of my hands with hers.

“He’s more of a practice test though. He’s interested in somebody at his work, so we’re just...buddies.”

“Hey, it’s a start. And who’s to say he can’t change his mind? Work relationships are the worst. Best to avoid them.”

I cock my head and stare. “You and Amir met at work.”

“Yeah, and he almost got fired for spending too much time banging me in the supply closet!”

“Whatever. This guy is just a harmless acquaintance. A guinea pig, if you will. It’s been alongtime since I’ve been out there.”

“Well, I think it’s great. Keep talking to dating-app guy and add the hockey player to your hall-pass list. You wouldn’t want to date a professional athlete anyway. They get so much tail, you’d get eaten alive.” She points at me. “And not in the good way.”

I fling my hands out in mild panic. “I refuse to eventhinkabout developing a crush on Bobby Rhodes. He’s over a decade younger than me! Can you imagine? So embarrassing.” I can feel my skin heat, giving me away.

Ramona doesn’t directly call me out, instead replying, “Oh, my imagination is conjuring up something, all right. I’m gonna have to look this guy up.”

“You won’t have to. He’s picking me up in...” I glance at my watch and spring to my feet, mild panic switching to hysteria. “Thirty minutes! Shit!”

Ramona jumps in her chair. “I thought we weren’t crushing on him?!”

“I’m not!” I slam back the remainder of my coffee, not caring that I may have just scorched my larynx. “I still need to be presentable, don’t I?”

I ignore Ramona’s skeptical look as I rush from the room to get to my shower.

Thirty minutes later, as Bobby opens the passenger door of “Wolverine” for me, I can’t keep my eyes from darting to Ramona and Amir’s house. Which I immediately regret when Ispot Ramona through her big picture window, mouth gaping. As soon as we lock eyes, she lifts one hand in the air and rolls her hips like she’s riding a fricking bronco. I groan.

“Did you say something?” Bobby asks, beginning to turn his attention to follow my gaze.

I quickly haul my ass up into the passenger seat and paste on a bright smile. “Nothing!”

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