Page 44 of Starfish and Coffee
“Yeah, you do,” Holly said skeptically, making it obvious she saw right through him. “You’d go, wouldn’t you? You’d leave Mirabella behind and never look back.”
Alex rubbed a hand against the back of his neck as he considered her question. For a long moment, he tried to imagine living his life without Matt, and the ache in his heart had him giving Holly a grudging nod. “If he asked, I’d probably go, yeah.”
“What do I do, Alex?” Holly asked him imploringly. “How do I find out if he meant it?”
Against his better judgment, Alex asked, “What were you doing when he said it?”
“I was, you know—” Holly opened her mouth and made a gesture with her hand that made it very obvious what she was doing at the time of Will’s confession.
Alex smacked a hand over his eyes in horror. “Oh my God! Yuck, Hol! The charades make it worse.”
“You get so weird when I say it out loud,” Holly said, the whine back in her voice. “You never got like this before when I talked about my sex life. Sad though it was, you still were willing to give advice. What difference does it make if it’s Will?”
“It just does,” he said with a wince, his hand still over his eyes. “You two together. It’s so bizarre for me. Totally out of left field. You’re polar opposites. Do you haveanycommon interests?”
“We have a few.” Holly let out a devious giggle, before she sobered once more. “Help me with this, Alex. I think I love him.”
“Fine.” Alex dropped his hand and gave Holly an unimpressed look. “You want my honest opinion?”
Holly sat up straighter on the bed. “Yes.”
“It’s really easy to say ‘I love you’ when your dick is in someone’s mouth. Any confessions of undying love are inadmissible in court if you’re less than five minutes away from an orgasm. It doesn’t count.”
“Great.” Holly threw up her hands in defeat. “So what do I do now?”
“Ask him.”
She huffed and looked away. “You first.”
“I’d ask Matt if I felt like I really needed to hear it.” Alex didn’t add that Matt tended to say those types of things a lot when they were hot and heavy. “But I certainly wouldn’t cling to anything he said while I was blowing him.”
“You don’t need to hear it?”
“Not really.” Alex shrugged. “We’re committed to each other. We’re not fucking around with other guys, or girls in his case. We like being together. I don’t really need the Hallmark card confirming everything. I’m happier with him than I ever am away from him. What else do I need to know about it?”
“Oh my God.” Holly gave him a wide smile before she let out a girly squeal. “You’rereallyin love with him.”
Alex rolled his eyes and looked away. “Oh shit.”
Holly jumped off the bed and ran to him. She slipped her arms around Alex, squeezing him tight as she rested her head on his chest. “I’m so excited for you.”
“Okay.” Alex gave her a grudging hug back as his cheeks heated.
“Are you gonna say it to him?” Holly asked as she pulled away to look up at him. “And tell him that you’d do anything for him, go anywhere, and—”
“You read too many romance novels.” Alex laughed. “I don’t need to tell him all that crap. It’d probably scare him if I did.”
“I want you to tell him.” Holly poked him in the back to make her point. “He wants to hear it.”
“I don’t think he does.” Alex tried to imagine professing his undying love and devotion; he winced at just the idea of it. That’d be awkward for both of them and completely unnecessary. “Besides he knows.”
Holly frowned. “You think so?”
“Definitely,” Alex said confidently. “He doesn’t need the Hallmark card either.”
“You should tell him,” Holly pressed, obviously unwilling to give up on the idea. “He could want to hear it. You don’t know he doesn’t. Not all guys are as unromantic as you.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they are. Besides, I probablyhavetold him. Blowjob confessions could be genetic.”
