Page 24 of A Very Friendly Valentine's Day
And I really wish he didn’tstillhave his warm hands on my hips.
And I really, really wish he wasn’t giving my hips a little squeeze before slowly moving his hands away.
It doesn’t mean anything. That’s just Eddie being Eddie. He’s a flirt robot, on autopilot.
“I love that you did this,” he manages to say, controlling his laughter. “This is great… You’re great.” He looks up at me, smiling.
It’s a friendly smile.
Until it isn’t.
His gaze travels from the loose strands of my hair, which is up in a messy bun, to my mouth, to my neck, and back up to my mouth again.
There must still be wine in my bloodstream because everything feels warm and slow and good.
He looks so serious all of a sudden.
“Oh, shit.” He suddenly grabs his messenger bag and pulls out his enormous iPad. “I should download a bunch of movies while I still can.”
I finally remember to breathe. I remember that I’m sober. I remember who I am and whoheis, before standing up and telling him, “I actually downloaded a few.”
“Yeah? PBS documentaries about trains?”
“Noooo.” I get up to unpack my bedding and the playing cards and the first aid kit.
“Well, that just meansIhave to download a documentary about trains now.”
“Okay, I lied. I downloaded one documentary about the history of trains. But it looks fun!”
“I knew it.”
I smile to myself. He does know me well. I unpack two extension cords and then see the strip of condoms at the bottom of the bag, next to my hairdryer. I must have tossed those in when I was on my third glass of merlot last night. I zip up the bag and place it behind me when I sit down. Bad weekender bag. You stay in the corner until you’ve figured out whose penis those condoms are for.
We did priority boarding, so the train hasn’t left the station yet. I pull my Kindle out from my handbag, to double-check that I’ve downloaded all of the books I plan to read over the next few days. I glance over at Eddie, who looks so confused as he tries to decide which movies to download. All of a sudden, I’m flooded with love for the guy.
In my heart, I mean.
Not in my panties.
But suddenly, this room feels even smaller. Maybe if he had a few less abs and bicep muscles, I could spread out a little more. Maybe if I hadn’t felt quite such a large and firm appendage against me at my party, I could get a little more comfortable in here.
“I think I’ll go grab us a table in the dining car.”
“I’ll come with you,” he says without looking up from his iPad.
“No, no. You do your thing. I’ll take my Kindle. Take your time. You should probably give Alana a call while you can. Let her know about the Wi-Fi and cell phone coverage situation.”
He looks up at me, surprised. I’ve surprised myself too. I don’t usually give him actual advice regarding Alana. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I make my way up the narrow staircase to the upper level of the sleeper car and then head in the direction that Nancy had told us to go, toward the dining car. I take in deep breaths, inhaling the not-sexy aroma from the part of the train that Eddie isn’t currently inhabiting. It doesn’t smell great, but at least it doesn’t make me feel confused or horny.
There’s a middle-aged woman with a blunt, jet-black bob and bright red lipstick pacing around, talking on her phone. I can tell before I even hear what she’s saying that she’s a Hollywood person. A Hollywood person who doesn’t like to fly. I respect that. She steps aside to let me pass, but I slow down when I hear her talking about why she’s going to New York. “I need to check out some shows for that indie drama I’m casting for. It shoots in LA in June, but the director wants someone fresh and surprising. Someone hot, with acting chops. So basically someone who doesn’t exist…”
I wonder if Eddie knows this person.
I wonder if she knows who Eddie is.
I wonder if she knows he’s got the acting chops.
I wonder if I can go five minutes without thinking about Eddie…
