Page 11 of Last First Kiss
“Virgo.”
She nods solemnly. “I knew it. You have that ‘repressed desire and critical eye’ vibe.”
I blink, half insulted, half amused, not really sure what to say to that. IthoughtI was an astrology lesbian, but clearly, I’m an amateur.
She slides a business card toward me—her store’s website in bold letters. “Buy the Root Chakra Release. It’ll help you unclench,” she says.
I glance at the card, then back at her. “Unclench?”
She shrugs. “Your aura’s basically a traffic jam. You’ve got bumper-to-bumper anxiety energy. Real gridlock in there.” She points to my sternum.
“Thanks?” Okay, now I’mdefinitelyoffended.
Round 2
Jamie barely says more than three words to me as I struggle to keep the conversation going. I talk about the weather, my job, Clara, and this one dream I had in college, where I was in a musical. I talk and talk and talk until I can’t come up with anything else, and then we stare at each other for the rest of our time together, which might as well have been an eternity.
Round 3
They go by Nocturna, and they arehot. They’re wearing a black velvet dress and have a stare that makes me feel as if I’m the only person alive.
“I DJ underground raves,” they say coolly.
Their voice is low and smooth, like smoke curling around neon lights. I can’t tell if they’re flirting or if this is just how they are. Probably both, and I’m totally hooked. That is, until they casually mention their partner and how they’re only here looking for a third.
That quickly, I mentally check out. Nothing wrong with being poly, that just could never be me. I take a long sip of my punch and wish for the millionth time today that they had served alcohol.
Round4
Finally, I land across from Clara. She looks as exhausted as I feel.
“Where the fuck did they find these women?” Clara whispers as she grabs a cookie from the center of the table and bites it like it wronged her. “We need to come up with a good reason to leave. I can’t take any more of this.” She pouts, glancing at the tables behind me.
“She’s not going to let us leave without either finishing these awful dates or until we find someone for the wedding,” I tell her, even though there’s nothing I would love more than to leave.
“I’m never picking up her phone call again. I’m telling her I’m sick and need to leave.”
I roll my eyes and toss a piece of cookie at her. “She’ll just give you Tylenol.”
“Then I’m telling her I’m already dating someone, and then I’ll tell her we broke up, but not until the morning of the wedding, so she can’t do this to me again.”
I open my mouth to argue against her idea, but before I can, Lala comes to our table.
“How are my girls doing? Are you having fun?” She smiles widely.
“So much fun,” Clara says with a tight smile of her own.
Lala starts going down the list of women we still have to meet, butI tune her out as she goes into her familiar spiel. It’s the same one every single time—nice girl, good family, cute as a button, possibly the love of your life.
As she’s going on and on about these women, I try to think through the list of excuses I haven’t used yet to get Clara and me out of this, but I come up blank.
“Yeah, they sound great, Lala, but I’m seeing someone, so I can’t be here,” Clara says dryly.
My attention is entirely on them as I watch this play out. There’s absolutely no way Lala is going to believe her.
“What?” Lala asks, one eyebrow arched. “When did this happen?” She turns to me for answers, but I don’t have any, so I shrug.
“A couple of weeks ago. It’s still so new I didn’t want to say anything yet,” Clara lies, and I narrow my eyes at her.
