Page 20 of Bullet
That made Celia smile. “Not bad. You?”
“Can’t complain.”
“You know, I don’t like being ignored,” Celia said.
I nodded. “Yeah, doesn’t feel good, does it?”
That seemed to strike a chord of understanding with her. “No, it doesn’t. Look...” She rolled her eyes a little bit, but when they settled back into mine there was a genuine warmth, “I’m sorry for going ghost after our first date. You want to know the real truth about why I hit the bricks? It’s because things wenttoowell. I’ve never been with someone like you before and it scared the hell out of me.”
“Someone like me?”
“Yeah, someone who just feels so…” she said as she bobbled her head and she searched for the right word, “…good.”
I remembered the feeling all too well. As much as I tried to ignore it, Celia hadn’t left my mind for a second. Her touch still lingered on my skin the way her voice lingered in my ears. “I know what you mean.”
“Yeah? Then why? I’mtryingto put myself out there. Why do you keep shutting me down?”
“Don’t act as if I’m just some jerk not giving you the time of day. I was the one who calledyouback, remember? You did this first, not me.” I crossed my arms. “The truth is, I don’t really like wasting my time.”
“And you don’t like women,” Celia tacked on.
I glanced past Celia to Seneca, who could at least hear enough of the conversation to hike her eyebrow as if to say,“I told you so.”
“My relationship to women is unique. We probably would have covered it at some point during a second or third date.”
“You’re right,” Celia said. “I should have called you, but I’m here now.”
“Why now? Why all of a sudden?”
“Because...” She flopped her arms on either side of her body. “Because I’ve been dating, and no one does it for me like you do. Not just in bed, but in general. None of my conversations have that much depth or meaning. No one really seems to connect the same way you did. What do you want from me? I’m having—” She snickered. “Ghoster’s remorse.”
I couldn’t keep my own chuckle from coming out and Celia smiled at me. “Look, I’m not about to do a back and forth with you, but, if you’re saying you want to try, that’s different,” I told her.
“Would I be here making an ass of myself if I didn’t?”
“I’d hope not.” My eyes traveled up and down her form, reminding me ofjusthow stunning she truly was. “Then what are you doing Saturday night?”
The small smile on Celia’s face got infinitely wider. “I’m doing whatever you want to do.”
Chapter Seven
Celia
Laura squealed as I finished tying the sash on the grape purple wrap dress she was loaning me for my date with Harry. I could see her reflection in the body-length mirror I was looking into, shaking her head with a knowing pride.
“Itoldyou that dress was gonna look amazing on you. It’s perfect with your skin tone.” She crossed her arms. “You may thank me now.”
Instead, I just rolled my eyes and started to fiddle with my hair. In most cases, I preferred to keep it totally out and wild, but I wanted to send a message to Harry that I was opening myself up for the night and being more vulnerable. The more he believed I was committed to developing something real with him, the more damage would be dealt when I threw him off again.
With one hand, I slicked back a portion of my hair and pressed it firmly against my head, and then I used the other hand to slide a bobby pin in to hold that section back. Behind me, Laura raised her eyebrows. “Whoa. You’re putting your hair back for this guy. Must be serious.”
“You are sending my nerves into overdrive,” I admitted.
“That wasn’t a denial.”
“No,” I responded, “it’s not.”
“Wow.” She sat down on the edge of her bed and crossed one leg over the other. “How long before I’m allowed to put this revelation on Twitter?”
