Page 26 of Sweet as Sin (Bad Habit 1)
“You’re an adult.” She paused. “Ish.”
“Hey!” It was one thing if I said it. It was another thing if she agreed with me.
“Although you do have a mortgage, so, technically, you’re an adult. What can I bring?”
We were going to do our annual pajama party at my house, complete with feather boas, champagne, ice cream, and chick flicks. I’d already picked out the movie: The Notebook. Because nothing says “we’re having a good time” like ugly crying with your single, drunken girlfriends on a Saturday night.
Plus, Ryan Gosling. Hello!
“That seven-layer dip thing you made last July fourth. I don’t want any real food, just snacks, appetizers, and desserts.”
“And alcohol.”
“That goes without saying. Seven-ish?”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
We hung up. I checked who my text was from. When I saw, I might have cursed a little. Or a lot. And started pacing.
Are you still thinking?
Boy, was I. But how to answer? I chewed my lip and continued pacing around the living room, the Swiffer abandoned in the middle of the floor. Another text came through.
Because I’m still thinking about you. I can’t stop.
I flopped onto the couch.
Okay, it was time to shit or get off the pot. I blew out a hard breath, mentally went over my pro-and-con list one final time, and decided.
Ditto.
I admit: it was possibly cowardly. And definitely lame. And I swear I wasn’t trying to be all cool and unaffected. I had the trembling hands and sweaty armpits to prove it.
My phone rang. I looked at the number and tried to maintain some level of sanity. I clicked Answer and held it to my ear.
“You’re doin’ that loud breathin’ thing again, Kat. You tryin’ to have phone sex with me?”
“You didn’t give me a chance to say ‘hello.’” My voice had gone strangely breathy, exactly like I was trying to have phone sex with him. I took a few deep breaths, holding the mouthpiece away from my nose.
“Oh. Sorry. Go ahead.”
I heard the smirk in Nico’s voice. He was enjoying my discomfort. Damn him.
“Um. Hello?”
“Hey, Kat. Guess who?”
I cleared my throat and pretended to think. “Let’s see. Bob?”
“No.” Pause. “Who’s Bob?”
Was he jealous? He sounded a little jealous. Was that weird, or thrilling?
“Bob’s the guy at the corner store who calls me when he gets in a new shipment of Patron.”
“Is he hot?”
Yes, Nico was definitely jealous. I felt a bit smug. “So hot. If you’re into eighty-year-old men with six teeth and questionable hygiene.”
