Page 29 of Follow Me Down

“Actually, I don’t,” I admit, leaving out the part where most of my friends are friends of convenience. There’s not a single one I can think of that I could pick up the phone and call today.

It’s kind of pathetic. The only real friend I had growing up was Liz, and she moved to California our sophomore year of high school. We stayed in touch for a while, but eventually we grew apart. It’s hard to maintain a solid friendship when you live on opposite ends of the country.

“No boyfriend then?” He lifts his cup up and takes a drink from his straw.

“Nope.”

“Certainly you must have had boyfriends though, right?”

“Not really.”

Okay, so that’s not entirely true. There was one guy. Harvey. Our fathers were old friends and growing up we were forced to attend a lot of the same social events. I had the biggest crush on him. I used to watch him from across the room, hoping he would come over and talk to me.

And one night he did. It was the middle of my junior year. We were at some charity gala and literally ran into each other in the hallway after I turned a corner without looking where I was going. We ended up talking the entire night, and when he asked me out on a date I was over the moon.

Unfortunately, what I didn’t know was that he was only really interested in one thing. And I, being the stupid, attention starved teenager I was, gave it to him on our first date. I’m still not sure if I had sex with him because I wanted to or because I was so desperate for affection that I never questioned his motives.

I learned the hard way that sex can’t fill a void, no matter how much you want it to.

But of course, that didn’t stop me from doing pretty much the exact same thing less than six months later with Tyler Perkins. At least with Tyler I knew what it was and I wasn’t hurt when it was all over.

“What about you? Any serious ladies in your life?” I ask, forcing myself back to the present without elaborating on my vague response.

He shakes his head.

“No one?” I ask again. “Because the way Link talks, you’re quite the ladies’ man.” I ignore the tiny pang of jealousy in my chest.

“Hookups and relationships are not the same thing.”

“So you like tohook upthen? What exactly does that entail? You just bring her home, pound one out, and send her on her way?”

“Pound one out?” He snorts out a laugh.

“What? Would you rather I say fuck?”

His gaze darkens as he leans forward, dropping his elbows onto the table.

“Why does that word sound so damn dirty coming out of your mouth?” he asks, his voice low.

Little prickles break out across my skin as a flash of heat creeps up my neck.

I’m at a loss. I honestly have no idea how to respond, so I say the first thing that pops into my head.

“Where does one go to pick up someone in a town like this? Seems to me your options are rather limited.”

“I’ve never actually hooked up with anyone from Leary.”

“And why is that?”

He shrugs. “Ever heard the phrase don’t shit where you eat?”

I crinkle my nose. “Poor choice of words considering.” I gesture around the room.

“Still.” He chuckles. “You get my point.”

“So then, where do you find all these available women?” I take a sip of my soda.

“Usually in the next town over, if you must know.”

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