Page 31 of Curvy Love

Clearly he’s giving me hell now for all the trouble I caused him and Molly when they first fell in love.

“In my defense, she did become your girlfriend very quickly.”

“And you tried to break us up. Do you really want to rehash that shit?” Jefferson asks.

“Fair point. Apologies again, Molly.”

She waves her hand dismissively. “Water under the bridge. And you already apologized.”

I cross, then uncross my legs. Fuck it, I need to talk to someone about her. I lean forward and brace my elbows on my knees. “The software is that new mentoring package that allows the users to remain anonymous. I figured if I was requiring my people to participate, then I should as well. I got randomly matched with a woman and…” I thread my fingers through my hair knowing that I probably made it all stand on end.

“You fell for her,” Molly provides.

“Yeah, I guess. Or at least I know I want more of her. I don’t even know her real name.”

“Wait, why don’t you know her name?” Molly asks.

“Because the software is anonymous. She hasn’t told me her name, so all I know is her username.”

“Oh, that’s romantic,” Molly says with a dramatic sigh.

“No, it’s not romantic. It’s stupid.” Jefferson pins me with a look. “How are you this much of an idiot?”

“Jefferson, be nice,” Molly chides.

“So you dug up dirt on Molly, but you haven’t even bothered to look up the details on this girl?” Jefferson asks.

“It’s an abuse of power,” I say, knowing full well, it would not be the first time I’d done something like that.

My best friend rolls his eyes. “And that has stopped you when?”

I blow out a breath. “So you think I should just reverse search her username?”

“Yes,” they both say in unison.

I nod and move to my desk to my computer. It takes less than five minutes and I’ve got a name. Paisley McLeod.

Paisley.

Jefferson and Molly are standing behind me. Molly makes a hmmming noise, tapping her chin thoughtfully, then she chuckles.

“What is funny?” I ask.

“PsychedelicAlmond. Paisley. Get it?” She chuckles again.

“Uh, no, I don’t get it.”

“Paisley motifs were common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe, but they originated in Persia. Paisleys, orboteh, as they were known in Persia, are most commonly described as being an almond shape.”

I just blink, blankly at Molly, but Jefferson smiles, giving her a squeeze.

Molly is a freelance writer and a collector of the most random facts.

Which in this case is useful. “Okay,” I prod. “So what makes her a psychedelic almond instead of just a normal one?”

Molly waves a hand dismissively. “I assume that’s because of their popularity in the psychedelic fashions of the sixties.”

She says it like we should all know about sixties fashion.

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