Page 37 of Unrealistic Expectations

“Kind of makes you wish that he was your real boyfriend, doesn’t it?” She didn’t know how Kelly had just read her mind. She was going to have to work harder on keeping her face neutral going forward.

“I know it’s really foolish.” Jessica shrugged and took a drink of sparkling water. “He’s not looking for a commitment, and I’m just getting over my relationship with Luke.”

Kelly snorted. “Look at the therapist who preaches all about self-awareness and emotional honesty lying to herself again.”

“I’m not lying to myself. Luke walked out less than a month ago.” Jessica shook her head and put a piece of prosciutto in her mouth. “This thing with Galvin isn’t serious. It can’t be. It’s not even a real relationship.”

She said that last part quietly, so no one in the restaurant would hear her. It was strange to be a quasi-public figure in the city. She had a book out and had done some kind-of-famous podcasts and local news spots. Her social media posts with Galvin had garnered more followers and attention than she’d ever dreamed of. A few people had even recognized her when she went in to pick up her lunchtime coffee order. But L.A. was a city that ran on gossip. The stuff about major celebrities went further, but the habit of gossiping was deeply ingrained in every aspect of how the town worked. And Galvin was a little bit famous in a different way than her—he’d had an actually famous romantic partner—so he was actually sort of as famous as them now.

Jessica had never wanted to be famous. She’d just wanted to use her expertise and experience to help people. But it seemed that goal was becoming jumbled up with the one to save face after Luke dumped her unceremoniously and figure out her future. She shouldn’t be adding in variables that would only confuse things further, like whether or not she could or should be in a real relationship with Galvin Baker.

“I swear to God, you guys. The sex is amazing, but it’s not going to last.”

Barbie scrunched up her face. Kelly looked at her and said, “No. We are not going to talk about that.”

“Talk about what?” Jessica hated both secrets and surprises. Growing up, they had never meant anything good. And her nervous system had not gotten the memo that they could sometimes result in something good. But this secret—whatever it was—definitely wasn’t something good.

“It’s not relevant,” Kelly said.

Barbie pursed her lips. “I think we should tell her. They had sex, and now we have to tell her.”

There was a tense standoff between the two of them, and Jessica’s gaze ping-ponged between her friends, as though she could deduce something useful just by looking at them.

“You have to tell me now. I’ll never sleep again, if you don’t tell me right now.”

Kelly shrugged and motioned for Barbie to proceed. “Fine. Go ahead.”

Barbie gave her a compassionate look that bordered on pitying. “Jessica—”

She was being way too hesitant. “Just lay it on me.”

“We were talking and remembering college, because it’s so wild that you’re dating—even if it’s not a conventional sort of relationship—someone we all knew. And we remembered something.”

“What do you fucking remember?” She shouldn’t be swearing at her friend, but her habit of pussyfooting around difficult topics was distinctly not helpful at the moment.

“Well, back in college, Galvin hated Luke.”

Jessica was relieved. That wasn’t much of a secret at all. “He still hates him.”

“But do you remember why?” Kelly was much more forthright about things.

Jessica shook her head. “I didn’t go to as many parties as the two of you, so I didn’t know as much gossip.”

“They, like, got in a big fight. Galvin almost broke Luke’s jaw, and he had to petition not to get kicked out of the fraternity.”

Jessica for sure didn’t condone violence, but this had happened when they were in their early twenties. They were a lot older now. And he hadn’t reacted violently to her mother, even though he’d been really angry. It wasn’t like he had anger issues now. “I agree with Kelly, this isn’t relevant to how Galvin is now. It’s old news.”

Kelly sighed, probably pissed she had to spell this out. “Barbie thinks that it was over a girl, and that Galvin is only dating you now so that he can get back at Luke.”

That made her stomach sink just a little. When they were together, their relationship felt real. Even though it was probably only temporary, he seemed really interested in her. But he did tense up whenever she mentioned Luke, and he’d never articulated why he hated the guy. Up until recently, Galvin’s entire romantic life had been all about ego and conquest. Maybe someone interfering with one of his liaisons would prompt him to pretend to be in a relationship with her just to get back at Luke at a time when he was toxic on the dating market, but it honestly felt like a bit of a stretch.

What she was more upset about at the moment was that her friends thought she was so naïve that she would fall for a guy who was only using her for revenge. She was smart enough to see that he was probably treating her as some sort of romantic and sexual rehab facility before he was rereleased into the wilds of dating C-list actresses and West Coast models, but she didn’t think he was using her to stick it to Luke.

“I haven’t even heard from Luke since he moved out.”

“You haven’t?” Barbie gasped and covered Jessica’s hand with hers. Jessica had only been reaching over for more ham. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Barbie,” Jessica said in her most authoritative tone. “I’m getting railed by a guy with magic fingers and a magic dick to match. Believe me, if a woman chose a casual relationship with Luke over a casual relationship with Galvin, she wasn’t fit to be making her own decisions anyway.”

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