Page 89 of Touch Me

She turns on her side to face me, hand under the pillow. “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“I don’t know what that even entails. I’ve never done this before.” I pick at a piece of invisible lint on the blanket.

“Well, it can mean whatever we want it to mean. We don’t have to define it.”

“Okay.”

“How about we start to build from what we already have. We get along well.” She teases as she ticks off her fingers. “We can both surf now. There’s a shared love of art. You love my cooking.”

“That I do.” I smile. “Hey, I have a question for you. When I took my pants off in the bathroom, why did you smile? Is that a good thing?”

She laughs. “Sort of.”

“Sort of? You’re killing my ego here.”

“Well,” She points a finger and gestures a circle toward my crotch, “you have a penis ravine.”

I flinch back. “A what now?”

“A penis ravine. The sexy V shaped lines on your hips leading to your, you know.” She tips up one shoulder and smiles. “The girls at work were asking about you. If you were hot. If you had a penis ravine. You know, girl talk.”

“And that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes, yes it is.” She giggles and pulls the blanket up over her head. “It makes smart girls stupid.”

“Oh, is that so?” I jump across the bed to straddle her, careful to keep the blankets between us. I tug the blankets down and see her hair all a mess and her face alight with humor.

“You are so beautiful,” I say, wondering if I should’ve just thought it instead when her face changes.

Her expression is one I can’t decipher. I really need to start studying her more. As if the display in the dark room with her face everywhere wasn’t enough of a tell. Maybe now that we’re communicating more openly, I can ask her if I see a look I can’t read.

“What does that look mean? I haven’t seen it before?” I ask shyly.

“It means I think you’re going to make a pretty great boyfriend.”

TWENTY-TWO

FROM THE COOTIE TO THE POOTIE

“Good morning, all. I brought coffee.”I breeze up to my desk and hand everyone a little dose of mocha flavored fuel.

“You’re a goddess,” Alex gushes, wrapping both hands around the cup and sniffing like it’s possible to inhale the caffeine.

“Late night?” Ashley turns to Alex and smiles. “Why are you so tired?”

“I matched with this guy a few weeks ago, and we were up late chatting.” His eyes still haven’t fully opened as he takes a big gulp of the steaming hot fuel.

“Chatting huh? Any visual aids get thrown in the chat? You know, to help get to know each other?” Ashleys winks.

“Yes, of course,” he scoffs. “And no, you can’t see.”

“C’mon. We’re all having dry spells. We need a little pick-me-up,” Ashley whines and sticks out her bottom lip.

She looks from Alex to Jen, who nods her agreement and mimics her pouty face. She looks at me and snaps her head back. Then they all look at me, staring, mouths agape.

“What?” I look from one confused face to the next.

“Holy shit. You had sex. The one day I don’t ask you. It’s that stupid half smile on your face you don’t even know you’re making. You totally banged your hot, reclusive, best friend’s older brother. I’ve never seen such pure, unadulterated satisfaction plastered on someone’s face before. It’s like one of my books come to life.” She puts her hands on the sides of her face and squeals while stomping her feet. “I’ve never been so happy without actually having had the sex myself.”

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