Girl Crush(41)

“Just one. But she couldn’t stand my sister, and we constantly fought about cutting Beck off.” He plucked at his food with his chopsticks before adding, “I may complain about her, but that doesn’t give anyone else the right to. What about you?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in a serious relationship. They aren’t really my thing.” I shrugged. They weren’t. After Chris, I quit trying.

“So what happened with the ex? Was she nasty to you?”

I had to carefully navigate my choice of pronouns. “Not so much as the new girlfriend.” I didn’t want him asking more questions than I could answer, so I chose to offer a bit more insight without detail. “I was on a date, and she called me a hag in front of the girl I was with…and loudly enough for people in the next county to hear.”

He regarded me for a moment before speaking. “You know that’s not true, right? I mean, I don’t know how old you are exactly, but you could easily pass for your late twenties.”

“Thirty-nine. But thank you.”

“No shit? Thirty-nine?” His surprise appeared genuine, which softened the blow just a tad. “Look, Giselle. I don’t claim to know what chicks dig, but any woman would be a fool to pass you up. You’re gorgeous, have a slammin’ body, and you’re pretty sweet. My sister thinks the world of you, and your friends seem to as well. Don’t let some bitter bitch get you down.”

“Thanks, Collier. I appreciate that.”

“West.”

I blew off his need for me to call him by his last name. I liked his first name. I didn’t want to call him West. He wasn’t related to Kanye and Kim. Although, it did make me reconsider the personality disorder. Maybe Brutus was more of a South. And North could be his asshole persona, the frigid side of who he was. West was definitely the carefree one of the bunch, but I’d yet to meet East.

We spent the rest of the evening gorging ourselves on Chinese food, and he polished off the open bottle of wine. I loved that he let me watch reality bullshit on TV and didn’t really even give me a hard time about it. He took one end of the couch, and I took the other with my feet resting on his chest. He’d casually rubbed my soles but never acknowledged it—just did it because he wanted to. I didn’t know what to do with a man who didn’t want anything from me. He knew he wasn’t going to get in my pants but still wanted to hang out. Maybe he needed someone as much as I did—someone without expectations.





9





I slammed the door behind me and pulled the buds out of my ears with the music still blaring. Dripping with sweat, I turned off my iPod after I pulled the band from my arm. I’d slept in later than I should have on a Saturday, and once again, I paid the price with temperatures that were a solid ten degrees warmer than they would have been had I gone out running an hour earlier. I stripped off the tank top that clung to my skin in the foyer with the intention of dumping all my sweaty clothing in the laundry room before taking a shower. But before I could make it down the hall, my doorbell rang with a knock that quickly followed.

I peeked out the window to see Collier’s car parked in the driveway. Jesus. I quickly glanced at the clock before springing the door open. Standing before me in khaki shorts and a Darth Vader T-shirt was my friend’s twin brother…in flip-flops. He was adorably cute in this casual motif, but the smirk on his face reminded me that I was half-dressed in a wet sports bra and running shorts. Unfortunately, the tank top in my hand was far too gross to put back on, so I was stuck looking like a drowned rat.

“Hey, Collier. What are you doing here?” It wasn’t that I minded his showing up, but I didn’t like being seen without makeup, and sweat wasn’t attractive on anyone.

“Hey. Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”

“I just got back from running. What’s up?” I hadn’t invited him in and didn’t plan to unless the need arose. The shower called my name.

“Oh. Do you do that every day?”

“Every one. So?” I knew it was rude, but I was standing in a puddle of my own filth while he shot the breeze about my exercise habits.

“So there’s a car show in North Haven…and I thought you might want to go. It’s all vintage, and we won’t be able to drive any of them, but I thought with your dad’s love of classics you might be interested.” His uncertainty was cute. Hell, he was cute. Too bad he thought I’d gone deep-sea diving between his sister’s legs.

“I don’t know. I haven’t showered…and I’m—”

“Please?”

I didn’t have anything better to do with my day. At least this would get me out in the sunshine and give me company before a lonely Saturday night. I told him to make himself at home and skipped off to take the fastest shower in history. I didn’t want him lingering in my living room or rummaging through the house.

There was something great about having a male friend who didn’t think you were into one-eyed pythons. I didn’t have to worry about picking out the cutest outfit in record time, or making sure my makeup was perfect. I threw on a fitted pink T-shirt, cream-colored shorts, and flip-flops. I hadn’t even bothered to dry my hair entirely and wrapped it up in a perfectly tousled bun. With lip gloss and mascara, I was ready to go. I grabbed my sunglasses and purse and bounced into the living room to find him waiting patiently. He wasn’t grunting about how long I took, he didn’t complain about the way I dressed, and he didn’t bitch at me when the wine bottles from dinner days ago were still sitting on the coffee table. Although, I noticed they’d been cleaned off along with the trash I’d left there as well. Collier just gave me a silent once-over and grinned.