Read Online Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane - Free Book Online Page B

back at him. “Have you ever noticed how hard it is to chew a Milky Way and walk at the same time?”
    He laughed and took a sip of his beer. “So you do media relations, huh? Shane said you guys worked him pretty hard this week.”
    I couldn’t stop staring at his eyes. Calling them blue didn’t do them justice. They were more … well, BLUE.
    “Waverly?”
    I snapped out of my trance.
    “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
    “I said that Shane said you worked him really hard this week.”
    I nodded. “Yeah, we did, but he was great about it. It was impressive. So, uh, what were you doing at the show?”
    “I do a little product consulting for BA Rocks and for Adina Energy, you know, for nutritional stuff, so I wanted to check out the new products on the market.”
    “Ooh, Adina Energy,” I said. “I bet you just loved those dancing Adina Energy girls at their booth. I hear they’re very nutritious.”
    He laughed. “No comment.”
    “I bet,” I said, smiling.
    There was a bit of an awkward silence just then. It was the first good awkward silence I’d had in a very long time.
    “So, where do you live?” he said.
    I took a sip of my drink. “San Francisco. Have you ever been?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, but never for more than a night or two, because it’s always been for a trip with the team. I’d like to spend more time there though. What a beautiful city.”
    “Yeah, it’s pretty spectacular. Just please promise me that you will never, ever call it Frisco or San Fran, okay?”
    He laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.”
    “Seriously, Jake, remember it. Fingernails. Chalkboard. Me. Outta here.” I pointed to myself and then to the exit.
    He laughed again. “Okay, I promise. But it’s true, I’ve always thought it’d be fun to live in San Francisco. I love the beach.”
    I swallowed and shook my head. “Actually, that’s a myth.”
    “A myth?”
    I nodded. “A myth.”
    “There’s no beach in San Francisco?”
    “Okay, I’m slightly exaggerating. What I mean is that the weather in San Francisco isn’t what you’d expect, given that it’s California and all.”
    “What’s it like?”
    “It’s cold there, Jake, C-O-L-D.”
    “Really?”
    “Really. It can be nice during the day, but it’s usually foggy, and it’s always freezing at night. And you can practically play ice hockey on the ocean.”
    “Wow, I had no idea.”
    I nodded. “You’re not alone. I’ve noticed that every year I meet transplants from all over the country who have moved to San Francisco expecting to hit the beach before they even unpack. And they’re always bummed out when they come down with frostbite. It’s sort of sad, actually, like we’ve let them down.” I frowned and wiped a fake tear from my cheek.
    “It’s really that cold? It always looks so nice in the movies.”
    I shook my head. “That’s because those movies are conveniently filmed on rare sunny days, never on the days when the fog is so thick you can’t see the Golden Gate Bridge.”
    “Wow, I never knew that.”
    I put my hand on my hip. “I mean we’ve got October, which is gorgeous, I’ll give you that. And then there’s the occasional balmy day here and there, but those days always seem to happen on a Tuesday—never on a weekend when you could actually do something about it, ya know?”
    He smiled. “Nope, I didn’t know.”
    “Oh yes. I’m still waiting to go to a barbecue without having to bring a warm coat.”
    “A warm coat to a barbecue?”
    I nodded. “I’ve noticed that nearly every girl I know has a perfect sleeveless barbecue outfit hanging in her closet that she never gets to wear because it’s always too cold.”
    “Perfect barbecue outfit, huh?”
    “Perfect sleeveless barbecue outfit. Big difference.”
    He laughed. “So San Francisco’s really that bad?”
    I shook my head. “No! It’s not bad at all. It’s cold, but it’s the best. On a clear day with the sailboats dotting the bay? Are you