Read Online Private Politics (The Easy Part) by Emma Barry - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Emma Barry
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even be a first date. The girl was pretty in that sweet, short way: curly brown hair, ugly coat. He turned, showing his profile and was...Liam Nussbaum. On a date. Not ten feet from her.
Seriously, karma was such a bitch.
Alyse gasped, but luckily Liam turned back to the screen without seeing her. Her first impulse was to bolt. But if she got up now, she’d just draw attention to herself. He would ask what she was doing and what precisely would she say?
I
didn’t want to be a voyeur on your date because...
Because why? Why did this scene fill her stomach with roiling frustration?
She hadn’t known he was dating anyone when she’d hugged him two days prior, or else she wouldn’t have. Not that there was anything wrong with the hug. They were friends. He was helping her out and they’d hugged. Big deal.
Except it had kind of felt like a big deal. He was warm, so gosh darn warm. And solid. She hadn’t expected that he’d hold her as close as he did and that his arms would feel comforting braced against her back. He’d held her, really held her, and made her feel for the first time in days like everything was going to be okay. She also hadn’t predicted that he would smell like fabric softener and soap and that the combination would be so alluring. She hadn’t known he could do anything other than be nice. She had walked into Cosi expecting the nice, nerdy guy she’d known for six months and had walked out more than a little confused.
And the whole time he had been seeing this girl? He should have said something.
Wasn’t that just common courtesy? When you weren’t single, and there was the slightest chance someone might be flirting, weren’t you supposed to drop hints that you were in a relationship? She’d flirted with him over the last six months. Okay, so
pro forma
, pity flirting some of the time, but still, flirting. Wasn’t it disrespectful to his girlfriend not to have mentioned it? Not to have a dropped a “we” every once in a while?
Jerk.
The next two hours flew by. She seethed. Liam’s girlfriend giggled. Halfway through the movie, he’d put the armrest up and she’d snuggled into his side and Alyse had forgotten to breathe. Which made absolutely no sense.
As soon as the credits started, she popped to her feet, scooped up her bag and tried to make a quick escape.
“Alyse?”
Not quick enough.
* * *
Molly Mason was very cute. Liam had decided so as soon as he saw her picture on J-Date Friday night. She had one of those feisty, light-up-a-room smiles and lots of dark curls. It wasn’t just her picture, however; her profile was great too.
Former master debater
. Who doesn’t love a bawdy pun? He’d emailed her and she’d responded. Then texting with her consumed most of Saturday.
It turned out that she was the scheduler to a Senate Democrat and knew Parker a bit. Women always did, though a quick call to Parker confirmed they hadn’t ever dated. He and Molly had argued good-naturedly about the midterm election and journalistic ethics in the digital world. He’d asked her to meet him for coffee the next afternoon, aware he was pushing his luck in assuming she was free. But she was. And that date—or pre-date, or whatever coffee was—had turned into a movie because they weren’t ready to say good-bye.
It was great and she was great and spontaneity was great. So she wasn’t a tall, blond New Yorker who drove him insane. She was the better for it.
He’d been maybe the tiniest bit distracted all weekend. He’d thought about calling Alyse before he left his place to check in but he wasn’t sure where they stood after the weirdly intimate hug. His crush hadn’t needed the fuel of knowing how Alyse felt pressed up against him.
But he wasn’t giving any more attention to things that would never be. He could potentially really like Molly. She seemed to think she might really like him. He was starting to feel like maybe the universe was paying him back for thirty-some-odd years
Seriously, karma was such a bitch.
Alyse gasped, but luckily Liam turned back to the screen without seeing her. Her first impulse was to bolt. But if she got up now, she’d just draw attention to herself. He would ask what she was doing and what precisely would she say?
I
didn’t want to be a voyeur on your date because...
Because why? Why did this scene fill her stomach with roiling frustration?
She hadn’t known he was dating anyone when she’d hugged him two days prior, or else she wouldn’t have. Not that there was anything wrong with the hug. They were friends. He was helping her out and they’d hugged. Big deal.
Except it had kind of felt like a big deal. He was warm, so gosh darn warm. And solid. She hadn’t expected that he’d hold her as close as he did and that his arms would feel comforting braced against her back. He’d held her, really held her, and made her feel for the first time in days like everything was going to be okay. She also hadn’t predicted that he would smell like fabric softener and soap and that the combination would be so alluring. She hadn’t known he could do anything other than be nice. She had walked into Cosi expecting the nice, nerdy guy she’d known for six months and had walked out more than a little confused.
And the whole time he had been seeing this girl? He should have said something.
Wasn’t that just common courtesy? When you weren’t single, and there was the slightest chance someone might be flirting, weren’t you supposed to drop hints that you were in a relationship? She’d flirted with him over the last six months. Okay, so
pro forma
, pity flirting some of the time, but still, flirting. Wasn’t it disrespectful to his girlfriend not to have mentioned it? Not to have a dropped a “we” every once in a while?
Jerk.
The next two hours flew by. She seethed. Liam’s girlfriend giggled. Halfway through the movie, he’d put the armrest up and she’d snuggled into his side and Alyse had forgotten to breathe. Which made absolutely no sense.
As soon as the credits started, she popped to her feet, scooped up her bag and tried to make a quick escape.
“Alyse?”
Not quick enough.
* * *
Molly Mason was very cute. Liam had decided so as soon as he saw her picture on J-Date Friday night. She had one of those feisty, light-up-a-room smiles and lots of dark curls. It wasn’t just her picture, however; her profile was great too.
Former master debater
. Who doesn’t love a bawdy pun? He’d emailed her and she’d responded. Then texting with her consumed most of Saturday.
It turned out that she was the scheduler to a Senate Democrat and knew Parker a bit. Women always did, though a quick call to Parker confirmed they hadn’t ever dated. He and Molly had argued good-naturedly about the midterm election and journalistic ethics in the digital world. He’d asked her to meet him for coffee the next afternoon, aware he was pushing his luck in assuming she was free. But she was. And that date—or pre-date, or whatever coffee was—had turned into a movie because they weren’t ready to say good-bye.
It was great and she was great and spontaneity was great. So she wasn’t a tall, blond New Yorker who drove him insane. She was the better for it.
He’d been maybe the tiniest bit distracted all weekend. He’d thought about calling Alyse before he left his place to check in but he wasn’t sure where they stood after the weirdly intimate hug. His crush hadn’t needed the fuel of knowing how Alyse felt pressed up against him.
But he wasn’t giving any more attention to things that would never be. He could potentially really like Molly. She seemed to think she might really like him. He was starting to feel like maybe the universe was paying him back for thirty-some-odd years
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