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thoughts, the guy turned and looked right at me.
    There it was, the spark that sizzled and burned. I felt overwhelmed with lust, almost sick with it.
    Suddenly, Sophie grabbed my arm. I didn’t even have the presence of mind to shake off her touch. “Eva, look,” she said excitedly, “there’s Jake!”
    Sophie let go of my arm and waved wildly toward the playing field. “Jake, over here!”
    And then the guy with the amazing butt was ambling toward us, a slow grin dawning on his very beautiful face.
    â€œOh, shit.” The words escaped my lips and Sophie turned to me with a frown.
    â€œAre you okay?” she asked.
    â€œFine,” I squeaked. “Just . . . just a splinter from the bench.”
    And then Jake was climbing up the bleachers, his muscular thighs outlined nicely beneath his formfitting pants.
    â€œMom, hey,” he said. Sophie leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Jake’s neck. I sat, transfixed. Over her shoulder, Jake gave me a wink.
    â€œAre you glad I came to see you?” Sophie asked when she’d let her son go.
    Jake smiled. “More than you know, Mom.”
    Oh, shit, I said, this time to myself.
    â€œOh, where are my manners!” Sophie turned to me and said, “This is my friend Eva. Eva, you remember Jake, don’t you? Though he doesn’t look anything like he looked when we moved West!”
    Jake extended his hand. I put out mine as I searched for an appropriate greeting. “ I want to have sex with you immediately ” probably wouldn’t cut it.
    â€œHey,” Jake said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
    His eyes held mine. Yeah, I know that’s a trite expression but how else to describe the “moment”?
    â€œHey,” I said back. “The pleasure is mine.”
    The moment the words were out I thought I’d blown it. Had Sophie heard the implication there? I released Jake’s hand quickly (though reluctantly), but the happy smile on my friend’s face put my mind at ease.
    Sophie told Jake that we were having dinner in Boston after the game with our college friend John.
    Jake put his arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “Hey, maybe I’ll come with you, no? After I clean up.”
    I imagined Jake in the shower. He looked at me and I’m sure he knew what I was thinking.
    Sophie playfully patted her son’s chest. She was killing me and had no idea. “Don’t be silly,” she said. “You’d just be bored. All we’ll be doing is reminiscing.”
    Jake squeezed her shoulder and then released her. “Okay, well, maybe some other time. I’d better get back to the field. The game’s about to start.”
    I smiled pleasantly, but my heart—rather, the seat of my libido—sunk. With a wave and another smoldering look (yes, smoldering, and very daring, too), Jake loped off to join his teammates.
    Sophie sat down next to me and beamed. “Isn’t he wonderful?” she asked.
    â€œYes,” I said weakly, “wonderful.”

15

    The best lies sound perfectly ordinary and often make good sense. You suspect you smell of another woman’s perfume? The first thing to do when you walk through the door that night is complain loudly about the overperfumed woman who squeezed in next to you on the train. Your wife will have no good reason to suspect you of foul play.
    â€”Covering a Lie: It’s Easier Than You Think

    E VA
    Â 
    God, what a beautiful man.
    These were the words that came to my mind when John walked into the restaurant that evening. The thought was dispassionate. There was no sexual chemistry like there’d been with Jake earlier that afternoon. My appreciation of John was of a different sort. Nevertheless, I skillfully squashed it.
    John had suggested Marino’s for dinner, a mom-and-pop Italian place in the North End, a little downscale for my taste. Sophie, however, loved it, proclaiming it so