is pain, remember?” I tease back. “Anyway, I’m at the bar by myself—where I completely got blown off by Bethany Bonafont and her Beehive, but that’s a story for later—and I look over and see this completely gorgeous guy sitting by himself at the other end. We’re talking Brad Pitt in his prime hot. We’re talking shirtless all the time hot. Next thing I know, he comes over and we strike up a conversation. It’s perfect, Jane. Just perfect. We absolutely click on everything. He’s funny, he’s sweet, he’s surprisingly smart for someone who works shirtless.”
“‘Smart model’ always feels like an oxymoron to me. I know it’s possible, but it still never fails to surprise me. Mostly because it feels unfair, I guess,” she says.
Totes agree. You should only be mind-blowingly attractive or mind-blowingly talented. Looking at you, Melanie Harlow.
“Right?” I shrug. “He wasn’t pretty and dumb, that’s for sure. We laughed and talked and drank for hours, and then he invites me up to his room. Oh, god, Jane. His tongue…” I shiver just thinking about it. “The man knows how to work it. We’ll just say that.”
“So it was good?” She lays out the makeup and starts working on my flushed face. I need no blush to glow this morning.
“Better than I’ve had in years. Years. I’d bang him on lunch break today, and you know I don’t like skipping meals.”
“Damn.”
“I know.”
“You know.” Jane shifts into business mode with the makeup, and I can only sit there, mentally rehashing my tryst with Joe on a loop. “You remind me a lot of my friend, Melissa. She had this exact same morning-after glow when she met her fiancé. I thought she was going to take off in flight. Of course, there were some real hiccups on the way to putting a ring on it, but…”
“Oh, you misunderstand.” I shake my head and earn a frown from Jane, who is wielding a mascara wand. “Sorry. But no, you have it totally backwards. I don’t want a relationship. I didn’t even get Joe’s last name, or where he’s from. I don’t want to follow him on Facebook. I don’t want to trade numbers. I don’t even want to see him again today. Well, okay, I’d totally see him again today and bang him sideways. But I don’t want to see him again after this week. I’m in the middle of a very important time in my career. That’s my relationship right now, my writing.”
Jane throws her hands up in disgust and cocks an eyebrow at me. “You don’t think writing romance would be a little easier if you had some in your own life?”
“I’ve had enough. Good writers know how to dig down deep from past experiences to write something. I don’t need more distractions if I’m ever going to break onto a bestseller list.”
Jane frowns but shrugs. “Methinks thou doth protest too much.”
“How so?”
“Romance is your life. How do you keep it fresh without experiencing it more often? Look at you!” Jane holds up a mirror, her handiwork done. “I barely had to put on anything because you are positively radiating. You mean to tell me you don’t want more of that? Mr. Knows-How-To-Work-It can keep it to himself because one helping was enough for you?”
“I’m fine,” I say, waving her off and grabbing another donut. After all, last night surely pre-burned many calories. “I’m so happy in my life right now. A relationship would only complicate it and get in the way of my writing time. However, I have recently considered getting a cat. Like an old one.”
“You.” Jane looks skeptical. “You want a cat? You can barely take care of yourself. Matter of fact, when I told you we were looking for a puppy, you told me pets were a waste of time and money.”
“Well, then I got laid and changed my mind.”
“You either need to get laid more often, or never again,” Jane says. “Because that’s weird.” She leans against the counter and digs through the donuts.
“Okay, okay. I’ll rephrase. I just
“‘Smart model’ always feels like an oxymoron to me. I know it’s possible, but it still never fails to surprise me. Mostly because it feels unfair, I guess,” she says.
Totes agree. You should only be mind-blowingly attractive or mind-blowingly talented. Looking at you, Melanie Harlow.
“Right?” I shrug. “He wasn’t pretty and dumb, that’s for sure. We laughed and talked and drank for hours, and then he invites me up to his room. Oh, god, Jane. His tongue…” I shiver just thinking about it. “The man knows how to work it. We’ll just say that.”
“So it was good?” She lays out the makeup and starts working on my flushed face. I need no blush to glow this morning.
“Better than I’ve had in years. Years. I’d bang him on lunch break today, and you know I don’t like skipping meals.”
“Damn.”
“I know.”
“You know.” Jane shifts into business mode with the makeup, and I can only sit there, mentally rehashing my tryst with Joe on a loop. “You remind me a lot of my friend, Melissa. She had this exact same morning-after glow when she met her fiancé. I thought she was going to take off in flight. Of course, there were some real hiccups on the way to putting a ring on it, but…”
“Oh, you misunderstand.” I shake my head and earn a frown from Jane, who is wielding a mascara wand. “Sorry. But no, you have it totally backwards. I don’t want a relationship. I didn’t even get Joe’s last name, or where he’s from. I don’t want to follow him on Facebook. I don’t want to trade numbers. I don’t even want to see him again today. Well, okay, I’d totally see him again today and bang him sideways. But I don’t want to see him again after this week. I’m in the middle of a very important time in my career. That’s my relationship right now, my writing.”
Jane throws her hands up in disgust and cocks an eyebrow at me. “You don’t think writing romance would be a little easier if you had some in your own life?”
“I’ve had enough. Good writers know how to dig down deep from past experiences to write something. I don’t need more distractions if I’m ever going to break onto a bestseller list.”
Jane frowns but shrugs. “Methinks thou doth protest too much.”
“How so?”
“Romance is your life. How do you keep it fresh without experiencing it more often? Look at you!” Jane holds up a mirror, her handiwork done. “I barely had to put on anything because you are positively radiating. You mean to tell me you don’t want more of that? Mr. Knows-How-To-Work-It can keep it to himself because one helping was enough for you?”
“I’m fine,” I say, waving her off and grabbing another donut. After all, last night surely pre-burned many calories. “I’m so happy in my life right now. A relationship would only complicate it and get in the way of my writing time. However, I have recently considered getting a cat. Like an old one.”
“You.” Jane looks skeptical. “You want a cat? You can barely take care of yourself. Matter of fact, when I told you we were looking for a puppy, you told me pets were a waste of time and money.”
“Well, then I got laid and changed my mind.”
“You either need to get laid more often, or never again,” Jane says. “Because that’s weird.” She leans against the counter and digs through the donuts.
“Okay, okay. I’ll rephrase. I just
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