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“Har har.” The pounding in my head fades to a rhythmic ache.
Actually, this back-and-forth with him is helping me.
If I keep talking, maybe that’ll make the movies in my head stop playing, too. Lying horizontally with a guy does not give me the right to fantasize about being the little spoon.
“He never came after me with a drill,” I say. “And he didn’t care what toothpaste I used.”
I study a passing cloud, so I don’t have to look at Mr. Hunk. “Actually, that’s not true. One time, he suggested that I switch brands.”
“Knew it.” He laughs. “Okay, so, what was the deal? What went wrong?”
“Um… he was a little older. Six years. Way more experience.”
“Ah hem. Hoo… ‘scuse me.” He hits his chest. When I look over, I see pink tinting his tanned cheeks.
Did I make this King of Confidence blush?
I did!
“Okay, sorry,” he chokes out. “I’m listening. So the guy’s older, more experienced, and it was a problem… what… in the bedroom?”
I hear myself squeak. “Okay, no! That would be oversharing…”
His rumbly laugh meets mine. “Right, right. I thought we were getting into some juicy stuff. Okay, so, what happened?”
“Well, like I was trying to explain, he had more experience, as in life experience,” I tease. “Specifically, marriage. He was just getting through a divorce when we started dating. Or, at least, that’s what I thought. That’s what he said. Turned out, the divorce wasn’t as official as he made it sound.”
“Yikes.”
“Yeah… it sucked.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it was fine. It wasn’t meant to be.” I wave breezily like that chapter of my life is nothing but a pesky gnat I can shoo away.
That wasn’t what it felt like at the time, though. Not at all. I felt betrayed and used. That relationship undermined my confidence. It made me scared—really scared—to try dating again.
“The guy sounds like a loser,” Stunt Devil offers. “If that’s any consolation. You should have used your ‘no creeps’ line on him when he took a pass at you the first time. All caps.”
“Think it would’ve worked?”
“No. No, I don’t. The guy was married, and he led you to believe otherwise. Means he’s got no morals, so he’d have no problem violating your ‘no creeps’ rule.”
“Are you married?” I ask.
“Nope.”
“Are you sure? That can get confusing, even to smart people who know about blood pressure. Maybe you have the papers, you talked to the lawyer… You’ve been renting an apartment for a few months. But you just didn’t quite get around to signing anything. Maybe your wife wants to try counseling.”
“Believe me when I say I would never take advantage of someone like that. Especially a person as cool as you.”
It’s probably dumb of me to be so touched by his promise.
I don’t even know this guy.
However, I am touched. I find myself smiling up at the clouds. “So now I’m clever, sweet, and cool? Are you always this liberal with the compliments?”
“I told you I have a silver tongue.”
