Page 52 of Property of Kevlar

They were having a good day. Why had Kelsey ruined it by talking about serious stuff?

“I just…” Now she had to justify her stance without hurting Carrie’s feelings. “Well, I mean…”

Come up with something good.

With wide-eyed innocence, Carrie held Kelsey’s gaze, waiting for the reason behind her hurtful words.

“What do you and Mike have in common?” Kelsey tried. “What do you talk about?” From what she’d seen, they didn’t do that. They fucked. That was not a serious relationship. Carrie had to know that.

Didn’t she? Kelsey hoped Carrie could see her arrangement was casual. If not, that was a conversation above her pay grade.

“Lots of things,” Carrie said as she turned her attention to organizing hair products.

She wasn’t getting off that easily. The can of worms had already been opened. Kelsey might as well see this conversation through.

“Like?” Kelsey asked.

Her friend squirmed slightly under the scrutiny. “Music.”

“Oh!” How deep. “What is his favorite band?”

Carrie frowned.

“Color?”

Her lips tightened into a thin line.

“What is his last name?” Kelsey asked.

The point wasn’t cruelty. She only wanted Carrie to understand that she didn’t know this guy. She sure as shit shouldn’t be dreaming about legally binding herself to him. She was a disaster waiting to happen.

Carrie could get a little carried away when she hooked up with someone, but this was a level of delusion she hadn’t anticipated. Someone had to be the voice of reason. If that made Kelsey the bad guy, so be it. Carrie needed someone to ground her. She’d thank her later.

Hopefully.

Reality was a hard pill to swallow. Kelsey sighed and approached her friend. Reaching for her, she rubbed her shoulders. “You’re having fun,” she offered. “Nothing is wrong with that.”

One little lie wouldn’t hurt if it got Carrie’s head on straight.

She looked up at Kelsey as though she were on the verge of tears.

“Don’t overthink your situation.” Kelsey pulled her friend in for a hug. “Just let things happen. If it’s meant to be, it will be. Live in the moment. Don’t worry about what your relationship could be. You’ll miss out on what it is.”

Fleeting. Her situationship was temporary. Nothing serious. Not worth getting her panties in a twist about.

Carrie wrapped her arms around Kelsey. “I just think I could really love him,” she stammered.

“I suggest learning his favorite color before you drop L-bombs,” Kelsey proposed.

Carrie’s shoulders shook as she succumbed to the giggle erupting from her.

Kelsey kissed her temple and gave her one last comforting squeeze. “Now let’s get out of here. You want to have lunch?”

“Can’t.” Carrie beamed as she rolled her shoulders back—all confidence and sunshine again. “I have a date.”

Sitting at the café with a half-eaten club sandwich on her plate and a glass of pinot grigio in her hand, Kelsey eyed her phone. She rarely ate out alone, but when she did, she preferred her eReader with her. That was at home, but she had her cell.

In theory, she could use the app and read on her phone, but something else tempted her. Someone else.