Page 12 of Your Pace Or Mine

“No!” I might be a bit too emphatic. “That’s not happening again. For real.”

“Sure, sure,” she says, unconvinced.

“The last time was years ago. It’s not like this is a routine thing.”

Stevie looks at me. “The last time? You mean you’ve hooked up with him before?”

“Um …”

Laurel’s laugh is more like a cackle. I thought Stevie knew all my secrets, but I guess she missed this one.

“Ashley!” Stevie is so loud that Victor glances back at us.

“So we might have had a fling back when we were young.” I usually keep the lid closed on that night, try not to remember falling into bed with him after his father’s wedding. It feels like a lifetime ago. I was naïve enough to think that his reaching for me in a moment of vulnerability meant something more. Maybe I wanted an excuse to open up the jar where I’d kept my attraction for him sealed up for years, but the old cynical Sebastian was back in the morning.

“So, you’re saying this guy never hooks up with the same woman more than once, yet you’ve slept with him twice and you’re still on speaking terms?”

“And it will stay at two,” I say firmly. “We’re going to be working together, and the whole point of my collaboration is that I’ll be dating other men.”

“You’re doing it for sure?” Laurel confirms.

“Yep. It’s confirmed.” I sent the papers in last night after reviewing them but hadn’t told my friends yet since they both seemed iffy on the concept. Even Stevie, who is usually on board with any romantic plans that could lead to a good story, seemed concerned with getting paid to go on dates, like I was becoming an escort or something. I brace myself for more unsolicited commentary, but they keep any misgivings to themselves.

“Can’t wait to hear about all your escapades” is all I get from Stevie.

“What’s the next step?” Laurel asks.

This is the part I’m good at. “I’ll officially start posting in the next few weeks. I’ll go on dates through my regular account on the app, but now I get super access for free.”

It’s a pretty sweet deal. I can send photos, see more detailed information about my profile views, boost my profile in the algorithms, and get discounts at a few local businesses. “I’m going to spend the weekend scoping out potential dates and planning out content.”

“Fun! I can’t wait to see it,” Laurel replies.

“Do you want to come over later and help me with some videos?” I ask Laurel hopefully. I have some ideas for my incognito look, but it would be great to have someone assist with the lighting and give input.

I glance over at my best friend and see her face freeze for a second. “We were planning to go to IKEA later to look at beds because … Well, mine was secondhand from my sister, and it’s looking rough. It might be nice to have a new one, maybe a king.”

I try to catch Stevie’s eye to see if she’s as intrigued with this development as I am, but it’s impossible while running in a trio.

“I’ll check with Cal about the timing,” Laurel adds. “What about tomorrow?”

I almost offer to come along to the store but realize before it’s out of my mouth how stupid that would sound. We were always IKEA buddies since it’s a pain to go there alone—the carts are unwieldy, and loading things in a car by yourself is tricky, plus it’s nice to have company while gorging yourself with cinnamon rolls. We’ve spent more than a few memorable rainy afternoons goofing around in the bedroom section, picking the ugliest bedding when we had nothing better to do. But things change, and it makes sense that she would look at beds with the person sharing hers.

“Sure, tomorrow is good.” I make my voice as cheerful as I can. I don’t need her pitying me for my silly nostalgic reaction. “Let me know for sure, and I’ll structure today around the other stuff I have to do.”

We chat on and off about banal life updates during the run while taking care not to slip on snow or ice. By the time we get back to Yonge and Eglinton, Stevie has finished a rant about some of her more obnoxious students, and I’m pleased that my friends have decided not to double down on the Sebastian issue.

I’m nearly home free until we’re walking over to get coffee afterward and Tess corners me, wanting to know all about Sebastian, and demanding photos. Of course the most recent ones are from the other night when I was slightly buzzed on my couch.

“Whoa, he’s hot.”

She’s not wrong. He’s got dark curly hair, just long enough to look sexy and tousled, and an olive complexion. His eyes manage to sparkle in a way that should honestly be illegal. The photo doesn’t even show off his physique, which he keeps in great shape. His muscled forearms are a thing of beauty. Damn, they’re distracting.

Tess continues. “You should get with him.”

Next to me, Stevie coughs loudly and Tess’s eyes widen. “Did you guys hook up? Tell me everything.”

I don’t want to go into the whole thing in Starbucks, so I leave it vague. “It’s a long story and we go way, way back. And yes, we’ve hooked up before. But now we’ll be working together, so it won’t happen again.”