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She hits me on the arm. “You are incorrigible. Just when I was beginning to think you were actually a human being.”
“Boy, do I have you fooled.”
“No, actually”—she stands, pulling me up with her—“I don’t think that you do. Just the opposite.”
25
Ada
Ada: SOS
Kristina: Sounds serious.
Ada: You have no idea. Have a sec?
Kristina: Sure!
My sister picks up the phone on the first ring. “What’s up?”
After a day of strolling through town and a series of probing questions, both from me to Hayden and vice versa, it’s been the most perfect day of my life. Far from the cocky businessman I met in the office that first day, Hayden is proving to be thoughtful, his insight into relationships, and the world, more nuanced than I’d ever have given him credit for before that day. But also, the sexual tension between us is off the charts.
“Not working tonight?”
As a pharmacist, my sister works split shifts, so it’s hard to remember when she’ll be at work. Weekends don’t guarantee it.
“Nope, getting ready to go out with some friends. So what’s the SOS?”
“First of all, I need your solemn, lockbox promise this is between us.”
“It’s in the box.”
Sometimes,Don’t tell Mom or Dadreally meansdon’t tell them unless you think it’s absolutely necessary or you’re tricked into it or you’ll come to some kind of harm if you don’t tell. But when something is in the lockbox, that’s a different story. We’ve both always honored the lockbox.
“OK, I’ll try to make this quick.”
I start from the beginning. The very beginning, when Hayden slipped my bracelet back on my wrist and my body tingled all over. I tell her about our business dinner, our not-so-business lunch, and the site visit. And everything that’s led me to today.
“So let me get this straight. You are on an impromptu vacation with a guy you met a few weeks ago, who also happens to be one of the sponsors of the NDA you’re processing. Is that pretty much it?”
I look out the window of my cottage room but don’t see anything yet. He said he’d come over in fifteen minutes, but it feels like we’ve been apart for an hour.
It’s more like five minutes, but who’s counting?
“Pretty much.”
“And you called me to ask if you should sleep with him?”
Not exactly.
“No. I’m calling you because I one hundred percent know we’re going to have sex tonight. I’m calling to ask if you think it’s the worst idea in the world.”
She doesn’t say anything.
I sigh heavily. “OK. I already know it’s the worst idea in the world. But Kris, something about this just feels right. Like it’s meant to be. There’s more to him than people think.”
“The fact that you’re holed up with a mega-hot rich boy who’s on the precipice of—let me see if I can get your words right—a ‘life-changing product that will change the way we consume alcohol.’ You mean that kind of fate?”
If I’m honest, I called her to talk me out of it, because Kristina is the most logical of any of us, including my dad. Sometimes, she’s like a robot. It can be a bit scary.
