Page 54 of A Storybook Wedding

“Who?”

“The last sleepover you had.” She rolls over onto her stomach, her legs bent at the knee to keep the boots off the bed, and she shimmies to face me. Now all I can see is the shapeliness of the back side of her…which is not making things any better.

“Last sleepover? Or last girlfriend?”

“Ooh, this just got interesting,” she says, her eyebrows going up and down. “Both.”

“Well, the last sleepover I had was with my parents, actually. My mom had a colonoscopy scheduled for eight a.m., and the traffic from Jersey is a mess at that time, so my parents slept in my guest room the night before.”

“Nate.”

“Yeah?”

“That. Is. Not. Hot.”

Her disappointment makes me laugh. “I know. I’m messing with you. To be honest with you, I sleep around constantly. I had four ladies over just this past week,” I deadpan.

“Well, then we can’t sleep in the same bed because I don’t want to catch anything from you.”

I grin. “I’m kidding, obviously. My last girlfriend was a long time ago. We split up before the pandemic. Her name was Avery. We dated for a couple of years, and she really wanted me to propose to her. You know those women who are just not subtle about it?” She nods. “She was like that. I think she just wanted to be married to someone. It didn’t even have to be me.”

“So what happened to her?”

“I got a literary agent. I was so excited, and I took her out to dinner at Mohegan Sun. Told her I had big news. She thought she was getting a ring and was sorely disappointed. We broke up on the ferry ride home.”

“Oof. I’m sorry, Pen.”

“No, I’m good. I wouldn’t want to be with someone like that anyway. The kicker was she got in touch with me once the book got big and was all congratulatory and flirty.”

“Ew.”

“Exactly.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Few years.”

“And there’s been nobody since then?”

The question makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want the truth to be the wrong answer. “There was one girl. She just lasted a few dates. But nobody since before COVID.”

“Really? That’s a long time to go without…you know.”

“Yes, CJ. I know. But it’s fine.” This is a lie. It hasn’t even been in the ballpark of fine for a while.

“Do you miss Avery?”

“Never.”

“Do you miss the idea of her?”

“Not of her, no. But the idea of someone? Sometimes. It can get lonely,” I admit. “Do you miss Bryce? Was there anyone important after him?”

She shakes her head.

“I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true,” she shrugs. “Me and online dating don’t mesh well.”

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