Page 18 of Playing With Danger

“C’mon, Sophie, you can say it,” he teased.

My lips pinched to stop my smile and I shook my head.

“I’m not sure if I should be offended or smug I’ve rendered you speechless.”

“Neither. I’m not speechless, I’m flabbergasted penises come in that size,” I corrected.

His lips curved up like he thought I was amusing. As much as I liked his mouth and as much as I liked seeing his smile, I needed to veer the conversation away from his penis before my curiosity got the best of me and I asked to see it again. (Strictly for research and verification purposes, of course.)

“My mother is opinionated.”

Understatement.

“Right.”

“And she’s vocal about her opinions.”

Valentine picked up his coffee, took a sip, and waited. I knew he was giving me time to parcel out the information I wanted to give him. That was again sweet. So I made the decision and decided this was the perfect opportunity to get an outsider’s perspective. I knew what Hayden thought, but he was my best friend and his opinion was skewed.

“After the liquor store…incident, I quit my job. I hated it, I wasn’t happy, but I stayed because I hated change more than I hated my boss. As you know I live with Hayden. I have low overhead. I have a healthy balance in my savings account so I decided to invest in me and start my own business.”

He had something to say to that. “Congratulations, Sophie. Takes guts to go out on your own.”

I couldn’t help but to stare.

That right there was all I’d needed from the woman who’d birthed me. Just that. Simple. Nice. Thoughtful. Affirming.

“By the look on your face I take it your mother’s not happy for you.”

Another understatement. This time a gross underestimation of what my mother was.

“No. She has concerns,” I told him. “Loads of them, actually. Which translates to disapproval.”

“Did you borrow money from her?”

“No.”

“Do you owe her money?”

“No.”

“Does she pay your rent? Car payment? Cellphone bill?”

“No.”

“Then why the fuck do you care if she disapproves? It’s your life. If she’s not financing the decisions you make, then why does she have a say?”

Good question.

Instead of answering, I picked up my coffee, glanced at Valentine over the rim, and silently begged him not to speak while I was drinking so that we didn’t have another spitting incident.

“I knew you had it in you,” he said through a smile after I swallowed.

“Yeah, well, don’t get too excited—” I stopped abruptly, thankfully remembering at the last second, I didn’t know Valentine well enough to make inappropriate jokes. “Sorry. It’s arguable who has more off-colored jokes, me or Hayden. And I’d argue it’s me.”

“Need I remind you, we’re friends. And friends joke with each other, off-color be damned.”

We weren’t friends. He was Hayden’s friend.

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