Page 64 of Mr. February

“That day in the break room?” Gloria’s trill of laughter filled the room, and more of Jenny’s tension abated when her friend laughed at the situation. “Oh my god, that’s fucking hilarious.Wait, how did you find out? Did he tell you, or did you guess based on things he said”

“He told me before we got into anything too private.”

“What a good boy.”

Jenny giggled. She wondered if Wade would enjoy that as much as she liked it when he called her a good girl.

“Okay, that’s one particular giggle I don’t want explained,” Gloria said in a droll voice that made Jenny laugh harder. “So, he heard some of our conversation that day. What parts did he overhear?”

Gloria gasped with excitement. “Did he hear when I suggested you hook up with him? Is that why he asked you to be his fake girlfriend?”

“He said he would have recruited your help if he’d known about your idea, but it was my idea to fake date to get Suzanne off his back. No, he heard me say Chad was texting me and his horrible reasons for having sex with him. Plus, he heard the embarrassing things Chad said when he broke up with me.”

“God, I fucking hate that guy,” Gloria snarled.

Jenny envisioned Gloria grinding her teeth.

“I know. Me, too. And of course, he also knew the whole thing about the hookup app wasn’t from a book.”

Gloria cackled, and Jenny let out a reluctant laugh of her own.

“What about the part about never orgasming with someone else?”

“Oh my god, I completely forgot about that! I don’t know, but I hope not. He didn’t mention that part, and I can’t remember when you and I talked about it. You’d be so proud of me, though. I asked him if he saw me as a challenge.”

“Oh, scary question! Good job, babe.”

“It was scary! But he said, getting me to notice him was the challenge, and I was the prize.”

Jenny’s voice softened on those last words as if she couldn’t quite believe them, and she wanted to hold them close.

“Smooth job, Wade. Nice. Okay, so what’s the problem? He sounds great. You already know I like him. I wouldn’t have recommended you hook up with him otherwise since you’re not really built for casual. What are you so anxious about?”

“I don’t know what to do. He says he’s all-in and is ready to tell everybody at work that we’re dating, and he’s excited about me meeting his sisters, but I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Because of that shitbag Chad and the asshole you dated before him, right? God, I could wring their necks for how shitty they made you feel about yourself. They’re such dicks.”

“But what if they’re right? What’s that phrase? If you consistently have the same problem, maybe the problem is you. What if I’m the problem? Is there something about me that only attracts that kind of guy?”

“Honey, no. I do think there’s some truth to that statement sometimes, but I don’t think it applies to this situation. Your dad’s an asshole, too, so it’s no wonder you keep going for jerks. But youdon’tonly attract that kind of guy. That’s the only kind of guy you thought you deserve.”

Jenny gaped at her phone, unprepared for her friend’s words.

“But you’re entitled to something better than shitty men and boring sex.”

Jenny’s throat clogged with emotion, but she forced herself to ask the question that had haunted her for so long.

“What if I really am bad in bed?”

“Did Chad say that? You forgot that I’ve met him. He hit on me minutes after you introduced me as your best friend. Don’t take anything he said as truth, particularly when it comes to sex.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at it logically. Selfish people are generally selfish in bed, too. If anybody was bad in bed, it was him. Plus, why would he besniffing around now if you were so terrible? With Mommy and Daddy’s money, it wouldn’t be hard to find a party girl if all he wanted was to get his dick wet.”

“That’s a good point.”

“Of course it is. And he’s not sucking up to you, hoping you’ll forget his shitty behavior. He made it clear it’s just about sex, right? Men with money always have other options.”

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