Page 9 of Mr. February

Jenny’s face softened into a smile as she continued. “We worked on the holiday party together and I had a great time withhim and the others. That’s when I realized he didn’t talk to me as much as anybody else. He didn’t avoid me or anything, but it was noticeable.”

“I’m now even more convinced of the brilliance of my plan. And, girl, youwanta geeky guy. They know how to do it.”

“It? What do you mean?”

“Sex,” Gloria stressed. “They’re the sex experts - sexperts. Geeky guys don’t spend hours trying to impress other people with how they look. But they’re amazing at focusing on something and figuring out how it works, and they bring that intensity with them to sex. People say that there’s no manual to sex, but they’re wrong. The geeks have written the sex manual, and they’re hoarding it.”

Jenny burst into an awkward laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”

“No, I’m serious as a heart-attack. Geeky guys know they can’t keep a woman based on their looks most of the time. Yeah, geek chic has come into fashion, and I’m here for it. Most real geeks don’t spend time on their appearance, so they make up for it in two ways: being very attentive and bringing all their genius and problem-solving skills to figuring out the female orgasm.”

“If they’re so great, why aren’t you having sex with a geek?”

“Who’s to say I’m not?”

At Jenny’s open-mouthed surprise, Gloria cackled. “I’m just fucking with you. Most of my one-night stands have been with geeks, though. Conferences are a great place to ‘hit it and quit it’ without any hurt feelings. I don’t date because I’m too much of a drama queen to mix business with pleasure, but that’s not the case for you.”

The alarm on Jenny’s phone alerted her that it was time to head to the meeting. She turned it off, tossed it into her purse, and gathered her tablet.

“Darn, we’re out of time,” Jenny said as she locked her computer. “Guess we’ll have to pick this conversation up later, or never.”

Gloria’s wicked laugh made her nervous.

“What have you done?” Jenny asked as the two women walked to the meeting.

“Are you sure you want to ask about that here?” Gloria teased.

“No, I’m not sure because I don’t know what you did.”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” came her singsong reply.

“You’re lucky I adore you,” Jenny grumbled as they seated themselves.

“I know I am,” Gloria said in earnest. “I’ve never had such a good friend who lets me be who I am while gently reining me in and holding me back from acting on my worst impulses. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“Aww, thank you. I love you and am grateful for your friendship, too.”

The solemnity dropped from her face, and Gloria leaned closer to whisper.

“Remember that you love me, okay? I adore you, and I would never want you to do something that would be bad for you. I might push you at times, but that’s only because I have more confidence in you than you do.”

“Now you’re freaking me out. What did you do?” Jenny asked in consternation.

Gloria leaned back in her chair, and a broad smile covered her face.

“It’ll be fine.You’llbe fine. And if you don’t want to take advantage of this opportunity, that’s okay, too. No harm, no foul. But I know you. Left to your own devices, you’d stay holed up at home with your books.”

Jenny opened her mouth to defend herself, but Gloria kept going.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s great in fact - sometimes. Everybody should spend time being single and learning how to enjoy themselves alone. But I think your mourning period for that relationship has long since passed.”

“I’m not mourning that relationship. Chad made it very easy to get over him.”

“You said yourself that you miss being part of a couple.”

“And I do, sometimes. But not enough”—she scooted closer to Gloria before she lowered her voice—“to hook up with some random guy on an app.”

Gloria dismissed her comment with a snort and an eye roll. “That’s old news. We have a new plan, remember?”

---