Page 13 of The Boy Next Door
“Lindsey. Advice”
“If you need to know what to do, just watch a porno.Debbie Does Dallasis a classic. Debbie will teach you all the tricks you need.”
I face-palm. “Not advice aboutthat... The guy who won is a total sleazeball.”
“Babe, all men are sleazeballs.” She laughs. “Well, what does Evan say about it?” A catty grin shapes her lips.
“Um, Evan doesn’t know—well, he knows about the auction, which he was pissed about, but—”
“As he should be. Poor kid, he’s put in a good ten years. He’s got to have the worst case of blue balls in modern history.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Emma, don’t be dense. He’s into you. How is that not obvious?”
“He’s...not. I mean, he plowed his way through half the girls in high school by the time we graduated and he never once tried anything with me.”
“That means nothing. Guys see an available hole, they poke it. You just didn’t seem available.”
I drop my gaze to my keyboard, wiping at a piece of fuzz on theMkey. “We’re friends.”
“Pftt. Yeah right. You two have it bad for each other.”
“I couldn’t date him anyway. I mean, what happens if we break up? I don’t want to hate him. I’d rather have him as a friend than nothing at all.”
“Oh, sweet, innocent, Emma...” Lindsey sighs. “What are you going to do when he gets a girlfriend? Not some fuckbuddy, but a girlfriend. What are you going to do when it’s not you at his apartment all the time, when it’s not you sleeping over at his house? Eventually, he’s going to settle down with someone, and then where do you fit in, huh? Because most girls aren’t going to be okay with the relationship you two have.”
A tiny fissure of panic tears through me, a twinge of jealousy at whoever this girl will be.
“You don’t have to be dating someone to be in love with them.”
“Whoa, that’s a strong word.”
“You guys tell each other you love each other all the time.”
“But it’s...different.”
“And how would you know?” she laughs. “Trust me on this, you two are idiots. You should have been screwing each other a long time ago.”
“Okay, you aren’t giving me advice about what to do here with the sleazeball...”
“Yeah, I am giving you sound advice. It was a virginity auction, right?” She shrugs a shoulder. “Just go fuck Evan. He won’t be mad at you anymore and you won’t be a virgin, so whatever contract you signed or promise you made is null and void. And the sleazeball can just get to walking. Problem solved.”
The fact that Lindsey actually makes sense terrifies me. WhatamI going to do when Evan ends up dating someone?Marryingsomeone? That’s going to destroy me.
The doorbell rings at Lindsey’s apartment. She glances over her shoulder. “Hey, I gotta go, babe, but I’ll call you tomorrow. Just get drunk and bang Evan, then tell the guy from the auction you’re damaged goods.” She waves before disconnecting the call.
