Page 97 of More Than Pen Pals

“Good. You cleared the first hurdle. It’s the hardest one. Now you know you’ve got the strength to stay the course. I admire that. She’ll admire it, too. You proved she can trust you.”

I nod. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but he’s right. I still hope she didn’t take the teasing the wrong way, though.

“What did you talk about?”

When I think back, I realize we mostly talked about me—andhim—but I’m not admitting that. I make a mental note to not monopolize future conversations with Leslie, and I say, “All kinds of stuff—family, work, favorite ice cream flavors …”

“What’s her favorite?”

“Mint chocolate chip.”

“Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t.” There’s no chance of me forgetting anything Leslie has said to me in the past week.

“When are you going to see her again?”

“After work today.”

“You’re not wasting any time.”

“No reason to.”

He nods. “What are you going to do about Melissa?”

I sigh. “I don’t know.”

“You can let me go out with her alone.”

“No.”

“You can trust me.”

“I cannot.”

“Come on. You can’t go on a fake date when you have a girlfriend. Melissa will understand if you cancel on her.”

“I know, but I’ll feel bad because of her mom. And if I cancel, what am I going to tellourmom?”

“That you have a girlfriend?”

“And then she’ll ask why I asked Melissa out if I’m dating someone else.”

“Are you scared to tell Mom about Leslie?”

“Yes. You heard what she said about not wanting me to date someone in PR. Plus, I’m not sure how understanding she’ll be about what Leslie did when we were kids. I need more time to figure out how to break the news to her.”

“Believe it or not, I’d already forgotten about the pen pal deception. Mom’s not going to like that at all.”

“Nope.”

“I hate to say it, but you got yourself into this mess by pretending to be interested in Melissa. You could’ve told Mom the truth from the beginning.”

He doesn’t hate to say it. In fact, he seems to be enjoying it.

“Thanks for bringing that up. I appreciate it.”

“Sorry.” He’s not sorry. “What if we ask Melissa to bring a friend or two along—make it a group thing?”

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