Page 37 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Her tone was innocent, but a small, satisfied smile was playing on her lips.

“What? Tell me.”

“He likes you.”

“He likes anyone with two X chromosomes.”

Jenny chuckled. “And you don’t want a hockey player, am I right?”

“Heartbreakers.”

“I see.” She glanced down, then up again. “All of them?”

Athena shrugged. “He’s just… I’ve seen him on TV. Always signing something for a chick and they’re always hanging off of him. They wouldn’t do that if he wasn’t welcoming.”

“How does he act in real life?”

Athena rolled her eyes. “Total flirt.”

“Fun though?”

“He’s awful.”

“Why?”

“I like him even though I shouldn’t.” She crossed her arms, baffled as to why she was so into him when she should be giving him a wide berth. “And he doesn’t take me seriously at work.”

“Maybe because you take yourself too seriously?”

“I’m in my thirties. I have a birthday coming up. I’m supposed to be serious.”

Jenny waved her hand again. “But he makes you laugh.”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

“So then, who says you have to give him your heart? Can’t you just crush on the man and let that be it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Has he asked you out?”

“No.”

“There you go.”

Now she felt insulted that he hadn’t asked her on a date. Well, at least in a way that felt real. Like he had stakes in her answer.

“You can find a guy sexy and have fun with him without dating him,” Jenny said. “There’s this new-fangled thing called being friends. It even works between opposite genders.”

“Ha-ha,” Athena replied flatly.

“For real. You’ve been driving yourself so hard lately with all this work. Let the guy make you laugh. Let loose a little and have some fun.”

“So you’re a professor,” Athena said gamely, sliding back into her spot across from Glenn.

Have fun. Let loose. Laugh a little.

---