Page 14 of D.I.E.T. (Did I Eat That?)

I rolled my eyes, plucking at a piece of chicken I had no intention of eating. “We’re halfway through and I’m going out of my mind, Lu.”

“How long have you had a crush on him?” she asked out of the blue.

“Crush on who?”

“Sinjin.”

“Have you lost your mind?” I sputtered on the words. “I don’t have a crush on him. I hate the guy. Eats like crap, loses more weight. Were you not listening?” I’d purposely left out of our phone conversations over the past few weeks talk of his charm and wit fearing she’d come to this very conclusion.

Straight-faced, she looked at me. “Oh yeah, I was listening, sister.” Lu held her fork, waving it in a slow circle over her head. “And what I heard was blah, blah, blah, I need to get laid by Sinjin, blah, blah, blah.”

“Then you need to get your hearing checked. Why would I want sex with Sinjin when I have Mr. Rabbit?”

My sister takes a huge bite of her salad before answering, pointing her fork at me. “Because Mr. Rabbit won’t hold you after an incredible orgasm.”

“Most guys won’t do that,” I countered, nibbling on more greenery for something to do.

“I have a feeling Sinjin’s a cuddler. His name screams cuddler. I’ll bet he won’t only hold you, but he’ll whisper sweet things until you pass out from the sheer exhaustion of receiving not just an incredible orgasm, but the freaking best one of your life.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of insight for a man you’ve never met,” I said snidely.

“Mark my words. When you’re digging your fingernails into his back while screaming his name, remember we had this conversation.”

Whatever. I grabbed the pillow off the sofa next to me and swatted her with it. We both giggled. “What about you?” I asked.

“What about me? I have orgasms all the time.”

“True, but there haven’t been any repeat o-givers in the pack?”

“Been there, done that. Got the broken heart to prove it.”

“Speaking of gorgeous a-holes. I ran into Rob last week. Well, not so much ran into him as he came into the salon for a cut and style from Kemberly.”

“He had the nerve to go to your salon? That had to be purposeful. The waiting list is like five years long. AndKemberly? You know she changed that to try to sound unique.” I thought she was probably right on both accounts, but especially Rob. He made the biggest mistake of his life dumping my sister. Things were getting too serious too fast. He needed to explore the world before he settled down. He needed adventures to help him feel contented later or some bull like that. Hmm… Len continued to see the world. Having Kami never stopped him from living his life, having Kami accentuated it, giving him someone to share it with.

At least the-numbnut-who-shall-not-be-named had the courtesy to cheat on me.Therewas a real reason to break up.“I’m just not feeling it with you anymore,”he’d said.“I reconnected with my ex,”he’d said.“She missed me and was sorry she dumped me,”he’d said.

Boom! Done.

I tossed and turned all night on my sister’s usually comfy sofa, unable to get my brain to turn off. Unable to stop thinking about Luisa’s crazy idea. She thought I had a crush on Sinjin. Did I have a crush on Sinjin? No… I’d know if I did, wouldn’t I? I found him smart. Witty. Charming. Highly attractive. But none of that equaled an actual real live crush, did it?

The man didn’t take anything seriously but his job. Well, I didn’t really know him well enough to make that statement, but he certainly—and by his own admission—didn’t take bootcamp seriously. No. No. I decided. Absolutely no crush on Sinjin Barrow. There! That was another really great reason not to have a crush. What kind of name was Barrow anyway? Wasn’t that Clyde of Bonnie and Clyde fame’s last name? For all I knew he was related to an outlaw.

Good.Sleep brain, I ordered, and yet my brain refused to comply. Gah! The last time I remembered checking, the clock read 5:00a.m.Now it read 9:00a.m.and I knew this because my wonderful sister shook me awake, sitting on the edge of the cushion.

“Come on, sister. Get up,” she said. “Let’s go get breakfast and then we’ll go shopping for your Chilean adventure.”

“Go away.” I shoved at her. She tipped forward, losing her balance, but recovered, ripping the cozy, warm blanket down my body.

“Get up,” she demanded.

“Get lost,” I countered. “It’ll still be cold down there. I don’t need new clothing. What I need is sleep.”

That would be when the poking started. All our lives, to get her way, Lu used her method of persuasion that would make any terrorist proud. She poked every place she could touch. Predictably, I swiped at her, she dodged said swipe and went back to her relentless prodding until I either got up to beat the crap out of her or got up to get dressed. Either way, I was getting up and seeing as we were adults and she happened to be one of the closest people to me in my life, I opted for number two.

Thankfully, when I exited the shower fully dressed in the change of clothing I’d brought with me, after rolling up my blanket and groggily, grumpily making my way to her bathroom, she held a steaming cup of joe out to my ever-grateful hands. I growled at her as I took it, sipping on the life-fulfilling liquid with cautious zeal. Again, it was hot.

“Maybe don’t show that particular character trait to Sinjin too early in the relationship,” she teased while also handing me my shoes. “We don’t want to scare him off.”

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