Page 124 of Built to Fall
Eden grabs one of the shelves for dramatic effect with her jaw halfway to the floor. “Wait—wait, wait. Back it up. You toldGrantthat you’ve never had an orgasm?”
“And then he offered to give you one?” Meredith adds, her voice a flat octave somewhere between horrified and impressed.
“Is this some kind of alternate universe?” Eden continues her ramble.
“Listen, listen—” I try to start, but each of them cuts me off again.
“Youlisten,” Kara says, pointing at me as if she’s delivering a TED Talk. “You can’t just casually drop that Grant offered to give you a life-changing orgasm like you’re reading us the weather report.”
“I’m sorry, butwhat the hellis happening in Martha’s Vineyard?” Meredith adds, clutching the champagne bottle in stress-ball fashion. “I thought you were going to drown your feelings and get some good sleep in Grant’s bed.”
“Same!” Eden throws her hands up. “I thought this was going to be some eat, drink, and grieve thing. Notorgasms on demand.”
I press my lips together, trying not to smile. “Nothing happened,okay?”
“Nothing yet,” Kara mutters.
Leveling her with a look, I say, “You’re not helping.”
“You don’t need help. You need to admit you’re in love with him.”
“Okay,that’s anenormousstretch?—”
“Lina,” Eden cuts in, her tone suddenly gentler. “You stayed in his bed last night, right?”
My silence is the answer.
“And did it feel normal? Comfortable?” she asks, one brow raised.
“Yes,” I admit quietly.
They exchange alook—the kind I hate because it’s always full of silent conclusions they’ve drawn without me.
“Alright. I think we need to step back and let you figure this out for yourself.” Meredith sighs hopelessly.
Eden finally makes her champagne selection—a luxury-looking, gold-encrusted bottle that probably costs the same as a month’s worth of groceries. “I completely disagree. I think this needs to be discussed in much further detail—preferably over champagne. In fact, there may be a need for an intervention here.”
“Intervention?” A laugh nearly bursts from my lips.
None of them flinch as we make our way toward the counter.
Kara nods in agreement. “You’re going to take him up on the offer, aren’t you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You can’t be serious!” Eden gasps. “The top orgasm provider on campus offers you his services, and you’re not jumping at the opportunity to take them?”
“We all know Eden already jumped on that one,” Meredith mutters under her breath.
My head spins, metaphorically and literally, but the look the cashier gives us as the champagne bottles are set on the counter near the register keeps me from asking any follow-up questions.
It might be for the best because I don’t know if I want the answer. Instead, I answer the original question, “I never said I wasn’tconsideringit.”
“Right.” Eden grabs the bag of champagne once the cashier finishes ringing us up. “At this point, it’s not aboutifit happens—it’s when. And what you’ll be wearing when it does.”
“I’m not even thinking about that right now.”
“Doubt it,” Meredith says as we step back into the cold. “You’re way too calculated for that.”
