Page 12 of Trusting You
Nora attempted to give me a blank stare, but I was not buying it so I pressed her further. “Is there a reason you are feuding with the Mark Zuckerberg of Havenport?”
Nora rolled her eyes. “He is no Mark Zuckerberg,” she scoffed.
“Well, true,” I replied. “He is nothing like Zuck in that he is unbelievably hot.” I paused to take a sip of my mule. “And apparently very charitable.” I gulped. “Remind me why you hate him?”
“He thinks he’s hot shit. He wrote some fancy computer code and got rich. Who cares? All he does is parade around town trying to get people to love him. With his good looks and his charming personality. Ugh. He makes my skin crawl.” Nora was obviously mad, and her face was very red. I could not figure out why she was so fired up about a random guy.
Recognition dawned on me. “Oh, shit. Did you guys hook up? Oh, you so did.” I felt giddy. Nora was unapologetically sexual and had enjoyed some incredible flings over the years. She was one of those people who could have fantastic sex with someone for a while and then just move on with no hurt feelings. Actually, I shouldn’t say that. Several of the men had some very hurt feelings when she wasn’t interested anymore. She was definitely a hit it and quit it type. I respected the hell out of her for prioritizing her pleasure and her needs but was honest enough to know that was so not my style.
The look on Nora’s face could have frozen lava. “We most certainly have not hooked up. How could you think that?” She took a dramatic gulp of her mule. Her indignation was hilarious. “We have some mutual friends and see each other from time to time. And I don’t like him. Also the feeling is mutual. He hates me too.”
“I didn’t see hate. It looked like he wanted to drag you into the bathroom and bang your brains out. Or more likely he wanted to motorboat you.” I laughed to myself. Nora was in the position of having a very round set of F cups that had been known to cause whiplash once in a while. Some men were drawn to them like moths to a flame.
“Gross. I would not touch that jerk with a rented vagina. He is a man whore. He comes in my store all the time with a different willowy model type on his arm. Spends tons of money buying them fancy designer denim in size zero and flaunts his wealth and his stable of dumb dates.”
I was loving this. Nora was usually so cool when it came to guys. She was protesting way too much. “So what you are saying is that he is not just an upstanding member of the community but also a loyal and generous patron of your small business?” I slapped my forehead. “Of course. You’re right, Nora—he’s a monster.”
Nora rolled her eyes at me and signaled Fran for another mule. “He’s a dick. You just don’t know him.”
At this point I was on a roll. “You’re right, Nora. He is probably terrible. Do you think his house is filled with adorable rescue kittens?”
Nora glared at me. “You are supposed to be my bestie. Do not poke the bear when it comes to Luke Kim. I will not play.”
“Okay, okay. I got it.” I held my hands up in surrender. At some point we would have a longer discussion about this lust feud. I had never seen Nora so worked up about a guy before, but I also knew it was probably time to let it go for tonight.
But of course she beat me to it. “So let’s talk about your love life, Cece. Xavier was clearly not giving you the goods on the reg so you need to find yourself a boytoy to have a fling with while you are here in town. Get some vitamin D, and you’ll feel better in no time.” She tossed me a saucy wink. “Always works for me.”
Ugh. “Trust me, the last thing I need is guy drama.” I could do with some mind-blowing orgasms, that’s for sure, but they would have to be battery generated for the time being because the thought of dealing with men at the moment made me want to vomit. “I have so much to figure out right now. My life is nowhere near where I thought it would be, and I don’t even know if I’m actually sad about that fact. The last thing I need is a complicated penis in my life.”
“Well, yeah. You don’t need a complicated penis.”
“Precisely,” I said, clinking her glass with relief, “you get it.”
“What you need instead is a GIANT penis,” Nora shouted. Oh my God, I forgot how loud she gets after a few drinks. I quickly turned around to scan the crowded bar to see if anyone heard and find myself staring smack-dab into the soulful blue eyes of my new boss.
He held my eye contact as he walked a few steps over to where we were seated. Nora elbowed me hard in the ribs. “Speaking of giant penises.”
“Hi, Cecelia. Hello, Nora. Nice to see you both.”
He nodded at Fran, who immediately started pouring him a Binnacle IPA.
I was so dizzy with vodka and lust I didn’t know what to say to him. “Good to see you too. Why are you drinking here when you can drink your own beer at the brewery?”
“I’m meeting some friends.” He reached for his wallet as Fran placed a pint glass in front of him.
I pushed his hand away. “I’ll buy. It’s the least I can do after I forced you to hire me.”
He laughed and his eyes crinkled. “Well, don’t forget about the trespassing too.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s only a misdemeanor. Don’t get your boxers in a twist.”
A group of guys entered and waved at Liam. He collected his beer and looked me dead in the eyes.
“Thanks for the beer.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
He nodded and then headed off to see his friends. I liked him. I liked his cocky grin and his mischievous eyes. I liked how passionate he was about his business. It was a good thing I had sworn off men, because Liam Quinn was trouble.
