Page 34 of Take Me
She rolls her eyes.“I do have good tits.I don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying so.It’s not like I put it on a bumper sticker.”
“Maybe you should.”God help me, it’s all I can do not to glance at her breasts.“Seems like a great way to get guys.”
“I’ve got one, remember?”She pats my abs fondly, maybe a little bit harder than necessary.“A guy who’s not counting on me to be wifey or sexy or anything other than me.”
“Shouldn’t that be the baseline for a relationship?”
Erika snorts like I’ve said something funny, but I don’t get the joke.“Like I’d know,” she retorts.“Mine lasted ten years, and I still never knew what the fuck I was doing.”
Is that really the lesson she took from that?“Maybe Neil didn’t know what the fuck he was doing.”
“Does anyone?”Crossing her arms, she looks me dead in the eye.“I think I’m not cut out for any relationship other than friendship.It’s easier this way, don’t you think?”
I’m supposed to say yes here, right?“Maybe.”I’ll give her that much, since I’m hardly batting a thousand myself.“But what about sex and close companionship?”
“I’ve got a vibrator with ten different settings and a drawer full of batteries.”She grins, and I try not to let my reaction show on my face.“And I’ve got a fake boyfriend for companionship, which is handy since I don’t need to navigate learning somebody new.You’re just you and I’m just me and there’s no risk we’ll go falling in love with each other.It would have happened ages ago if we were meant to be together, right?”
“Right.”I’m not sure I follow her reasoning, but agreeing seems like the smart thing.She does have a point that we’ve never been anything other than friends.
“So.”Erika pats my abs one more time, and I’m getting the sense she likes it.She looks into my eyes, and I’m confident friendship’s the only thing zinging between us.“What time are you picking me up tomorrow, Pookie?”
The driveto Amity goes smoothly, all things considered.There was a moment of awkwardness when I dropped Scrumpy off at Annabelle’s place.She came to the door in a robe, barefaced, with her dark curls tousled.
“Thanks for bringing him by.”She’d held the robe closed at the tops of her breasts as I kept my gaze trained on her face.“We’ll make sure he has a great weekend.”
“We?”It was none of my business, but she said it.
A pretty pink flush rolled from her chest to her cheeks.“I have a guest this weekend.Don’t worry—he’s great with dogs.Scrumpy will get tons of attention.”
“Great.”A lumpy lead ball parked in my belly, settling in for a good long stay.“You look happy, Belle.”
“Ifeelhappy.”She giggled and glanced behind her like her houseguest might overhear.“You look good, too.I’m thrilled about you and Erika.”
“Thanks.”I tried to look like a guy who fell head over heels for his friend.“We’re, uh…happy.”
“Outstanding.”She smiled so wide it took up her whole face.“Don’t tell, but we’ve hit the ‘I love you’ stage and I can’t stop grinning.Do you feel the same about you guys?”
“Oh, uh—yeah.Absolutely.”I felt like slamming my head in the door.“For sure.”
“Great.”She beamed.“So, everything’s working out.”
“For sure.”A sour ball stuck in my throat, slinking its way to my stomach.It stayed there the whole way to Erika’s place.
But now that we’ve been on the road a few minutes, I’m back to my old self again.Mostly, it’s the familiar rhythm of it all.We squabble good-naturedly over who gets to play DJ—her—who supplies snacks—me—and who pays for gas when we stop halfway there.
“And that’s why I always choose premium fuel instead of regular.”Erika re-buckles her seatbelt, concluding her lecture as well as our gas station wrestling match.“With a high-performance vehicle, it’s an important investment.”
I can’t resist poking the bear just a little.“Never had any complaints about my performance.”
Erika snorts and pops open a can of Pringles.“Laugh all you want, but my EcoBoost engine is in pristine condition.”
She and I drive the same model of Ford F-150, just different colors and years.And she’s probably right about the fuel, but I’d rather keep trying to rattle her.“My motor runs like a dream, my pistons are bulbous and big—” I don’t even know what a piston is, but she snorts so I keep going.“And don’t get me started on the size of my crankshaft.”
“Gross.”Erika stuffs a chip in my mouth, then takes one for herself.“I’m just saying.Thanks to quality fuel and good maintenance, you won’t hear any knocking inmyengine.”
The setup’s too good to resist.“Knock-knock.”
She snorts again but doesn’t hesitate.“Who’s there?”
