Page 81 of Love, Magic and Misfortune
In the kitchen, Simone pulled her muffin pan from the drying rack, looking it over. “Okay… so go be naked and playful with the right somebody. What’s the issue?”
“What if that right somebody doesn’t like sex? Should I just… try to conform to that? But what if I don’t want to? Obviously, relationships are not all about sex. They’renot… but I still like it. I want it.”
Finally, Simone met her gaze. “Are we talking about Jasper?”
“Maybe?”
“He is friggin’ adorable. I want to put him in my pocket and carry him around—I mean, those eyes.”
“Ican’twith his eyes right now. Let’s not.”
Simone leaned against the counter, her muffin pan gripped in her hands. “What the heck happened to you? You were all Buddhist monk and ‘I love him fundamentally’ a few weeks ago. What’s flipped your switch? You sound like you’re ready to dry hump him now.”
“I probably would if he’d let me…” Violet took a deep breath. He’d only left an hour ago and he’d wanted to stay a second night—which was new. He stayed with her often now, but rarely consecutively. She’d sent him home, saying she needed to take care of some things. Well, technically, she did. And she had. The tension within her felt a little better, but it wasn’t the release she really wanted.
“He’s been prickly with me for weeks,” Violet continued. “Everything was like an uphill battle. But suddenly, he’s more relaxed and being all sweet and affectionate and it’s just… causing a strong reaction in my lady parts. I thought they were dormant, honestly. At least covered in cobwebs.”
“Have you tried talking to him about this?”
Violet shook her head. “No.”
“Don’t you think you should?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Jasper’s situation is… complicated.” Violet sighed. “He’s already let me know nothing like that can ever happen, in his subtle way. He’s not interested—and the last thing I wouldeverwant is to make him feel pressured.”
Simone shifted her stance, resting a hand on her hip. “If he’s being a little more affectionate than he was before, maybe the snowball will continue to roll downhill? Just relax and take a cold shower. I think you’ll be fine.”
“But what if it isn’t fine?”
“Then you’ll need to talk to him, Vi. You two are obviously close. Just have a heart-to-heart and be honest about your physical attraction to him. If he doesn’t reciprocate, then you’ll both have to accept that and move forward accordingly.”
Violet nodded, knowing Simone was right but still not wanting to broach the subject with Jasper. She was afraid that all their progress would blow up in her face. Scared of the “move forward accordingly” scenario and their relationship being strained. She shook it off. Enough about her problems. “Are you going on a date with René? When is this happening?”
“Against my better judgement, yes.”
“Ah, don’t be like that. That guy’s got layers. He’s not what he seems.”
Simone raised her eyebrow. “What do you know that I don’t?”
Violet clamped up. “Nothing.”
“Smooth, Ainsworth. Real smooth.”
“What made you change your mind?”
Simone sighed, breathing a little laugh. “Well… We’ve met before. It’s very random.”
“Say what?”
“Yeah, from a long time ago when I worked at Mère Macaron in the city.”
“I didn’t know you worked there. I love that bakery.”
“I worked there for about a year and it was rough. It was a good experience but I was transitioning personally and the job was crazy demanding—anyway, it’s a long story.”
