“There she is,” Jenna said brightly as I slipped into our usual booth.
“Hey,” I said, as Corina came in just a few seconds behind me.
Anna automatically brought over a tea and two coffees, then grinned at me. “I hope you’ll bring that hottie back. Honey, the way he stared at you!” She fanned herself with the menus before setting them down and walking to give another table of people their check.
“You brought him here?” Corina smiled. “Don’t worry, we’re fine sharing our hangout with your new boyfriend.”
“I’m not so sure about that now,” I said after a fortifying swig of coffee. “Things were going great, but then I found out he’s the brother of the guy who runs a media company my agency works with.”
“Who cares?” Jenna asked. “When I started dating a client, you were all for it.”
“I don’t care about the corporate stuff. I just find it weird that he didn’t tell me. Everything was going way too fast, anyway, so I’m taking a step back for a couple of days.”
Corina nodded. “Okay, that’s sensible, I guess. Take a breath.”
Jenna’s eyes locked on mine. “But you said that you two were getting along great. What happened?”
My cheeks flamed. Staring down at the table, I couldn’t meet their eyes. “Some things happened that were very intense.”
“You slept with him,” Corina said softly. When I finally looked up, they were both smiling.
“It’s all right,” Jenna said. “It’s a lot to take in at first.”
“There’s more,” I said. Thankfully Anna arrived to take our orders and give me a moment to collect myself.
The second Anna left, Jenna said, “Okay, spill it.”
I quickly recapped Owen’s brother’s embarrassing scene rambling about his ex-girlfriends, implying that he fell in love too fast and acted crazy. I left out the part where I had felt tiny and humiliated, and so awkward that I cringed in on myself every time I thought about it.
“That’s weird,” Corina said, nodding into her teacup, “But not unforgivable.”
“It sounds like he was chasing those girls,” Jenna added. “Do you want him to chase you?”
My laugh was brittle. “He didn’t have to. There was a storm, and I used it as an excuse to jump into bed with him.”
Jenna grinned. “That sounds kinda hot, actually.”
“Do you regret it?” Corina asked, looking serious.
“Not in the slightest,” I said, surprising myself with the truth. “It was one of those perfect nights. An incredible experience. No mat
ter what happens, I’ll always remember that.”
“So what’s the problem?” Jenna asked.
“He told me he loved me.”
Corina looked at me strangely. “That absolutely deplorable monster. Shall we run him out of town?”
Jenna laughed so hard she nearly spilled her coffee.
“If he loves so fast, and so hard, he’s going to be bored with me in a few days anyway,” I said.
“So by not really giving him a chance, you’re protecting yourself?” Corina said.
My head nodded automatically. “Damn you. You’re right.”
“Is it just that things aren’t totally flawless?” she asked. “I know you’re a perfectionist. Finding out your first boyfriend isn’t impeccable might rattle you.”