The Happy Ever After Playlist - Abby Jimenez Page 0,14

you like? Paint Tucker.” She shook her head at me. “And that guy? You should climb him like a tree. Or at the very least shake his branches. See what kind of nuts fall out.”

I laughed. Then I bit my lip. “Okay. You’re right. I will try.”

“You need to get laid. Find a guy who’ll fuck you like he just got out of prison. Oh! Let’s get you a Brazilian wax!” she said suddenly. “Let’s vagazzle you! We’ll make your vagina shiny and new!”

I recoiled in horror and her eyes danced mischievously.

“Oh my God, no.”

“Yes. My treat. I want the cobwebs yanked off that thing.”

My eyelid twinged. “You are awful.”

“I pushed a small human out of this body. My vagina is destroyed. I have to live vicariously through your vagina.”

We both giggled.

“If I agree, will you stop saying ‘vagina’?”

* * *

Kristen stayed until almost 11:00 p.m. I’d sent Jason a quick text asking him if I’d made his zombie survival team. He’d said I had. That was the last of our back-and-forth for the day.

The next morning, Tucker woke me up at 7:30. That was another good thing about Tucker, he got me out of bed. He always wanted to be let out before 8:00 and he made sure I knew it. After I took him out, I couldn’t ever get back to sleep, so I stayed up and started my day. I used to sleep until noon, sometimes later. I liked the earlier routine. It gave me more sunlight hours, and the sun perked me up.

To my surprise my phone vibrated at exactly 9:00 a.m. It was Jason.

I wondered if he’d waited until 9:00 on purpose, so he wouldn’t text me too early. It made me smile to think he’d sat there watching the time, waiting for the exact moment it would be acceptable to text.

Jason: You up?

Sloan: I am. Your dog doesn’t sleep in. What time is it there?

Jason: 2:00 a.m., Thursday. Just got back to the hotel. Wednesday there, right?

Sloan: Yup. Late night for you.

Jason: Rehearsing. So who came over?

He was fishing. I smiled.

Sloan: My best friend, Kristen.

Jason: Did you talk about me?

I blanched. Then I panicked. How was I supposed to respond to that? Yes, we talked about you? My best friend advised me to climb you like a tree in search of your nuts? And then we talked about my vagina? Of course I was going to lie. But I was too guilty to think up a believable one on the fly. I was weighing my responses when another text came through.

Jason: You totally talked about me.

My thumbs jumped into action.

Sloan: I did not.

Jason: Liar. If you didn’t talk about me, what did you talk about?

Sloan: I may have mentioned you in a casual, very platonic way. Briefly.

Jason: Did you tell her about our date?

Sloan: It’s not a date.

It wasn’t. Right?

Jason: What would you call it?

I put my palm up in exasperation.

Sloan: An appointment.

Jason: Huh. How do I get it switched to a date?

Sloan: You don’t.

I chewed on my thumbnail. The dots jumped, and I waited to see what he had to say in response to my rebuff.

Jason: When I tell my friends about it, I’m calling it a date. You can’t stop me. There’s literally nothing you can do about it.

I laughed. This guy. He did not lack confidence, that was for sure.

I decided, in the spirit of keeping my promise to Kristen, to give him something small.

Sloan: I’m 26.

Jason: Another freebie! I’m 29. What high school did you graduate from?

I smirked. He was sneaky.

Sloan: Nice try. Then you’ll Google my yearbook and figure out my last name.

Jason: I’ll tell you my last name if you tell me yours.

Sloan: Nope.

Jason: It’s a really great last name.

Sloan: I’m sure it is. Not gonna happen, though.

Jason: Truth or dare?

Sloan: No.

Jason: Spin the bottle?

Sloan: No!

I was giggling now.

Jason: Monopoly???

Sloan: Yes, I will play Monopoly with you someday.

Jason: Now things are getting exciting.

He wasn’t wrong.

Chapter 7

Jason

♪ Talk Too Much | COIN

The massive time difference between Melbourne and California was fucking with me. I wish I could say I was jet-lagged, but the real issue was that I had to put off texting Sloan so I didn’t wake her up in the middle of the night. Poking her had become my new favorite pastime.

We’d chatted and texted on and off all day Thursday, my time, but I got slammed the whole day Friday with rehearsals and sound checks. She’d sent me a picture of Tucker and I’d shot her