Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,70

now I'm really curious," Ellie said with a naughty smile. "Oh, please tell me you had sex against that glass window in—"

"Okay, you can stop it now."

"Fine," Ellie said with a pout. "Well, since it doesn't seem like you plan to give me any details about your two-day sexcapade with Jace, and you won't change your mind about your birthday, then I guess I'm leaving."

"Wait! Where are you going? I thought you said you'd be in town for a few weeks," Aislynn said.

"I'm just going to LA overnight to supervise a project. I'll be back tomorrow night."

Oh, crap. Alone tonight.

"And don't you worry, I promise to be here this weekend to stop you from killing Pam," Ellie continued while grabbing an overnight bag from her room.

"You never let me have any fun."

Aislynn spent the afternoon at the coffee shop getting some writing done and trying to avoid time alone in the apartment. She felt very uncomfortable with her newfound need to have people around her. It was definitely outside of her comfort zone, and she hadn't made up her mind yet as to whether she was going to embrace it or not.

Her cell phone chirped with a new text message from Jace as she typed away on her laptop.

Can you forgive me?

Umm, for what?

For being cheesy…I miss you already.

Aislynn felt like a tuning fork was vibrating inside her. Thinking about Jace made all her nerve endings buzz.

I forgive you, but only because I just did a little happy dance. I miss you too.

The woman sitting in front of me at the gate is staring at me. I think it's the goofy smile that shows up on my face anytime I think about you.

It could be that, or it's because you're hot. She's probably daydreaming about sucking on your bottom lip. I know I am.

Thanks. Now I have to hide my face AND my crotch. The things you do to me, babydoc.

Make sure the flight attendants don't think you're drunk. They might kick you off the plane…On second thought, stand up and get your ass into the bar.

Don't tempt me. OK, I'm boarding now. I'll call you tonight. How about round two of the "no touching the floor" game when I get back?

Count on it. I need the practice. Have a safe flight.

Aislynn stared at the phone screen for a few minutes, watching as her fingers involuntarily moved over the keypad.

I love you.

Her breathing faltered as she took in the three words she had typed, and then watched her finger hit the backspace key eleven consecutive times.

And the screen went dark.

"I'm going to go with fifty-five minutes," Ellie said.

"Is that gonna be your final answer?" Aislynn asked with droopy eyelids and a crooked smile, the effect of the wine now clearly evident.

"Wait, wait!" Ellie said, waving her hands up. "Okay, how long did it take last time?"

"About thirty minutes. Something about my car, I think—no, wait! It was something about the way I move my hands when I walk."

"Damn, she's good. Okay, let me think about this for a second," Ellie added as Evan sat on the bar stool next to her and kissed her cheek. "She hasn't seen you in a year, so she isn’t gonna be as sharp. So, I'm going to go with…forty minutes."

"All right, then. Forty it is. Evan, would you care to place a bet?" Aislynn asked, and took the last sip of wine from her glass.

"What am I betting on?"

"How long it will take Pam to criticize something about Aislynn when she comes into town tomorrow," Ellie explained.

"Wow…Okay?" he asked, confused.

"My mom trained at the Emily Gilmore's school of Motherly Charm," Aislynn said with a straight face.

"Who's Emily Gilmore?" he whispered in Ellie's ear.

"It's a TV reference. She gets like this when she's tipsy. Random stuff just comes out," Ellie explained.

"I'm going to go with five minutes," Aislynn blurted out before Evan could give his answer.

"Oh, please. That would be really hard to do, even for Pam," Ellie argued.

"No, no, no. I know the woman, okay? I lived with her for eighteen very long years," she said, a mild slur now noticeable in her speech. "You said it yourself—she hasn't seen me in a year. She probably has so much to say, that she'll be bursting at the seams to get it all out. Plus, she'll only be here for a few days, so she'll have to strategize and use her time wisely."

"Wow, shit just got real," Evan said, and waved at the bartender to