barber every Friday, even if I do think the barber mostly just waves his scissors over his head.” Because who needs a haircut every week?
“Complimenting your gay bff doesn’t count.”
“I’m sure Charles would disagree,” I reply, sounding miffed.
“But you’re right. Carson’s hot. And all man.”
“Thanks for mentioning it.”
“My bad.” Her voice wavers with ill-concealed laughter. “I didn’t think it was relevant. You were looking for somewhere to live, not someone to share a bed with. I didn’t know he would show up.”
“Uh-huh. Couldn’t have worked out better if you’d planned it, right?”
“But I didn’t plan it,” she happily protests. “Besides, the man is like, celibate or something.”
My response? A snort. If that man is celibate . . . if that man is celibate, well, not only would it be a travesty, but what was he doing rolling around on the sofa with me? And he certainly stirred up a whole lot of feelings in me, feelings I’m not used to, and feelings I’d managed perfectly well on my own up until he turned up. With the help of my imagination and my hand. Sadly, that no longer seems to be the case. I don’t need a supplement or a herb to help because my issue isn’t a low libido. It’s exactly the opposite. Only, the Devil never seems to be home when I ring his doorbell lately . . .
“Okay, maybe not celibate,” she amends, “but he doesn’t date in the conventional sense.”
“How can a person date unconventionally?”
“Does it matter?”
Yes, because if she thinks he’s celibate, that means he’s keeping secrets, doesn’t it? I’m not so silly to think I’m the kind of woman who’d bring a man like him out of a sexual hiatus, and maybe this is why my denials shoot from my mouth like bullets.
“You brought the topic up, not me. Who said it mattered? Not me.”
“Did he flirt with you?”
I could ask her what her definition of flirting is, but it would only lead to more questions. I’m pretty sure she’d have a whole lot to say if she knew the way he’d introduced himself in the bathroom. As in unrepentantly naked and sinfully smirky. Or the way he behaved in the kitchen, his dominant stance, and his soft, taunting words, the thoughts of which still make me tingle. I can’t tell her about our heavy petting session and how, if Lulu hadn’t woken, the outcome of that night might’ve been very, very different. Most of all, I can’t tell her how much I miss him, which is ridiculous but true. I miss his taunting and teasing and his smart-alec retorts, and how his eyes dance with humour one minute and darken wickedly the next. He was so good with Lu. Making her breakfast, enduring the Troll movie, and then making her a space fit for a princess. He’s been so kind that it literally brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.
“No, he didn’t flirt with me.” At least, not in the traditional sense. “But he was provoking.” I’m not lying because Carson Hayes is equal parts arousing and annoying.
“So he was rude to you,” she murmurs unhappily.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then I’m confused.”
“Oh, come on! The man would lick himself if he could.” Again, I’m not lying.
“I’m sure he’d never need to.” Her words are heavy with meaning, and of course I bite.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Even as my brain lags behind, my body seems to understand as my stomach draws itself into an uncomfortable knot.
“Because of the line of women following him with their tongues hanging out.” As she sets off chuckling, that knot sinks like a stone to my feet.
“Just my luck. I’m living in the home of a manwhore.” A tart with a heart.
Am I being willfully blind and pining after a man who probably hasn’t given me a second thought since walking out of the door?
“I never said he was a manwhore. I mean, the man has to be having sex or else that would just be a colossal waste,” she adds quickly. “You should see him work one of the foundation’s benefits. Women from nineteen to ninety-five literally swoon as he walks past, tittering and fanning themselves with their big old cheque books. They just can’t wait to jot down huge numbers to personally hand their donations over to him.”
“So he’s a manwhore for a cause.”
“Not the way you make it sound. He’s just kind of irresistible to women.”