it that doctor we were talking about the other day?”
“I have no idea how big his balls are.” Well, not literally. Metaphorically, though, they seemed to be decently sized. “Cyrus was just being Cyrus.”
“He’s not wrong about you deserving a good guy.”
“People keep telling me that today.”
She snorted in a way that only Luna could pull off without sounding disgusting. “Maybe you should see it as a sign from the universe that you really do deserve a guy who’s not a giant tool.”
“Or a sign that she deserves a guy with a giant tool,” Cyrus piped up in the background.
Luna broke out laughing, murmured something to him I didn’t want to hear, and then turned her attention back to me. “Sorry about that. He’s gone. What’s up?”
I tore the label into little pieces that scattered on my lap. “I went on a kind of, maybe, sort of date with Chris tonight.”
“What?” she squealed. “Why didn’t you call me earlier? We could’ve watched Adi for you.”
“He took both of us out actually.” I huffed out a breath. “I tried to warn him away, but he refused to listen. He just told me he’d pick us up at seven.”
“A guy who’s not going to be scared away by your tactics? Interesting. I like the confidence. It reminds me of Cyrus.”
The snort I let out was not at all as cute as hers had been. “Except Chris isn’t the cockiest dick on the planet.”
“Never let Cyrus hear you calling him that. You’ll give him enough ammunition for puns and jokes about his nether region to last for the rest of our natural lives.”
“Aye aye, Captain.” I smiled but it didn’t last very long. “Did Cyrus really leave?”
“Yep. Why?”
My teeth sank into my lower lip. I chewed on it for a beat while I thought. “Adi asked Chris if he was going to kiss me when he dropped us off tonight. He told her it wasn’t his choice, and I freaked out. I just pulled her inside and said good night.”
“Why’d you freak out? Wait. Let me rephrase that. You freaked out over a guy wanting to kiss you?”
“He didn’t say he wanted to kiss me, just that it wasn’t his choice to make. But yes, I freaked out over a guy. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I think there’s something wrong with me. It’s like there’s been this fundamental shift in me since the accident.”
She didn’t hesitate for even a second. “Since the accident or since you met this doctor?”
“I met him ages ago. I work at the same hospital, remember?”
“You said you hadn’t really spoken to him before, though, so I’m counting the day he treated Adi as the day you met him. Either way, this fundamental shift happened once you started spending time with him. Why would that mean there’s something wrong with you?”
“Because I don’t get this way about men. I’m not the girl who dreams about the poofy white dress or the romance, but tonight after we got back, I wanted to read Adi a story like that.”
Instead of the excited shriek I expected from her, I got a quiet sigh. “There’s nothing wrong with you, April. You got burned before, and it’s made you cautious, which is completely understandable. But I think you should give this guy a chance. If you’re happy being single, that’s fine, but if you want to explore what other options there might be out there, that’s fine, too.”
“Other options, huh?” I chewed on my lips again.
“Yeah. I mean, why not? Giving him a chance doesn’t mean you have to marry the guy. As long as you’re clear about what you want from each other, you don’t even have to put a label on it. Spend some time together and see what happens.”
“I wouldn’t have minded spending the night alone with him. See how much he really knows about anatomy.”
“That’s not what I meant, but okay.” She giggled. “Look, if that’s what you want, go for it. Just remember that being friends with benefits sometimes ends with that poofy white dress and all the romance. Cyrus and I are the perfect example of that.”
“You really are.” That was half of the damn problem. I’d literally just watched this movie playing out before my very eyes and I hadn’t been able to believe how a series of such small events could’ve transformed Cyrus from ruthless, renowned bachelor to a pussy-whipped puppy dog.