moment, then she screeches into the phone, “You got MARRIED in VEGAS?”
“Jesus, Lil—they don’t need to hear about it in India.”
“Sorry, I got carried away.” She pauses for a moment. “Wait—who the fuck is Web?” Then to her son in the background she calls, “No, I’m allowed to say that, Joel! That’s a Mommy word. Just play your game and stop listening to my phone call.”
“Web Goode,” I clarify. “Who else would it be? Do we know any other Webs?”
I hear her intake of breath and am guessing her eyes are just about bugging out of their sockets right now. To be fair, it would probably have been a lot less of a shock if I told her I’d married Gunther from Friends. “You married Web Goode?” she asks. “As in…high school Web Goode? We-Hate-Webster Web Goode?”
I throw my head back in exasperation. “Yep, that’s the one.”
“How did this even happen?”
I groan. “Well, there was alcohol involved. And possibly some, uh, overblown egos.”
I can practically hear Lily rolling her eyes. “Gee, why doesn’t that surprise me? Are you going to get it annulled?”
“It has to be a divorce,” I tell her. “Turns out annulments aren’t as easy as they make them look in the movies.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“So…have you…?”
I know what she’s trying to ask and I decide to put her out of her misery. “Yes.”
“Oh my god, you slept with him?”
“Yeah…”
“Was it amazing?” she asks in a hushed whisper.
“Lily!…and yes.”
“Oh my god. I can’t believe it. So he’s gay? Do you think there’s a chance that thing in high school—”
“No,” I say firmly, cutting her off. I don’t even want to think about that day. “No,” I say again, softer this time. “I don’t know what he is, but he’s not gay. Trust me, this is all completely new to him.”
“So you’re teaching him the ropes?” she teases.
“It’s not like that,” I say before I can think to censor myself.
She’s quiet for a moment before asking in her gentle, mom tone, “Honey, do you have feelings for him?”
“No, of course not. I mean, I can’t. Obviously.”
“Jesse, you sound about as convincing as Joel did when he tried to tell me he wasn’t the one who flushed his Thomas the Tank Engine toy down the toilet.”
“Maybe he wasn’t the one who flushed his Thomas the Tank Engine toy down the toilet? Did you ever think of that?” I suggest.
* * *
That night, Web once again comes over for what has turned into a routine of relaxing on my bed while watching Buffy and chatting comfortably.
I’d forgotten how easy Web is to talk to; I mean, there’s a reason we were best friends for our entire childhood. I still get that knot of pain when I think about what happened back then, but it’s more a mix of regret and confusion now, rather than the burning anger and hurt I’ve been so used to feeling.
Adding to my confused thoughts is the fact that this time with Web is undoubtedly the best part of my day, and I’m resentful of the fact that tomorrow night is the rehearsal dinner, and the night after is the wedding, so we won’t be able to do this again before I go back to New York.
If I go back to New York…
“You’re really not attracted to either of them?” I ask curiously, gesturing with my head toward the TV. We’ve been jumping around the various seasons and have now moved on to season five of Angel, which we both agree is the best of the lot.
Web shakes his head slowly. “Nope.”
“What about other guys?” I ask. “Chris Hemsworth, maybe? Or Chris Evans? Chris Pine?” I arch an eyebrow at him. “Come on, one of the Chrises, surely?”
He offers a soft smile but again shakes his head. “Nah, none of them interest me.”
I feel a twinge of disappointment in my gut, and it’s not until this moment that I realize how much I’d been hoping our night in Vegas hadn’t just been a one-time drunken fluke. “Huh. So I guess Saturday night you just got really into proving a point?” I ask, trying to keep a casual tone.
I feel his large, work-roughened hand close gently over mine, his thumb rubbing back and forth over my knuckles. Sparing a glance sideways, I see him gazing at me with an expression full of vulnerability. “I’m attracted to you,” he says quietly. “And Saturday night was the only time I’ve ever enjoyed sex.”
I manage not to let too much shock show in my