“Yeah?”
“There was a spark.”
“But…” She arches a brow, sensing there’s more.
“But every single action, every word made me question his motivation. I constantly got swept up in the moment and believed it was all real, only to be reminded it wasn’t the next minute. The entire weekend, I felt like we were on a see-saw or playing a constant game of tug-of-war. He’d have me so wrapped up in him I’d forget the reason I was there. Then he’d retreat, acting like I had some infectious disease. And at the gala…” I trail off.
“Yeah?”
“It’s just…” I fidget with my hands, still struggling with how to process what happened on the verandah during the fireworks display. Once we left the party, we hadn’t spoken of it. For the rest of the weekend, it was as if it had never happened. At first, I considered it to be a good thing. Now I’m not too sure.
“What is it, Evie?” She places her hand on my knee, her voice filled with compassion. “You know you can tell me anything.”
I blow out a breath, lifting my eyes to meet hers. “Things got a little…heated.” Butterflies flit in my stomach at the memory. “Actually, things got very heated.”
“Heated?” This catches Chloe’s attention. “Heated how?”
I chew on my lower lip, trying to find the right words.
“Come on, Evie!” she all but shrieks. “You’re a sex and dating columnist for crying out loud. This shit is what you do for a living.”
“He touched me,” I blurt out.
She waggles her brows as a slow smile builds on her mouth. “Where? Your arm?”
“You know where,” I scoff, rolling my eyes before swooning from the memory. “God, Chloe…” I squeeze my legs together. Just discussing this leaves my body desperate for more. “It was so wild, so crazy, so out of character for me.” I lower my voice, inching closer to her. “We were on the verandah. It was a little chilly, so he draped his tux jacket over my shoulders. Then he wrapped his arms around me, keeping me warm. One thing led to another and before I could stop the train from derailing, he slipped his hand under the slit of my dress and took me to pleasure town.”
She stares at me, processing my story.
“I wore this dress with a long, flowing skirt. There was so much fabric, it masked what was really going on.”
She waves me off. “I know what you were wearing.”
I blink at her. “You do?”
“Of course. Photos were all over the gossip websites as everyone tried to figure out who the mystery woman on Julian Gage’s arm was. That’s not what I’m questioning.”
“It’s not?” I ask, unsure what to think of my photo being plastered all over the Internet. I knew this would happen, but I’d been living in my fantasy world all weekend. This explains why my mother’s been trying to get in touch with me. She probably saw my picture with someone other than Trevor. I make a mental note to call her and tell her we broke up, considering I no longer have any interest in getting back together with him.
“Pleasure town, Evie?” Chloe bursts into a giggling fit. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? Did you ride his rocket all the way there, too?”
“No! There was no rocket riding. There was no rocket fondling. Hell, I never even caught a glimpse of the launch pad, although I certainly felt it.” I laugh along with Chloe. This is exactly what I needed, a few moments with one of my best friends to make sense out of the weekend.
“But he worked your…command center?”
“Did he ever. The fireworks in the sky were nothing compared to the explosions down below. He knows his way around…ground control.”
“Okay, okay.” Chloe waves her hands in front of her, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she struggles to breathe. “You need to stop with all these spaceship references or I’ll never be able to watch Apollo 13 again, and you know how much I love Kevin Bacon.”
It takes a few minutes, but our laughter gradually wanes. When it does, she comments, “So you broke the no kissing rule.”
“What? No.”
“But you let him—”
“Explore ground control,” I interrupt with a smile.
“Find your pleasure center,” she corrects, “yet you still refuse to kiss him?”
“It worked for Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman.”
“Actually, it didn’t. She still ended up falling for Edward.”
“Because she kissed him. I haven’t kissed Julian; ergo, I won’t fall for him.”
She assesses me with her analytical stare, then states, “Are you sure you haven’t already?”
“I’m not sure of anything, Chloe,” I admit after a pause. “All I do know is being with Julian made me realize I haven’t been true to myself. I put on an act for Trevor so he’d love me. You were right. I shouldn’t waste my time on someone who doesn’t appreciate me for me. And Julian does. He makes me happy, makes me feel beautiful. Even if it’s only for a few months, it’ll be worth it.”
Her eyes brimming with enthusiasm, she wraps her arms around me, planting a kiss on my temple. “I’m happy for you. Don’t think about the future. Have fun. Live in the moment. Let Julian explore your command center until he has all its functions worked out properly. Hell, maybe you can even play on his launch pad.”
I laugh, this entire conversation bordering on ridiculous, but in a way that makes me feel incredibly grounded in reality.
Pulling away, she holds me at arm’s length, her eyes trained on mine. “You’ve always been a planner, and I love that about you. Your obsession with planning out every second of every day with stickers and notes is quirky and adorable and what makes Evie…Evie.” She drops her hold on me, then continues. “I’ll admit, I was skeptical of this arrangement at first, since I know how you are, but now… I don’t know. You’re...different. I like this side of Evie. You’re confident and self-assured.”
I give her a sanctimonious look. “I’ve always been confident and self-assured. Need I remind you I got up in front of an entire bar a few weeks ago and told them all about my embarrassing breakup?”
“That doesn’t make you confident and self-assured. All that evidences is the fact you’ve been screaming for someone to notice you because Trevor never did. Now someone finally has. So who cares if nothing comes out of this? Stop making plans for the future. Enjoy the ride.” She pulls me closer again.
“On his rocket ship,” I add, then we both burst out laughing.
“Come on,” Chloe says when she sees it’s after five. “Let’s go surprise Nora at the yoga studio and hijack one of her classes.”
I get up from my chair, grateful for one night of normalcy in a life I have trouble recognizing these days. “That sounds perfect.”
I gather my things, and within a few minutes, we’re in the elevator on our way to the lobby. As it descends, I steal a glance at Chloe and smile. She scrunches her brows, knowing I’m about to do something crazy. When I start singing Elton John’s “Rocket Man”, she stifles a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. Everyone else in the elevator glances sideways at us. Then Chloe joins in, which causes me to sing louder. Much to my amusement, a few of our fellow passengers join in. By the time the elevator reaches the lobby, we’re all singing the chorus. But we don’t stop once we exit. We continue belting out the lyrics as we all make our way toward the doors.