Page 61 of Man Hands

Fuck.

I check the timer, because it’s obvious that eating a dozen or so cheese puffs is the only thing that will make me feel better. Wait—there’s something else. I text SadieandAsh.

Me:Does anyone want to discuss thirty seconds of video and cheer me up? Where areyouguys?

Ash: Working on alisting.

Sadie: Busy cleaning the girls’ bedroom.Sorry!

Me: I have Brazilian cheese puffs and wine. They’re still warm. (The cheese puffs, notthewine.)

Ash: I’ll be thereinfive.

Sadie: Don’t eat them allwithoutme!

* * *

“I’m sorry,honey. But that was definitely a cuddle,” Ash sayspragmatically.

“Although I didn’t see a butt grab,” Sadiepointsout.

“Maybe you can’t grab butts in prime time,” Iventure.

“Let’s Google her,” Ash says, reaching for herphone.

“No!” I yell. “Don’t. Really. I don’t want to know. She looks five years younger than me, and forty pounds lighter.” Plus, Tom and I once agreed not to Google eachother.

Ash puts her phone away without a word and then tops up my glassofwine.

Just after we’ve eaten the last of the balls, my phone rings. And when I see that it’s Tom, I get a crazy little smile on my face. I know this because Ash and Sadie point andlaugh.

“Hush, bitches,” I insist as I answer. “Hello?”

“Hi,” he says, his voice a lowscrape.

I feel tingles just from that one word. “Hiiiii,” I sigh into the phone, while Ash and Sadie clap their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing at me. I march into the kitchen for a littleprivacy.

“I have news. I wanted to tell them in person, but it looks like I’m jumping on a flighttonight.”

“Them?” I ask,confused.

“You,” he says quickly. “And your boobs. I was just thinking about your boobs.Sorry.”

“No problem,” I say. Now my nipples are tingling. And then I realize that he just said he was flying away. “Where are yougoing?”

“Quebec. The network wants me to shoot aspecial.”

“That’s great!” I say, even though I really don’t mean it. I thought we had a few more weeks to be fake-engaged together. I was really looking forwardtoit.

“It’s all right,” he says. “Not quite as good as being nakedwithyou.”

Now myeverythingis tingling. “It’s a good sign that the network wants you back, though.” That had been the point of our fake engagement, anyway. Is he done with mesosoon?

“We’ll see,” he says. “They’re in a bind, and this is my chance to help them out. The pay is pretty great too. We’ll have to celebrate when I get back in a couple ofweeks.”

“I’d love to celebrate with you.” Anytime. Anyhow. I’ve gotitbad.

“Is that right?” His voice gets all low and sexy. “How do you think we shouldcelebrate?”