Page 14 of Bloom

“You mean like naked video-chatting?” he suggests.

“No!” I laugh. “Oh my God. Not in a million years would either of them do that. Especially not Alex.”

“That guy’s a loser,” Max says dismissively.

“No,” I argue. “He’s a good guy. And he’s like Ginny’s alter ego. They’re so alike they scare me sometimes.”

“Yeah. That’s perfect. I bet the two of them can get together and have no fun for hours or even days at a time,” he says. “In my opinion, the last thing she needs is to date someone just like herself.”

“You know Ginny,” I sigh. “Her goals come first.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m sure Mr. and Mrs. Campbell meant well, but in my opinion they were colossal fuck-ups as parents. Happiness isn’t even a consideration for anyone in that family.”

“That’s not true,” I argue reflexively, but begin to question myself even as I say it.

“Sure it is,” he replies. “Ginny and James both have these huge lists of things they have to do, and things they can’t allow themselves to do, and they assume that they’ll be happy in the end for all of it, but I think really they’re just going to come to the end and discover that they wanted the wrong things. You’re a little like that too – you spend so much time invested in some hypothetical future that you miss the moment you’re in.”

“That’s very philosophical, Max,” I smile. I’m teasing but in a way I’m impressed. Every once in a while, when he’s alone, he says things that imply there’s actually some thought behind his consume-and-fuck everything in sight attitude.

He grins at me. “I keep a few of those in my back pocket. They’re good for seducing girls from liberal arts schools.”

“If the girls you’ve brought home so far have ever set foot on a college campus I’d be shocked.”

He nods. “I do try to avoid that.”

I give up on ever getting into my room and decide to shower out back. Max walks with me, extolling the virtues of meditation and living in the moment. It’s not until we’re on the deck stairs that I realize James is lying in the backyard doing sit-ups. Shirtless. He seems to have twice the number of muscles a human torso should contain. And his arms … flexed as he pulls forward … Jesus. I’m pretty sure modern science hasn’t even come up with a name for all of the muscles in his arms. He may be a new species entirely. My legs go boneless and I find myself gripping the stair rail to make sure I stay upright.

“Well, well,” whispers Max, startling me. “It looks like Ginny isn’t the only one on the cusp of her sexual awakening.”

I narrow my eyes. “I was just startled.”

“Sure,” he laughs. “I always drool when I’m startled too.”

Chapter 10

I get another call from NYC the next morning. It’s amazing how many things I’m capable of thinking in the seconds it takes to answer:

Maybe it’s already blown over. Maybe I can go back.

But I don’t want to leave James.

That’s stupid. He has a girlfriend.

A girlfriend he never, ever mentions.

But he doesn’t seem to want you here either.

“Hello?”

“Eleanor.” Edward’s voice is deep and unmistakable.

“Hi, Edward.” Everyone at the kitchen table turns toward me. I’d like to walk out to the deck, but that might imply I have something to hide.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this,” he says.

I’m still pissed, but I remember my mother’s advice — be smart, not defiant. “Thank you,” I say quietly. “This whole thing is insane.”

“It is. It is,” he murmurs soothingly. Of course he can afford to soothe. He still has a job. “We’re going to find you something else as soon as possible.”