Page 66 of Without a Hitch
My eyes fill with hot tears as I nod my head.
“You like him though.” Eli leans into the screen. “You’re upset.”
“I do like him.” The truth hurts. “But the only things I know about him are he’s phenomenal in bed and doesn’t believe in marriage. I’m twenty-eight years old. I can’t waste time with someone that doesn’t want the same future. Right?”
“You’re twenty-eight, not fifty-eight. Good lord, Till. You act like you have to marry someone tomorrow.”
“But spending time with him puts your heart in danger,” Delaney guesses.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, sis. You’ve always fallen fast and hard.”
“What? I haven’t fallen. We’ve literally had sex. Twice. I didn’t even know his name was Lochlan until a few hours ago.”
“Till?”
“Ugh, Hadley! You’re about to say something I don’t like. I can tell by your tone.”
My friend gives a knowing look through my computer screen. “How much have you thought about him since New York?”
Every damn day.
I don’t admit that though. “A few times, I guess.” I can’t make eye contact with any of them.
“Bullshit,” Eli coughs.
“Life’s too short not to have a little fun, Titty.” Freaking Mable.
“For once, I agree with our eavesdropping neighbor.”
“I’m not eavesdropping. I can’t help it if you’re all louder than a bull in heat.”
Does a bull even go into heat? How would Mable know if it was loud? All four of us have the same curious expressions on our faces. We’re probably all silently asking the same questions, but with Mable sometimes it’s best to leave some things unanswered.
“Do it,” Mable chants.
The three girls nod in agreement.
“Listen.” Eli takes control. “I know how important a happily ever after is to you, but you don’t always have to focus on forever. Who knows—maybe finding today’s happy will change your forever.”
“I agree,” Hadley says softly. “You’re always trying to force yourself into five-year plans. Sometimes I think you forget that you deserve to be happy today too.”
“Do you like him?” Delaney asks as she scribbles on something in front of her.
“Are you making a list?”
Her cheeks flush crimson, and it causes her skin to clash with the bright pink sweater she’s wearing. “Sometimes it helps to see things more clearly in brightly colored notes.” She grins, holding up a large notebook with multicolored paper. “Do you like him?” she asks again.
“I feel something with him.”
“Those are orgasms, Titty. Chase them as long as you can.” Mable laughs, and I expect to see cigarette smoke rise behind the girls.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Mable. Put a sock in it for a minute,” Eli barks. She acts irritated, but we all know she stops by Mable’s apartment every day to see if she needs anything.
Mable’s interruption gives me time to put my scrambled thoughts together. “I’ve never felt quite like this with anyone,” I admit. “I don’t know how to put it into words. There’s a connection. Almost like I can feel when he’s close.”
Delaney gasps. “It’s like every Hallmark movie ever made.”
