No, Jimmy was smart about it. And I was a fool for never questioning a thing he did.
I sighed and climbed out of bed, trying to push my thoughts away and focus on now. Now was so much easier. Simpler.
Now was a sexy boy toy. Now was Manhattan and Central Park and a job interview. A job interview I needed to pick out an outfit for.
I was elbow deep in business casual when my phone rang on my bed. I smiled when I scooped it up and found a picture of Brooke giving me moose ears and a kissy face.
I answered and held the phone in place with my shoulder. “Hey, Brookie.”
“Hey, Maggieboo. You free?”
“These days? Always. How are you?”
“Good. Just missing you. How’s New York treating you?”
“Pretty brilliantly. I kind of had an amazing day.” I held up a button-down to judge its worth. You can do better. I tossed it back in the pile.
“Tell me about your exciting adventures because I’ve got nothin’ to report except that I ran into Richard Peck at Joe’s bar. Remember how hot he used to be?”
“Uh, yeah. Everybody wanted some Dick.”
She snickered. “With a name like Dick Peck, you’d think he would’ve had a hard time getting laid. But I’m not even sure if he can see his junk without a mirror, never mind use it for pleasuring the ladies.”
A cackle shot out of me. “Oh, my God, Brooke.”
“Seriously, I watched him eat a twenty-ounce ribeye, a basket of onion rings, a side of chili fries, a giant piece of chocolate cake, and I think he drank a case of beer. The guy’s a mammoth.”
I shook my head, still chuckling. “Guess nobody sent him the memo that you can’t eat like a linebacker when you don’t work out like one. When he was a senior and I was a sophomore, I dreamed about that boy. West used to give me so much crap for it. He always knew what douche Dickie was, even though none of the rest of us could see it. Around here, they call that douchesparkle, and Dick’s was blinding.” I sorted through the pile of tops.
“Oh, man. It’s so true though,” she said with a laugh. “So, tell me about your brilliant day? Did it have anything to do with Cooper Moore?”
“You don’t always have to call him by his full name, you know?” I picked up a deep purple top with a little tie on the collar and eyed it.
“I can’t help it. It’s like calling Jared Leto just plain old ‘Jared’ or Michael Fassbender ‘Mike.’ I can’t do it.”
I laughed and tossed that one too. “He’s just a person like anybody else, Brooke.”
“Whatever. Tell me the details of your bangin’ sex life. Because Jackson is hot in every way aside from the kind that gets me laid.”
“Things are good. I saw Cooper earlier today, after I finished applying to a handful of jobs. I have an interview tomorrow with one, which is part of why I’m feeling extra amazing right now.”
“Ooh, that’s awesome. I hope it goes well! Now, tell me the story of Cooper Moore’s nakedness.”
I picked up a peach blouse, but it was too sheer. Tossed it back in the pile. “His nakedness was definitely one of the highlights of my day.”
She straight up giggled.
“I dunno, Brooke. He’s just damn fine and knows exactly what he’s doing. I mean, I’ve never been nailed so hard my knees go weak. Not before him.”
Brooke sighed. “I am so jealous.”
I shook my head, smiling as I picked up a cream blouse with a lace collar. Perfect. “It’s nice to not have any strings, you know? I don’t owe him anything, and he doesn’t owe me anything. No pressure, and I get to have my vagina rocked on the regular, for a little bit longer at least.”
“Right. The rules.” I could almost hear her rolling her eyes.
My face scrunched up. “What the hell, Brooke? Don’t you judge me.”
“I’m only slightly judging you. And not just because you let him bareback.”
I scoffed. “I’ve got an IUD, and he’s clean. There’s no reason to use condoms.”
“So you trust him with your sexual health but not with your heart?”
“Basically. You think West would kill him if he found out we were having sex? Imagine what he’d do if he found out Cooper gave me the clap.”
She chuckled. “I dunno, Mags. I think we should agree that one should never think twice about a gift such as Cooper Moore. I definitely don’t think I’d ever tell him I didn’t want to have meaningless sex with him anymore, or that he couldn’t take me to fancy dinners and hoity-toity Manhattan restaurants that you have to book months in advance.”
“Because then it could get serious, and I don’t want to get serious.”
“I’m just saying. You’re basically telling one of the sexiest men ever exactly what to do.”
“Sometimes he tells me what to do. In bed.”
She laughed. “I bet he does. How much longer until time’s up?”
“Two weeks.” A little flash of sadness shot through me, but I ignored it, focusing instead on which pants to wear.
“So what happens if you want to keep something going? What if he does?”
“Doesn’t matter if I want to or not. If I keep it going, there’s a chance I could fall for him.”
“You could fall for him anyway.”
I rolled my eyes as I folded the rejected clothes. “People don’t fall in love in a month.”
“That’s a pretty big presumption, Mags.”
“I just don’t get that sentiment. It’s part of why I don’t go bananas over romance novels. I mean, instant lust, that’s fine. I get that. I’ve felt that at the laundromat. Imagined gettin’ bent over a folding table by this gorgeous Persian guy. I might have propositioned him if he wasn’t sorting G-strings.”
“Were they his?”
“Wouldn’t have even mattered, so long as they weren’t his girlfriend’s.”
She laughed. “So you’ve experienced instalust, which makes it real. But since you haven’t experienced instalove, it can’t possibly be real. Sound right?”
“That about sums it up.”
“Oh, Maggie.” She sighed. “Instalust at the laundromat is way better than Dick Peck at Joe’s. You’re lucky you got out of here when you had the chance. You’d have been stuck here forever if you’d married Assface.”
We had a pact not to speak his name unless absolutely necessary. “Don’t remind me.”
“Is he still texting you?”
“At least once a week. Haven’t responded.”
“I see him here and there. I swear, every time, he pumps me for information like penny slots. Pop a question in, pull the lever, watch as my eyes roll around and around. I haven’t told him anything though other than to give it up. I maybe also threw my drink in his face on Friday night.”
I laughed, hoping it burned like hell. “Oh, that makes me happy.”
“I thought it might. So, what’s after Cooper Moore?”
“I dunno.” That sad feeling was back, and I brushed it away like a hornet. “I should just sleep around. Just be all about the D.”
“You told your fuck buddy that he couldn’t bang anybody else for a month. How the hell do you think you’re gonna be okay banging randos you meet in bars? I mean, do people even go to bars alone in New York without getting mugged?”
“Depends on what part of town, but it’s not like trying to run around Bangkok alone. Plus, West bought me a Taser, so I’m pretty sure between that and my lightning reflexes, I could fuck a sexual predator up.”
“He bought you a Taser?”
“Of course he did.”
“Well, at least you know he cares.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t exactly hide that light under a bush.”
She giggled. “So, what did you cross off your list this week?”
“Well, I’ve done most of the touristy stuff — finally did the Statue of Liberty and went to the Met Cloisters — but I’m getting to the point where the tourists are actually starting to bug me.”
“That’s so snobby. You really are turning into a New Yorker.”
“I know. But they’ll stand in the middle of the sidewalk in packs trying to look at a map and figure out where to go. Or like you’ll see groups all wearing matching T-shirts that just take up the entire sidewalk, and when they aren’t standing still, they walk slow as hell.”