Page 40 of Passing Ships
I burst out laughing. “No,” I gasp. “Why does everyone think Anson and I slept together?”
Her forehead wrinkles in confusion as her eyes dart from the road to me. “But I thought … what about the time you made out on my couch, and then you left and spent the night at his condo? I was sure you two were going to sleep together,” she says.
I shrug. “We did make out a little bit, but I only went home with him to give you and Sebastian some privacy so you could get laid. I haven’t so much as batted my eyes at him since then. Jeez, I don’t just fuck every man I kiss. I’m stingy. With my time, my money, and my vagina. You have to be pretty freaking special to get access to any of them.”
“Oh.”
“Look, Anson’s sexy in that laid-back, devil-may-care kind of way, but I just wasn’t into it, and I figured once you and Sebastian worked through all your bullshit, we’d be spending a lot of time here in Sandcastle Cove with the Three Island Musketeers, so I decided to be safe and keep it all above the waist,” I explain.
“That was probably smart,” Eden says.
I turn to her. “Thanks. I thought so.”
“Besides, he’s like the male version of you. You guys would drive each other nuts,” she adds.
“But now, you’re fucking Lennon,” Avie quips.
“Who doesn’t live here,” I point out.
“But he’s Sebastian’s brother,” she stresses.
“Yeah, his brother, who doesn’t live here.”
She gapes at me. “He doesn’t live here, so there’s no potential fallout?”
“Exactly. He lives in Virginia. I live in Georgia. We’re just two ships passing in the night.”
“Passing ships, huh?”
“Yep. Passing ships who bump into each other. Repeatedly. Until we explode,” I declare.
“Wow. That’s hot,” Eden mutters.
“Passing ships. That’s how you’re gonna justify this?” Avie asks.
“No. He’s a man. Not a man-child. He can handle it; I can handle it. So, there won’t be any fallout, Avie.”
Avie smirks and shakes her head.
“What?” I ask.
“One of these days, it’s going to hit you so hard, and that tight grip you have on control is going to crumble into pieces.”
“What’s going to hit me?”
“Love.”
“Love? Love already pummeled me. I love you, Leia, my grandmother, the Atlanta Braves, chardonnay, and chocolate. I’ve succumbed to all kinds of love.”
“All but one,” she points out.
“Well, I don’t want to be selfish,” I quip.
Eden giggles. “I thought the same thing last year. After what my ex put me through and the whole stalker thing, love was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to be alone.”
“See,” Avie says, pointing at Eden. “You can say it and think it all you want, but when your time comes, you won’t be able to fight it.”
“Who’s fighting? Love just isn’t for me.”