Page 6 of Blush

“I set up a profile yesterday, but it’s not public yet. Should I call myself Amanda or Mandy?”

“How about Mandy Cake?” I wink.

“Not in this lifetime.” She rolls her eyes. “Mandy sounds a little more playful than Amanda. But do I want to sound playful?”

“Use Amanda,” I say dryly.

“Okay. I’m trying to find the right picture.”

“Let me look at my phone.”

I scan my photos, looking for one of Amanda that would make a good Lustr profile picture.

And then I wonder… Maybe Ishouldn’tbe looking for a good photo. Maybe I should be looking for abadphoto. The idea of Amanda on Lustr… She’s just too sweet and innocent for this. If I set her up with a lousy profile, no one will respond.

But that’s a nasty thing to do. It’s not me. Still…I can’t help thinking about it. The last thing I want is for my best friend to get involved with some troll or womanizer on this silly app.

There’s no shortage of good pictures of Mandy on my phone. The best one is from a year ago from a party at my parents’ house. It was a semiformal affair to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary. Mandy showed up in a black miniskirt and a pink silk camisole. And yeah, her nipples were showing.

I had some very non–Mandy Cake thoughts about her that night.

But I pushed them away. Amanda and I? We’ll never happen. There’s way too much history there, and my tastes? They’redefinitelynot for her. Besides, she deserves more than I’m capable of giving her.

I sigh. I have to let her do this, no matter my feelings about it. I pass my phone to her. “What about this one?”

She smiles. “Wow. I didn’t know you took that.”

“Don’t you remember? It was right after the champagne toast, and you were standing by the bar, getting a refill. You had taken your glasses off. I don’t know why. But you looked so…serene.”

And sexy, but I keep that to myself.

“This doesn’t even look like me.”

“Mandy Cake, it looksexactlylike you.”

Her cheeks pinken, giving her a rosy blush, and she looks back to her laptop screen. “I did a little research last night after you dropped me off after dinner. Apparently, on Lustr, the idea is to make a good first impression quickly. That means a good photo.”

“Thisisa good photo.”

“This is thebestphoto. It almost looks professional. How did you manage the lighting like that?”

“It’s my parents’ house. It’s well lit. But, Mandy Cake, you looked good that night. This is what you looked like. This is what youlooklike.”

She blushes further. “So I can use this one? It’s not…lying? I mean, in real life I wear glasses.”

“Why don’t you wear your contacts?”

“Because you know I can’t stand touching my eyes.” She makes an adorable scrunched expression with her nose.

“Right.”

“I’ve tried, Jack.”

We’ve had this conversation many times. Mandy has this weird phobia about touching her eyes, but her unique silvery gray eyes are her best feature. Or maybe it’s her full lips. Or her nipples that make themselves known at the slightest whiff of cool air.

“Do you want me to try to find a picture this good where you’re wearing your glasses?”

“God, no. This is the best picture.” She sighs. “I’ll try the damned contacts again.”