Page 78 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
Or maybe . . . I was a ball crushing, pant splitting, blow job puking, oral sex farting lunatic who should be locked up in a mental institute and never be seen again.
My phone rang in my purse and without looking at the caller ID, I answered.
“Hello?”
“Rosie?”
“Yes?” I couldn’t quite place the voice but I knew I’d heard it before.
“Hey, it’s Lance.”
“Lance?” I asked, a little surprised to hear him on the other line. After my split-pants situation, I thought we were done. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“Why not? I said I was going to call,” he answered in a relaxed tone. I was anything but relaxed because frankly, I was beyond uptight when it came to men now. It felt almost impossible to relax.
“Yeah, but not to get all girly on you, that was a few days ago. After not hearing from you right away, I kind of tossed the idea of seeing you again.”
“I’m sorry.” Lance blew out an exasperated breath. “I wasn’t expecting to like you so much.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said while rolling my eyes and looking out the window.
“That didn’t come out right.” He let out another deep breath. “I got scared.”
“After you said you wanted to date me? After you said you waited to be put on another photo shoot? Stop playing with me, Lance. I’m not stupid.”
Yeah, I was being a bit of a bitch but right now, I didn’t want to deal with anyone, especially men. I was crabby, irritated, embarrassed, and all I wanted was to put on a pair of sweats and drown my sorrows in a pint of ice cream.
“I’m not playing with you, Rosie. I’m sorry I made you think otherwise. I’m an idiot, and yes, I should have called earlier. I really hope you’ll forgive me and consider going out with me again. This time, just you and me, no bowling or opportunities to rip your pants open.” His dash of humor miraculously eased the tension in my body. “What do you say, Rosie? Can I take you for a boat ride in Central Park on Saturday?”
“Hmm, that depends. Do you plan on tipping the boat? With my luck, that would happen.”
“Promise, there will be no tipping of the boat.”
Did I want to go out with him again? I thought about it for a second and honestly, I did. Out of all the dates I’d been on, I really enjoyed Lance’s company the most. Atticus was fun, but I cracked his nuts so there was no shot there. Alejandro was a no-go with the whole wildebeest growing in his pants, and Phillip, well, pretty sure I wouldn’t be hearing from him again.
“I might be free on Saturday.”
“Are you playing hard to get?” He chuckled into the phone.
“Maybe, is it working?”
“It is. I’m starting to get desperate here. I would love to see you again, Rosie.”
“It would be nice to see you again too,” I said. “But I won’t be paddling that boat.”
“I got it covered. How about a picnic as well?”
“Depends, what do you take on a picnic?”
“Um, how do you feel about bologna sandwiches? I make a mean one with mustard,andI cut them in little triangles.”
“Triangles, well, I have to say yes to that. I don’t think I have a choice.”
“You really don’t.” He laughed. “So do you want me to pick you up?”
“I can just meet you, no need to come pick me up. Just let me know when and where.”
“How about by the boathouse around noon?”
