Page 52 of Holding Out for a Gyro
I took a step forward. He might be my best friend, and sure, we’d joked like this in the past, but… “Not today, Evan.”
He lifted a hand, laughing. “Holy shit, Bas. I’m only teasing. I just hope you know what you’re doing. After all, she outright told you she doesn’t want a boyfriend.”
“I know what I’m doing.” I thought I did.
I was chasing after a shadow, I knew, but I couldn’t make myself stop.
Chelsea could say she wanted to keep things casual, but there was something deeper happening here than I’d ever experienced. I had no way of knowing if it would last, but every time we talked, I felt a stronger connection. She got me to open up, and she was pushing me to grow, to think about my goals and, ironically, my future. By challenging me and validating my work, she’d awoken some of my dormant pride and lit a fire in my imagination. When she chastised me for giving up, she was right. Absolutely, 100 percent, dead-on-balls accurate.
I made up my mind to start searching for restaurants in need of a chef and even considered my uncle’s offer, even though that felt like charity, like a different form of giving up. Still, it wasn’t the worst option, and I might have considered it more seriously if it wasn’t five thousand miles away and I didn’t have a girl right here in town who I wanted to get to know better.
And Iwasgetting to know her a little at a time. We were treading water, but I genuinely enjoyed her company, so it was a win. Not a win-win. Just a win. Time was on my side. If we kept on as we were, I refused to believe she wouldn’t change her mind about the whole boyfriend thing.
Evening rolled around with a promise of something more romantic than our hookups, more physical than our friendly hangs. I’d offered to pick Chelsea up, but I got the sense she wanted control over her exit strategy. She knocked around nine, and I answered the door like a nervous suitor. She smiled so radiantly, my heart surged. She entered my house and twirled. “What do you think?”
My jaw dropped open like a lech. “Damn, Chelsea.”
She wore a black, form-fitting top that drew attention to her curves. Her cleavage stared at me like an appetizer. She’d swept her hair up into a messy knot with curls falling down in tendrils. And she’d used some kind of witchcraft on her eyes to darken them. Her mouth brought my gaze to a standstill. I couldn’t stop staring at her red, shiny lips.
As I uncorked a bottle of wine, my fantasy transformed to the two of us ignoring the movie entirely, wrapped up together, grinding, kissing, slipping our clothes off one item at a time.
I flipped on the TV. “I was thinkingGalaxy QuestorSpaceballs.”
“You really know how to show a girl a good time.”
“Right.” I thought about what Zoe or Ana would pick. “The Proposalwas good.”
Chelsea sat on my sofa. “I’ve never seenGalaxy Quest.”
“Okay, then.” I lowered the lights and searched Netflix, then settled next to her and said, “Are you ready to get astro-physical?”
Her groan made me laugh, but when she rolled her eyes, she relaxed into me, so it was worth it. I put my arm around her,and she rested her head against my shoulder. When she set her empty wineglass on the coffee table, I reached over with my free hand and took hers. We watched the movie, laughing and repeating funny lines, but my focus was on her every movement.
The movie ended, and still laughing, she gazed into my eyes. “Never give up! Never surrender!”
A banging at the door started the dog barking.
“What in the—”
I jumped up and saw Evan peering through the glass panes. As soon as I opened the door, he stormed in and scowled at Chelsea. “Doesheknow?”
My eyebrows drew together as I tried to sort out his question. “Do I know what?”
Chelsea was looking at him like he’d just fallen to Earth. “Yeah. What?”
“About your checklist?”
Chelsea and I both tilted our heads at him in the same way. Chelsea’s eyes widened first. “What about it?”
“What are you talking about?” I gasped as understanding dawned. “Wait. Their checklist?That’swhat this is about?”
He dropped his head into his hands. “So youdidknow? The bullshit conversation?” He looked up, like he was making salient points. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Chelsea stood, and my yia yia’s afghan fell from her lap and pooled at her feet. Along with my romantic aspirations. “What is there to tell? It has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me. It’s the whole reason she’s going out with me. She only talked to me because of that dare.” He kicked my coffee table, then paced around like he was looking for something to punch.
Chelsea flinched, and I grabbed Evan by the wrist. “Come on. You can sleep in Farrid’s bed. He won’t be home tonight.”
