Page 76 of My Big Fat Shifter Wedding

“And I’m all the luckier for it. Now spill!”

“Relax, I’m getting there. Just figuring out where to start.”

“I’ve heard the beginning is a great place to try that.”

“Hardy, har har.”

Perhaps I was being a little annoying, but it was clear the verbal back and forth had eased up the stress I could hear in my friend’s voice, because she sighed and finally started really talking.

“You see... I got asked out.”

I’d hung out with Amanda enough to know that wasn’t necessarily a good thing, so I braced myself for whether I needed to squeal in support or go get a baseball bat. “Are you happy about it?”

“I don’t know.”

Now, maybe that would confuse some people, because how could someone not know if it was a good thing when someone asked them out or not? But Amanda needed a business day or two to decode what she was feeling, then another twenty-four hours to decide what she wanted to do with that. It was different from how my brain worked, yeah, but I didn’t judge her for it. It took all sorts of people and wolves to make the world go round.

And witches too, but I didn’t know any of those personally.

“Okay, then let’s talk about it and maybe you’ll be able to figure it out. Did you know this guy previously or did he just come up to you?”

“Oh no, he’s not a rando. He works at the comic book shop. He’s really polite and not one of those well akshually creeps who drive me up the wall.”

“That’s good!” I wasn’t as much of a nerd as Amanda, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t familiar with the trope of men in the hobby either not believing a woman could be into comics like them and trying to quiz her like they were the gatekeepers of all geekery, and the trope of men asking women out at inappropriate times. “Have the two of you talked much, or is this really out of the blue?”

“No, we talk a lot whenever I go in there and at the events I go to. He’s really funny, if a bit quiet.”

So far, it sounded all good to me, but I could still tell that something was bothering Amanda. Sometimes, she needed someone to ask questions so she could figure out where her own thoughts were, but sometimes, she needed things stated bluntly, so I figured it was time to check if the latter was the correct course of action.

“What’s the deal then? What’s got you stressin’?”

“I’m interested in him.”

She said it so bluntly but I was sure I misheard. “Pardon?” I asked out of instinct.

“I said, I’m interested in him.”

“Okay, so what’s the issue then?” So far, it seemed like we should be squealing in excitement and planning Amanda’s killer outfit for their first date.

Actually, that sounded like a lot of fun. Could we do that? Although the two of us still dressed up to go out on our girl dates, it would be fun to go through the entire full glam process with Amanda. A rehashing of the makeover she gave me that had changed the way I viewed myself, but probably with fewer personal revelations.

“The issue is that this is the first time I’ve felt any sort of attraction at all since my ex cheated on me three years ago. He was the only other person I’ve ever felt that way toward, and I don’t know if I wanna make myself vulnerable like that again.”

And there it was.

Finally, I had the true answer, the reason she needed to phone a friend. Well, I was happy to do my part and help in whatever way I could.

“I totally understand that, Amanda, and I’m sorry that happened to you. Someone breaking your trust like that can leave some really deep scars that take a long time to heal.”

It made me grateful for my limited romantic history. I’d missed out on a lot of social milestones that many people would consider par for the course, but hey, I never once had to deal with infidelity, and that seemed like its own special heartbreak.

But it seemed, now that the seal was broken, Amanda could no longer play nonchalant, because she was already talking again, her rhythm speeding up with each passing sentence.

“The thing is, I don’t even know if going on a date with him would be fair!”

“What? Why not? Because you’re a total smokeshow?”

“Ha. No, nothing like that. It’s just...”