I toy with the idea of going to his office and seeing how he’s doing, but I stop myself. Sure we had a fantastic weekend, and sure it seemed like we were getting along great, but we are in no way a couple. I shouldn’t be trying to find him just to... what? Talk? See how he’s doing? Ugh. Not only am I a virgin in bed, I’m pretty inexperienced at dating too. Thinking about sex reminds me of how Logan made me come over and over in just one night. How the hell had I gone for so long without such mind-numbing pleasure? I tighten my thighs together. God, the last thing I need is to get turned on at work.
The minutes drag by until finally I can go. Another day without Logan. I grab my purse and decide to head over to Violet’s. I’m not in the mood to be all alone at home. I shoot her a text, stop by the liquor store for a bottle of wine, and head to her apartment.
“Hey-”
I walk through the door and flop onto the couch. She’s already got two wineglasses out, and I waste no time in pouring out a glass for me.
“Can we just order pizza tonight?” I ask.
She frowns and sits down, curling up in the armchair like a graceful cat.
“You’ve got it baaaaaaad,” she observes. “Did something more happen than just sex?”
“Well, there was a lot of it,” I say as I take another sip.
Violet sighs.
“Mikayla, you can’t just give away your heart to some guy after one night,” she says. “That’s not the definition of a rebound.”
“Can you even call it that when it’s been years since I broke up with Jake?”
“Yes. I can when you still haven’t properly processed it. You just shut down that part of your life completely.” Violet’s expression softened. “I know he hurt you, but that doesn’t mean that all men are horrid. You just came across a bad one.”
“Can you blame for avoiding them if I’m all worked up after just one night?” I shake my head. “The worst thing is, it’s not like he ever really led me on you know, to think that there would be something. I just need to get that through my brain. Anyways, lets order and put Netflix on. I’m ready to dive into a sappy movie and forget about Logan.”
“Sounds good,” Violet said. “The usual?”
Our usual was pepperoni, Italian sausage and olives. It’s my one guilty pleasure and concession to fast, processed foods.
“Yep. Let’s put extra cheese on top too,” I say, topping up my glass of wine.
Just then my phone rings. My heart jumps and I sit up, grabbing my phone way too quickly. Only this time, it actually is Logan. I almost decide to make him wait, but I’m crap at playing games like that. I hit the button and put the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
His voice is rich and dark and sends my breathing into overdrive.
“Hi,” I say hesitantly.
“Mikayla. I’m sorry that what’s happening at work has dragged on for so long. But I was wondering if maybe tonight we could have that dinner you talked about.”
“Dinner. Oh! You mean the pasta? I-” I glance over at Violet, ready to say no, but she’s gesturing for me to go. “I would love to. How about six-” Violet holds up seven fingers. “Seven.” I frown at her, and she mouths the word shower.
“Seven sounds perfect,” Logan says. “I’ll be there.”
I end the call. Violet’s already tugging me out of the sofa and pushing me towards the door.
“You don’t have a lot of time,” she says. “You need to take a shower and do something with your hair.”
“Do I really look that bad?” I wonder. I check my reflection in the hallway. My hair’s definitely creased from being in a ponytail all day, but I don’t look terrible.
“Well, you could look better. This is only your second date. Plus seven gives you time to do a load if you don’t have any clean, matching underwear.”
“Thanks for looking out for me Vi,” I say dryly. “You don’t think I should put some distance and cool off a little?”
She puts both hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eye.
“No. I think you’re finally putting yourself out there and it’s about time. Logan sounds like a nice guy. Just make sure you use protection and call me tomorrow morning, got it?”
**********
There’s a part of me that wishes that Violet had said eight so I could have more time to prepare. The first thing I do when I get back home is run around picking up everything and dumping it into the washing machine. The apartment might be airy and spacious in the kitchen, but it definitely lacks storage. It doesn’t help that I haven’t had time to go to Ikea to pick out some furniture, so all my stuff is either in boxes piled up or on the floor. Not exactly the sexy vibe that I’m going for. I dig out a candle that Violet gave me as a Christmas present a few years back. It smells nice at least. As soon as everything’s been shoved away, I run and take a shower, taking the time to really make myself look good.