there solely for personal gain.
“Ben…” I started tentatively. Once upon a time I’d been closer to him than anyone else on earth, but those days were so far behind us I could hardly remember what it had been like to need him. Would he be receptive now, or would he see me as a needy pain in the ass?
“Ben, will you help me? Will you do all this with me?”
We’d arrived at his car by then, and Ben put a hand on my arm. “Sure,” he said, and relief flooded my body. “Come back to my place, and we’ll get started now.”
By the time Ben put the key into the lock on his front door, I was starting to calm down. Ben would help me handle this. He knew what to do. With him, I was safe.
I’d been strategizing the whole way back, and I’d decided on my first tweet, with Ben’s help. “I came on the show to find love. If I implied otherwise, it was an exhausted mistake after a long day. #MrRight”. For the second tweet, I wanted to say something about how my interest in perfume only meant I had something in common with Andrew. And having things in common often leads to love, right?
We got inside the apartment and he sat beside me on the couch while we used his laptop to create a new Twitter account for me. I could feel the heat from his body next to mine, and I had to admit it felt good to have him sitting so close to me. Under different circumstances, I might have thought about snuggling closer to him. I might even have thought about kissing him.
Right now, though, I was focused.
“I can’t figure out how to word this second tweet,” I said, and we brainstormed. “Something about how I admire him professionally, and I went on the show because we had perfume in common, but then it led to something else. Because having things in common is a good thing if you’re looking for love!” I chose my words carefully, not wanting Ben to know that I’d actually fallen for Andrew in the end. I wanted him to respect me, and I didn’t think he would if he’d known I’d fallen for someone so quickly.
And maybe it was a little more complicated than that.
“What about ‘I respect and admire what Andrew has done for La Joie, but my interest in him was always sincere,’ or something along those lines?” he suggested.
“Hmm,” I considered. “Too…straightforward. And I can’t suggest that I didn’t win.”
He took the laptop from me and typed something out. I leaned toward him to read it.
“Mutual interests lead to love all the time. In my case, professional respect for @andrewaudrave led to something deeper. #MrRight”
“Ben!” I said, amazed. “That’s perfect!”
He glowed with satisfaction.
I reached across him to press Send, and was surprised by the way my heart beat faster when my wrist grazed his stomach. I caught a whiff of his familiar, comforting scent, the scent that always reminded me of those lazy days of first love in high school.
I pulled back and turned sideways on the couch, heaving my legs up to sit crossways and face him, leaning back against the arm of the couch.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I told him. “Really.”
“So why did you go on a dating show?” he asked.
“Well…I do want to work for La Joie,” I said, looking straight at him. “More than anything. And I guess it was just the right timing. To shake my life up. Start over.”
He nodded thoughtfully.
“I was working for this company in New York, and I was really lonely. I had these long hours alone in the lab, and I was working on developing the scent for a deodorant. I mean, a deodorant! That’s not exactly every girl’s dream scent.”
“How long were you working on that?”
“Oh my god…months! You’d think it would be simple and straightforward, but no. I was bored. And I was getting near the end of the project and feeling so far away from my family and everyone I used to know. And then one of my coworkers sent me this press release, just as a joke.”
I
“Ben…” I started tentatively. Once upon a time I’d been closer to him than anyone else on earth, but those days were so far behind us I could hardly remember what it had been like to need him. Would he be receptive now, or would he see me as a needy pain in the ass?
“Ben, will you help me? Will you do all this with me?”
We’d arrived at his car by then, and Ben put a hand on my arm. “Sure,” he said, and relief flooded my body. “Come back to my place, and we’ll get started now.”
By the time Ben put the key into the lock on his front door, I was starting to calm down. Ben would help me handle this. He knew what to do. With him, I was safe.
I’d been strategizing the whole way back, and I’d decided on my first tweet, with Ben’s help. “I came on the show to find love. If I implied otherwise, it was an exhausted mistake after a long day. #MrRight”. For the second tweet, I wanted to say something about how my interest in perfume only meant I had something in common with Andrew. And having things in common often leads to love, right?
We got inside the apartment and he sat beside me on the couch while we used his laptop to create a new Twitter account for me. I could feel the heat from his body next to mine, and I had to admit it felt good to have him sitting so close to me. Under different circumstances, I might have thought about snuggling closer to him. I might even have thought about kissing him.
Right now, though, I was focused.
“I can’t figure out how to word this second tweet,” I said, and we brainstormed. “Something about how I admire him professionally, and I went on the show because we had perfume in common, but then it led to something else. Because having things in common is a good thing if you’re looking for love!” I chose my words carefully, not wanting Ben to know that I’d actually fallen for Andrew in the end. I wanted him to respect me, and I didn’t think he would if he’d known I’d fallen for someone so quickly.
And maybe it was a little more complicated than that.
“What about ‘I respect and admire what Andrew has done for La Joie, but my interest in him was always sincere,’ or something along those lines?” he suggested.
“Hmm,” I considered. “Too…straightforward. And I can’t suggest that I didn’t win.”
He took the laptop from me and typed something out. I leaned toward him to read it.
“Mutual interests lead to love all the time. In my case, professional respect for @andrewaudrave led to something deeper. #MrRight”
“Ben!” I said, amazed. “That’s perfect!”
He glowed with satisfaction.
I reached across him to press Send, and was surprised by the way my heart beat faster when my wrist grazed his stomach. I caught a whiff of his familiar, comforting scent, the scent that always reminded me of those lazy days of first love in high school.
I pulled back and turned sideways on the couch, heaving my legs up to sit crossways and face him, leaning back against the arm of the couch.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I told him. “Really.”
“So why did you go on a dating show?” he asked.
“Well…I do want to work for La Joie,” I said, looking straight at him. “More than anything. And I guess it was just the right timing. To shake my life up. Start over.”
He nodded thoughtfully.
“I was working for this company in New York, and I was really lonely. I had these long hours alone in the lab, and I was working on developing the scent for a deodorant. I mean, a deodorant! That’s not exactly every girl’s dream scent.”
“How long were you working on that?”
“Oh my god…months! You’d think it would be simple and straightforward, but no. I was bored. And I was getting near the end of the project and feeling so far away from my family and everyone I used to know. And then one of my coworkers sent me this press release, just as a joke.”
I
Similar Books
