Page 7 of Decidedly Off Limits

One night to distract me from my fantasies of Trent. Naked.

Under me.

Over me.

Inside me.

God, I was a lost cause.

* * *

Nextto me on her couch, Erin flipped the magazine page and checked out the quiz:Are You Confident Enough To Make Guys Come At The Sight Of You?

Okay, maybe that wasn’t the exact title, but you got the general gist. I had already read48 Moves To Drive Your Man Crazy In Bed. Want to learn how to make a man truly happy? Read erotic romance. Nothing was more educational than that.

“Why are you reading that?” I glanced at the clock to see how much time was left beforeOutlanderstarted. Jamie Fraser in a kilt was usually enough to distract Erin from my love life. Call me paranoid, but I had an uneasy feeling she was reading the article for my benefit, not hers.

“It’s not for me,” she said, not even looking up. “I’m checking it out for you.”

See what I mean? “Me? I don’t need that.”

“Tell me, what isyourpurpose in life?” She pointed at the title on the cover, for an article about creating a fulfilling life before entering a relationship, and waited expectantly for me to answer.

“You seriously want me to answer that?” I shoved a handful of popcorn in my mouth, buying time in case she really did expect me to tell her. Hell if I knew what it was.

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.”

“Well…I guess it’s to help kids with their physical rehabilitation.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“That’s your job description, but it can’t be your only purpose in life. There’s more to you than just helping kids, right?”

“Er…” I drew a blank. Even my cat could have done better.

“What about your hobbies? I play the piano and create jewelry. What about you?”

“Let’s see. I took violin lessons when I was ten.” Which she knew about. Like she knew about my other non-hobbies. “I sucked at it and gave it up. I’m not athletically inclined.” Far from it. “I can make a decent fire. Does that count?”

Erin snorted. “Not really. So what do you do when you’re not working?”

I shrugged, too embarrassed to admit that I spent my evenings reading romance novels, hanging out with my cat, and watching TV. But I didn’t need to tell her. That was why she’d been trying to set me up on a date. “I go to the gym after work.” It must count for something.

“Okay, so your purpose in life is to be in shape.” At first I thought she was serious, but then she smirked.

“Hey, being in shape is a good thing. It means I’m healthy and will have a long life.” A long unfulfilling life, apparently.

Erin closed the magazine and placed it on the coffee table. A breeze from the nearby window ruffled the cover, causing it to either wave at me or mock me. It could have gone either way.

“Let’s look at this another way,” she said. “If you’re gonna be dating, you need to have common interests with the guy.”

“Who says I’m gonna be dating? Maybe I like being single. Single is good.” Now if only my voice sounded like I was fully on board. “It beats being in a relationship and still being alone.” Something I was an expert on.

“True. But you’d feel differently if you dated the right man. Owen wasn’t the right man.” A fact Erin had harped on when I first started dating him in college.

At the time, both Owen and I had been busy with classes and didn’t have much time for anything else. Back then it had been fine, but I had foolishly thought that once we were out and working we would’ve had more time for each other.