Page 39 of Hot Tea & Bird Calls

“I’m only returning what you’ve done for me when I’m bamboozled by beautiful women.”

“Bamboozled’s an interesting way to put it.” Any afflictions of the heart resulted in strong, constant reminders that they were worth much more. Celene swirled a metal straw in her coffee, too unfocused to drink. “Skye and I laughed so hard, I couldn’t breathe. I normally only do that with you.”

“Your mind is scrambled because she’s a Pennsylvanian forest nymph, weaving her spells on you.” Nadine poked out full lips free of lipstick. Within a minute, she dialed a number on speakerphone. “I’m calling reinforcements.”

Dante. Nadine’s twin brother. Celene sighed, prepared for a two-on-one intervention.

Her pragmatic, clear-headed inner voice already shut this down. A fake girlfriend. What a waste of valuable time and resources. And so much lying.

Instead of rejecting her outright, Celene had hit Skye with questions. To understand where this came from.

Celene – 12:04 am

Why?

Who are we convincing?

Does it have to be me?

On her drive into the city, she’d reflected on the prospect of entertaining this whole idea. Joking around as they did charged something inside Celene she hadn’t felt since she’d first dated Quinn: excitement. The thrill of being someone else in a new place.

Skye had gotten back to her, answering the questions in order.

Skye – 12:31 am

I could finish your fuchsia faster. Luce doesn’t question my time away when I’m dating.

Everybody, mostly.

No, but I think we have good chemistry.

Quite bold to mention their chemistry. Not inaccurate, just bold. These surprises were stimulating, like the caress of Skye’s face against Celene’s wrist with the provocative “favorite teacher” line. Made her want more and see what could happen within their boundaries.

Two calls later, Dante answered. He lived in an apartment across the hall from Nadine, and it wouldn’t take much effort to bang on his door, him being a late riser on his days off. Nadine preferred blowing up his phone, sacrificing no comfort on her part.

“What?” he croaked out. Definitely still in bed.

“Incoming hypothetical situation, so wake up.” Nadine placed her phone on a table between them and their coffees. “Celene’s here with me. It’s about women.”

Dante grunted that he was listening. They should have led with asking for advice, since he loved offering it unasked. “You need a man’s perspective?”

“Close. I need a bitter single’s perspective.”

“I’ma hang up.”

“No, you’re not.” Nadine rolled her eyes as if her brother weren’t her other half. Technically fraternal, they operated like identical twins penned by sitcom writers—in sync, a package deal. “If a woman asked you to pose as her fake boyfriend, would you do it?”

“Hell yeah,” he replied in a deep yawn. “Sounds sexy.”

Celene smirked, enjoying this advantage. “He has a point.”

Nadine returned to her drink, betrayed by her own. “So you’re both lost causes. Got it.”

This topic added more pep to his deep, grainy voice. “As long as we have a connection, I’d be down.”

“Isn’t that a form of her using you?”

“Depends.”