Page 86 of Size King

“I can’t stop thinking about her,” I admit. “It’s gone way past her just being on my mind most of the time.”

“Dude, really?” He laughs. “What’s going on? All jokes aside, let’s be serious for a moment. I want to know what’s going on with you.”

“I think it’s just a perfect storm,” I throw out there. “I have this girl that I like. We have a strong physical attraction to each other that defies modern logic, and I’m caught up. It’s like a heightened crush—it’s nothing.”

“It’s notnothing,” disagrees Luke. “Don’t brush this off, dude.”

“I’m not brushing anything off,” I say defensively. “I haven’t been this happy in my sex life in a long time. I’m simply trying to enjoy myself the way that feels right.”

“Nah,” Luke says, disbelieving, shaking his head, and rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen you when you find a girl you really like. This isn’t just a girl that you like to fuck.”

I choose not to dignify his assessment with a response.

“So,that’swhat you were up to the other day,” says Luke. “You weren’t here only to bang Jillian. You came back all this way because you’re falling inwuv.”

“Don’t be disgusting,” I chide. “Yeah, I’m here for more reasons than just getting my dick wet. It’s true. I won’t deny that.”

“Then, tell me what’s got your dick in a knot, bro!”

And so, through the loud music and the never-ending surge of loud dancers, rapscallions, and attractive women, I tell Luke about my last encounter with Jillian. I bring up how she made a complete turnaround from seemingly out of nowhere and how she freaked out right around the time when he and I were talking on the phone.

After I finish telling Luke much of my history with Jillian, conveniently still leaving out the pregnancy bombshell, he ponders on everything for a short while.

“With women, it isn’t just what you say, man,” Luke reminds. “It’s how you say it. Maybe you should have chosen your words a bit more carefully.”

“What’s wrong with what I said?” I ask. “She was going wild for everything that came out of my mouth from the time we met up until the other day, and I don’t get it.”

“You aren’t sure if she overheard you and I talking the other day,” says Luke. “So, who’s to say she didn’t hear how you were blabbing about your sex life to me?”

“I thought about that, but do you really think that would be enough to make her want to get the hell away from me?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, man. She’s your girl.”

“She’s not my girl,” I protest, blushing. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I purposefully try not to say much around her because I don’t want to upset her.”

“Is this girl that temperamental that you have to walk on eggshells around her?” Luke asks. “What do you mean you’re afraid to upset her?”

“I’m notafraidof anything,” I say. “I like being sensitive to her feelings.”

I’m not sure what led Luke to his astute epiphany, but I am grateful that he had it. He generally has good insight whenever he is able to put his energy and attention on someone other than himself.

“When you first picked up that morning I called you,” Luke begins. “You were cryptic about what you were doing, remember? You wouldn’t tell me who you were with at first, so you said—”

“I am with a friend,” I finish. “Right.”

“Is it possible that she heard you when you kept saying you were just hanging out with a ‘friend’?”

“Iwasin bed when I said all that,” I recall. “She was in the bathroom, though. You and I talked for like thirty seconds!”

“So, there’s no chance that she could’ve overheard you from the bathroom?” he asks. “You’re sure?”

“Well, no, I’m not sure.”

Luke shakes his head, patting me empathetically on the shoulder.

“Mason, Mason,” he says with an occasional tsk. “You never should have referred to Jillian as a ‘friend.’ Then you went outside and talked about what it was like to fuck her. It sounded like she was just a hook-up to you!”

“She’s absolutely more than just a damn hook-up!” I say, flustered. “She knows that! There’s no way she could be thinking that.”