Kissing Booth

by River Laurent

  I wanted to kick him in the crotch, but I smiled, instead. “So, you do listen when I talk about work!”

  I grinned at Lillian. “I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I’m talking to myself.”

  She didn’t answer. She looked like she wasn’t sure what was happening. She wasn’t alone. I was still half-sure it was all a dream and I’d wake up sweating but relieved.

  “Um, okay.” Josh looked at me, then back at Max. The wind had definitely been taken out of his sails, I noticed with satisfaction. I could hear his brain work. Was she cheating on me?

  I didn’t dare let the smile slide from my face. “I’ll see you at the office?”

  “Yeah. Okay,” he said but stood there like a dork.

  “Well then. Thanks for the invite,” I said into the awkward silence.

  “See you there or be square,” Max said for good measure. I nearly kicked him then.

  Josh shook himself out of his trance and nodded. We both smiled and waved as my ex and his fiancée walked away. I managed to wait until they turned the corner before pushing Max’s arm off me, then whirling around on him.

  “Are you completely insane?” I hissed.

  “Whoa! Calm down. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

  The cocky, arrogant SOB! “Calm down? Don’t get my panties in a twist? Who the hell do you think you are?” I bellowed.

  “You always this uptight?” His voice was mild.

  “How dare you?” I gasped. I could feel my face getting red with anger.

  “How dare I what?”

  I looked at him with frustration. “Kiss me. Invite yourself to my boss’s engagement party. Be a jerk.”

  He looked shocked, which only surprised me more. Was I supposed to be happy about that little display of his? He lifted his hands up. “Be a jerk? I was trying to help you.”

  I almost lost it. “Help me? That’s my boss. I have to work with him,” I growled.

  “You said he wasn’t your boss. He was just a manager.” He looked over his shoulder, to where Josh had already disappeared. “And he looks like a real asshole.”

  “Well, thanks for the assessment,” I said sarcastically, “but I have to coexist with him in the office.”

  “Yeah, and I just made it easier for you to do that,” he reminded. “Unless you like knowing he thinks you’re wasting away and still wishing the two of you were together.”

  “You don’t know that,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “I don’t? What do you think that invitation was except for a way to rub it in your face? And don’t kid yourself into thinking that fiancée of his wants you at her party except to make you feel like shit. I made it so you could at least show up, but you don’t have to give her what she wants. I thought I was helping you save face,” he explained. “I guess I was wrong.”

  I realized he was right, but all he had done was complicate matters. “I wish you would have let me know you were going to do that.”

  “I didn’t know I was going to until I did. Besides,” he added with a smirk, “you were acting like you didn’t see me.”

  I tried not to look shifty. “Not true.”

  “True.” He smiled, looking down at me with laughter in his eyes. He was amused. I amused him.

  “I’m sort of in a hurry,” I said, holding up the box with the coffee cake. “I’m meeting a friend for brunch. That’s why I was a little distracted.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m not here to fight with you.” He held up his hands, backing off. “Have fun at your brunch. And be sure to let me know what time I should pick you up for the party.”

  “What?”

  “The engagement party.” He turned and started walking away.

  “Wait a minute!” I called out. “You don’t really think we’re going to that, do you?”

  “Miss a party at the St. Regis? I’ll even break out my good suit!” he called over one shoulder.

  I marched after him, grabbed his hand, and pulled him around to face me. “Not so fast, Mister. I’m not going to that stupid party. First of all, I cannot imagine anything worse than spending an evening watching my ex and his new fiancé celebrate their great love for each other. He was out of order to even think of inviting me. Second, there’s bound to be a bunch of people from work there, so I wouldn’t dare go with a loose cannon like you. God knows what you could say or do. My job happens to be important to me.”

  “Not going would be a big mistake,” he said slowly.

  “Well, let me be the judge of that.”

  He shrugged. “Okay. It’s your life. You’re allowed to screw it up if you want to.”

  See, he didn’t need to say that last part. He just did it to piss me off. I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful. So, thank you for helping me the other day, but from now on please do not help me. I do not need your help.”

  “100 bucks says you do!”

  “Excuse me?”

  He smirked and looked so damn sexy I wanted to bite him. “You heard.”

  “All right. You asked for it, buddy.”

  His expression lost that smug look. “What?”

  “Five hundred bucks says you’ll be needing my help before I need yours,” I challenged. I knew I wouldn’t need his help, but by chance, if he locked himself out of the building, needed to borrow sugar, or needed something, I could do with the money. I was lusting after a pair of shoes with a $465.00 sticker on it that I spotted in a shop window last week.

  He chuckled, a twinkle in his eyes. “You’re on.”

  “I’d like mine in fifty dollar bills, please,” I said, with a glint in my eye. I’ll show him.

  His eyebrows rose mockingly, and I pretended to laugh.

  Then he was gone, disappearing into the heavy Saturday morning crowd. And there I was, standing on the sidewalk with my heart banging, wanting him, and hating the fact that I wanted him.

  Mimi

  “He did what?” Megan screamed. She was sitting beside me on the sofa, her feet tucked underneath her.

  I nodded. Thank heavens the other girls were running late, so I could run the whole terrible story past Megan in private. I sipped the Bloody Mary she’d handed me as soon as I arrived. She saw how stricken I looked and knew the very thing to make me feel better.

  “I knew he was a spineless worm, but he’s turning out to be a complete psychopath. You should be glad you’re not with him. You don’t want to be with someone like that. Are you glad it’s all over?” she demanded.

  I took a little sip of my drink. It was very good, actually. “I don’t know! Jesus, it only happened on Monday!”

  Her eyes became round. “You still want that jerk?”

  “No, of course not. It’s just the way he rushed out to get engaged to her, and the way he acted just now like nothing had happened between us. It was like bizarro world. I guess it hurt me.”

  “They’re both sick. That’s the only way to describe it,” she spat. She looked at me, all expectation. “So? What did you say?”

  “I didn’t say anything,” I murmured, looking into my glass to avoid meeting her eyes. “Somebody else did the talking for me.”

  “Okay. Now you’re starting to really intrigue me. Who did the talking?”

  I laughed. “Don’t freak out, but remember Max?”

  I looked over to see her eyes get even wider and rounder than I’d ever seen them. “Your neighbor? Mr. You’re So Fucking Big?”

  I giggled. “Yeah. He saved me. I think.” I gave her the details, watching as her jaw dropped further with each detail.

  “He’s your hero,” she breathed, hands crossed over her chest.

  “Oh, spare me. Since when are you such a romantic?”

  “Since romantic things started happening in your life, Mimi Young!” She jumped up and down on the cushions, clapping her hands. Her silver bangles clashed musically.

  “It’s not romantic. It was just a coincidence that he happened to be there.”

  “You m
ight try to sound convincing when you say things like that. I don’t even think you believe it yourself, girl.”

  “I do believe it,” I insisted firmly.

  “You don’t.” She laughed. “You forget, I’ve known you since the first day of freshman year. I remember the shy little girl sitting on the edge of her bed in our dorm room. I know all about you, including all your tells.”

  “My tells?”

  “What you do when you’re lying,” she said with a grin. “Even when you’re only lying to yourself.”

  “What do I do?” I asked, suddenly curious.

  “For one thing, you touch your ear. Left hand, left ear.”

  I dropped my hand to my lap. Megan threw her head back, laughing. “Next,” she said once she’d calmed down, “your nostrils flare out.”

  “Oh, no.” I pinched them closed.

  “I’m just saying, you might want to think twice about spending money at the poker tables.”

  I sighed, chuckling in spite of myself. “All right,” I murmured since it was just the two of us and she could read me so well, anyway. “There might have been a bit of drooling going on. I might have swooned a little.”

  “A little?” I was sure she was about ready to crawl out of her skin. “He’s like a knight in shining armor. He keeps coming to your rescue.”

  “He was in the right place at the right time. He was probably chasing me down to embarrass me over Monday night, to tease me or whatever, and he overheard what was going on. I told him about Josh, remember.”

  “Right, and he spared you the embarrassment of being in that situation alone. He’s right—I bet that Lillian bitch told Josh to walk up and talk to you. I would bet anything she wanted to twist the knife in your chest.”

  “Yeah, well, the joke’s on her. I don’t know what I ever saw in him.” I shook my head mournfully. “And she’s marrying him! Shouldn’t she know better? He won’t change just because there’s a ring on his finger.”

  “Who knows? Maybe she thinks she can change him.” We both laughed, knowing that was impossible.

  “Yeah, it’s easier for her to blame me, even though I had no idea she existed until Monday.”

  “I guess she’s pregnant and desperate,” Megan conceded, jumping to her feet. Her long, loose caftan flowed, effortlessly exuding style as she moved. At least I hadn’t run into the Glamazon in my running clothes. I stood and followed her into the kitchen. It was a cramped little galley kitchen, just like mine, though hers was painted a sunny yellow to make up for the lack of windows.

  “Well, at least now you don’t need to worry about going to the party alone,” Megan opening the fridge and took out a carton of tomato juice.

  “I’m not going to the party at all.”

  “You have to go.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  Megan calmly mixed another Bloody Mary for us. I made a mental note not to go overboard like I did on Monday. It was just not worth it. It took me two full days to recover.

  “You have to go because if you don’t. It means she wins. And you can’t let her win. Do you want her to think she’s intimidated you!? Believe me, if you don’t show, that’s exactly what she’ll think.”

  I leaned against her counter. “I don’t care what she thinks.”

  “If I were you, I’d go. Salvage my pride by showing up with an absolute hunk. From what you’ve told me, Max will do everything he can to make you look good.”

  She handed me a fresh Bloody Mary.

  “Trust me,” she said pouring herself one too. “My intuition is never off when it comes to things like this, and I think he’s the real deal. He could have left you sitting there alone Monday night, but he brought you inside and tried to help when you lost your mind.”

  We clinked glasses. “Well,” I said biting my thumb. “I told him I don’t want him to go with me. I don’t know what crazy stunt he’ll pull next.”

  She took a sip. “Well, you’ll just have to tell him, you’ve changed your mind.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we made a bet that he’d come to me for help before I went to him.”

  She grinned over the rim of her glass. “I think this could be the beginning of a very, very good romance novel.”

  “And I think you’ve already had too much to drink. No men for me in the immediate future. I need a break after Josh.”

  “Okay, then…” she trailed off, eyebrows arched.

  The doorbell rang before I could ask what she looked so damn pleased with herself about.

  Mimi

  “Is everything all right with Josh?”

  I turned in my chair on Monday morning to find Tracee standing in the doorway of my cubicle, but looking down the hall with a concerned frown. I stood, following her gaze. Josh’s door was open, and the two of us watched him pacing back and forth like a maniac. He ran his hands through his hair, muttering something into his headset. He sounded extremely put out. I wondered who he was talking to.

  “I don’t know what’s up with him, but if he keeps that up he’ll have to replace the carpet,” I muttered. “He’s going to wear it down to the pad.”

  “He’s been that way since last week,” she said, shaking her head. “Like he’s losing his mind.”

  I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. “It makes sense. I heard he got quite a surprise last week.”

  “Oh, of course. The baby. The engagement. I can’t stand it when men don’t bother trying to leave their personal lives at home. If a woman came in here acting like a crazy person…”

  “I know what you mean,” I agreed.

  She looked apologetic as she turned to me. “You know what’s funny? This is going to sound crazy, but I sort of thought the two of you had something going on.”

  “Us?” I chuckled, even as my blood turned to ice.

  “I know, it’s crazy.” She leaned in, winking. “You can do much better than him. I don’t know what I was thinking. I hope you’re not insulted.”

  I smiled indulgently. “Not at all.”

  After she left, I waited a few minutes for Josh to get off the phone. When I saw him wander back to his desk and sit down, I checked my compact mirror. My hair was shiny and bouncy, no lipstick on my teeth. I looked pretty good actually. Red was a fine color for me. Grandma always said it made my skin look healthy. I ran my hands down my black pencil skirt, straightened my spine, and made my way to his office.

  I knocked on the glass door. His eyes bugged when he saw me. He made a beckoning movement with his hand and I went in.

  “Hey, Mimi. How’s it going?” he said giving me a big grin.

  And I thought this was going to be awkward. I forced a smile. “Hey. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  He leaned back in his chair, his grin becoming wider. What a tool. “I know. You can’t make it to the party, right?”

  My eyes widened. “What?”

  “You can’t make it to out engagement party.” He slapped his thigh. “Lillian so called it right,” he gloated.

  “What?” I repeated like a fool.

  “She said no way you were you going out with a guy like Max. He was waaaaay out of your league. She reckoned he was probably a gay friend who’d taken pity on you. She guessed you would be coming into my office sometime this week with some excuse that you couldn’t make it.”

  I swallowed and wished I had closed the blinds. I was wearing my especially sharp and pointy heels, so I could have walked up to him and stabbed him in right in the eyes with my heels. But then, I remembered what one of my teachers told me, a strong woman doesn’t exact revenge on her enemies, she moves on and lets Karma do her dirty work for her.

  “Don’t worry. It’s okay. I totally understand. Your pride was hurt. You don’t have to come,” he finished.

  I flashed a fake smile. “I’m sorry to disappoint Lillian, but Max and I are coming. Unless you or Lillian feel it is too awkward. In that case, of course, we won’t
come. Obviously, we don’t want to spoil your special day. We’ll probably just stay in and have sex. Max is amazing in bed. Just amazing. It’s five times a night at the moment.” I gave a laugh. “So good. Like you wouldn’t believe.”

  Josh’s eyebrows flew into his hairline, which I realized, was beginning to recede. “No, of course, you must come. It is not awkward at all. Both of us would love to have both of you over.” Then he smiled. I didn’t miss the inflection on the word both. Balls, he didn’t believe me.

  “Fine. We’ll see you there then.”

  “Yeah. I’ll look forward to seeing both of you at the party.”

  “Okay.”

  “Maybe we can double date sometime.”

  I wanted to hurl. “What a great idea.” I whirled around to leave his room.

  “Er…Mimi.”

  I turned. “Yeah.”

  “You wanted to ask me something?” His eyes were taunting.

  “Yes, of course. That’s right.” I smiled. “I wanted to ask you if I could take that file over there.” I pointed over to a file that I’d brought to him two weeks ago while I was using every excuse in the book to come in here.

  “Don’t you have a copy on your computer?”

  “I accidentally deleted it this morning,” I said and walked over to the file. I picked it up, opened it, and pretended to scan through it. “Yup, this is the one.” I lifted my head. “Thank you for this.” With a smile plastered all over my face, I walked out of his office. I went back to my little cubicle, sat on my chair, and let my head hit the table with a thud.

  Shit. I was in so much trouble.

  Mimi

  I stood at my front door until I heard Max in the corridor. I waited until he got into his apartment, then gave him another seven minutes before I went to knock on his door. He opened it and I wanted to swoon. Nobody should look this good at six o’clock in the evening.

  I flashed him a bright smile.

  He crossed his arms. “Did you bring the five hundred bucks?”

  “What?”

  “Aren’t you here to ask for my help, to go with you to the party?”