“There is no and.”
Pursing her lips, Suzette taps her forefinger against the plump flesh for a solid three seconds before she begins. “Let me tell ya something, Charlie. Working with animals all day, every day has made me a master at reading nonverbal cues. And this right here,”—she motions to my blank face—“is speaking loud and clear.”
“Is it now?” I challenge, playing along with her insane accusation, my normal barriers slowly crumbling the longer she prods. “And what’s my face saying?”
“That I need to meet him.”
“Like I said, he’s super busy right now.”
“Oh, come on!” She stomps her foot. “I need some details if you’re not going to let me meet him.”
Feeling generous and weirdly chatty for a girl like me, I cave. “What do you want to know?”
“Name?”
“Levi.”
“Looks?”
My mouth quirks as I mentally pull up an image of him. “Good?”
Laughing, she keeps digging. “How long have you known him?”
Finally. Something I’m comfortable with answering. “For forever. My mom died when I was little, and we lived next to each other, so Levi’s mom started to watch me during the day while my dad was at work,” I explain.
“Oo…does he know you like him?”
Cheeks flaming, I shake my head. “Nope. And he never will.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s my best friend. I wouldn’t want to ruin that just because I’m curious about what he looks like naked, ya know?”
“But what if it’s mutual?” she argues, obviously invested in the story. “What if he wants to look at you naked just as much as you want to look at him?”
“Trust me. That’s not the case on this one.”
“How do you know?”
Shrugging, I look down at my sneakers and rub my toe along the tile floor. “It just isn’t.”
“Hmmm…I think you should get him down here. Then I can see for myself and make my own hypothesis. You know, since I’m a master at nonverbal cues and all.”
With my face scrunched, I weigh the scenario before looking up to see her puppy dog eyes.
“Come on! It’ll be fun. Like our own little secret mission, and I promise Levi won’t suspect a thing.”
“You mean he won’t know that you’re analyzing him like a hawk to see if he wants to see me naked?”
She winks. “Yeah. That.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I’m fun!” she argues before adding, “And maybe a little human deprived.”
With another laugh, I check the time on my cell then slip it back into the pockets sewn into my leggings. “I’m gonna go with the latter. I’ll let ya know if I can twist his arm into coming or not, but don’t get your hopes up. I wasn’t kidding about how crazy his work schedule is.”
“Fiiine. I guess I’ll practice a little patience. Have a good one, Charlie. And thanks for wearing Bonnie out.”