The Perfect Indulgence by Isabel Sharpe Page B

Zac’s not on the list. Yeah, okay, I believe you.”
    Chris’s heart started beating wildly. She could not even think about Zac without anxiety clouding her vision. In fact, she was getting all worked up and annoyed right now. “He and I had a late-night talk on the beach yesterday.”
    “Ooh, yes?”
    “It was okay at first, and then we had a disagreement. I’m telling you, we just don’t get along. So then he walked me home.” She was getting more and more worked up, pacing Eva’s living room. “And then, when I said good night, he kissed me.”
    Eva gasped. “Wow! This is—”
    “I couldn’t believe it!”
    “Oh. You couldn’t?” Eva sounded confused. “Why not?”
    “Well, I mean—” Chris gestured to the air, trying to remember why this had seemed like such an outrageous story when she started it. “I mean, we weren’t on a date or anything. It was like...so wrong! And so—”
    “Chris?”
    Her arm dropped. The classes she’d taken at the Peace, Love and Joy Center had made her question why she flew off the handle like this, but her alcohol-fogged brain was not working well tonight, so...forget it. “What?”
    “Men kiss women they like and are attracted to. This is what happens here on our planet.”
    Chris wrinkled her nose. “I know that.”
    “So...? Was it a good kiss?”
    The best ever. “Yeah, it was okay. But that’s not the—”
    “Ha! You are such a bad liar. I don’t even know why you are trying . Especially with me!”
    “Right. I know.” She sank into a chair, feeling suddenly hopeless. “It’s stupid.”
    “What is? What’s going on? Are you falling for him?”
    Chris took in a deep breath, let it out, eyes closed, except the room started swimming and she had to open her eyes to steady it.
    “No, of course not.” Her voice cracked. “I just can’t seem to help wanting him like crazy.”
    “Aw, Chris. I know it’s scary. When I realized how I felt about Ames, I totally freaked out. Commitmentphobia to the extreme.”
    “But I’ve had long-term relationships before. I’ve never felt like this.” She sounded whiny and pathetic.
    “Chris.” Eva was breathless with excitement. “Maybe he’s The One .”
    “No. No, he is not The One.” She was certain of that. “We totally get on each other’s nerves. He’s maybe The Eight or The Nine.”
    “Why don’t you just have a fling with him, then?” Eva’s voice had turned sly. “You said that’s what you wanted to do while you were out here—I mean out there . At least Zac isn’t an idiot like Gus and Bodie.”
    Chris blinked. Blinked again. A glow of excitement started in her chest. Her heart slowed and she felt a huge weight lift. That could actually work. As long as she wasn’t falling for him, which, when she was sober, she’d need to figure out for sure. Her inner self was happy with the fling idea. Look how quickly her panic and confusion had dissipated.
    However. Chris was not letting her sister know she was even considering the idea. Eva would start planning her and Zac’s wedding before they even got to climax together.
    Ooh. Nice thought. The climax, not the wedding.
    “Eva, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because...because...” Inspiration hit. “Zac isn’t the fling type.”
    Eva snorted. “He’s a guy. All you have to do is say some variation of, ‘Hey, wanna do it?’ and he’s yours. Men are very simple creatures.”
    A vision rose of Chris saying that to Zac. Of his face darkening with desire, his arms reaching for her, his body backing hers into her bedroom, down onto her bed and—
    A sound broke into her daydream. Huh? What was— Oh, right.
    “I have to go. Doorbell’s ringing!”
    “Ooh! Go see who it is. If it’s Bodie or Gus, do not let them in. If it’s Zac—”
    “Ha.” Chris snorted on her way to check. “It’s not going to be Zac.”
    “It could be.”
    “You should have seen how he looked when he saw me with Bodie. Like he