There’s only one thing to do when I get home. The one thing I’ve been wanting to do since, oh, the minute Ace approached me at the gym. She’s been in the back of my mind since last night, but the very back, of course. Ace obviously took center stage.

But a girl’s best friend is generally the first person you need in moments like this. I’ve basically lived out every woman’s fantasy and I have to share with her.

And maybe gloat a little. I mean, who wouldn’t?

It’s not as if I’ve had a lot to gloat over in the last few years. I remember James self-satisfied smirk, and he is like something that happened in another lifetime. What was I thinking? Just one night with a man like Ace is enough to show me the difference between what I thought I was worth—which was nothing much—and what was possible all along. I can’t believe I ever sold myself short like that.

And if nothing comes of this fling with Ace, if that’s what it is, I’ll have that much. A man like him wanted me and treated me the way he did.

Not to mention he wants to take me out tonight, New Year’s Eve.

Gena answers on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”

It takes a second for me to recover from this greeting. “Say what?”

“What’s wrong? You never call me in the morning unless something’s wrong.”

I laugh softly. How well she knows me. If I hadn’t gone to the gym last night, she would have been dead right. I would’ve been calling with much different news and in a much different mood. I’d probably be surrounded by empty wine bottles and the tear soaked tissues. Even if I got really pissed last night, the anger would’ve worn off and other emotions would’ve taken over. Like regret for wasting two years of my life.

“Actually, nothing’s wrong at all. Everything’s right.” I catch my reflection in the mirror. There is a very smug, cat-got-all-the-cream grin on my face. If I met me on the street, I’d probably make me want to puke.

She snorts disbelieving. “Oh. Don’t tell me James actually did something right for once.”

That would ordinarily make me roll my eyes, even though my heart would be sinking a little. Not anymore. No, sir. I flop down on the bed. “You know what? He actually did. For once he did something right.”

“What’s that?”

“He broke up with me.”

“What?” she shrieks.

“It was the best thing he could’ve done,” I say dreamily.

But Gena is off on a different tangent. She always hated James with a passion. “That douchebag really thought he should be the one to break up with you? What freaking planet does he live on?”

“It’s okay. It really is. I would never have done it myself. I needed the push.”

She goes quiet. “You mean that?”

“Absolutely.”

“So, he’s gone? For good? This isn’t one of those he’s-gone-but-just-for-today-because-I’m-gonna-take-him-back-the-minute-he-realizes-he-can’t-find-anything-better kind of thing?”

“That sounds a little too specific,” I mutter.

She whoops with joy. “I mean it. He’s gone for good? You’re not just saying it because you think it’s what I want to hear? How much alcohol have you consumed? Did you even stop drinking yet?”

“Do I sound wasted?”

“No,” she admits, “but you do sound a little… gooey. Like over-happy. Which doesn’t work with the news you just dropped on me.”

I have to bite down on the side of my fist to keep from laughing outright, and it’s a fight to keep my voice steady. “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you what else happened.”

She lets out a familiar, frustrated growl. “What? Come on. Stop dragging it out!”

A deep breath. “I might have met somebody new last night.”

Silence.

“Hello?” I ask, checking the phone to be sure we’re still connected.

“Yeah. Still here,” she replies. “Just who did you meet between breaking up with James and now? I mean, it can’t have been more than, what, a few hours?”

Jeez. When she puts it that way, all negative and questioning and whatnot, it sort of takes the wind out of my sails. I was proud of myself until just a minute ago. Now, all the old insecurities are beginning to creep back in and I’m starting to feel just a little ashamed.

“I met somebody really nice, actually. At the gym.”

“At the gym,” she echoes.

“Could you try to stop sounding like my mother for, like, five minutes? I called you because I had a great time and wanted to tell you all about it.”

She sighs. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to shame you in any way. I mean that. I’m just concerned because you made it sound like you went out and picked up some random guy. You do realize that seems very extreme, right? And definitely unlike you.”

“You’re right about that. It’s very unlike me. But he’s the one who picked me up, so…”

“Tell me all about him, then.”

So I do—what he looks like and what his apartment is like and how absolutely incredible he was in bed. All four times.

When I finish, more silence.

“Did you hang up on me?”

She giggles. “No. I’m trying to cool myself off after what you just told me. He seriously smeared ice cream on your body?”

“Mm-hmm.” Did he ever. My cheeks flush at the memory, along with other parts of my body, which were sore, but are now pretty tingly going over those heated memories.

“It’s official, and this is one thing I never thought I’d say: I hate you.”

“I’ll wear that like a badge of honor.” I hug that warm glow radiating through me. This morning, I’m just like any other girl, telling her best friend about being picked up a gorgeous man and having a wild night with him.

“Nah. You know I don’t mean it. You deserve this, and a lot more. You’ve been selling yourself short for too long.”

I roll over onto my back with a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. “You know, it’s funny. You’ve told me that how many times before? That I was selling myself short?”

“Around a hundred billion times. And you always yes’d me to death, like all you wanted was for me to leave you alone.”

“Honestly, that was what I wanted then.”

“I know you did. I understand.”

“But now, I get it,” I continue. “I mean, after last night… I don’t know, it’s like if nothing ever comes from this—and I don’t expect it to, I just want to enjoy what’s happening—I’ll at least know now for sure that I shouldn’t sell myself short. The difference between James and Ace? I mean, it’s staggering. I can’t even begin to explain.”

“You already told me more than once how unsatisfying he was in bed,” she reminds, as if I need the reminder.

“I didn’t tell you a quarter of the truth,” I admit, “but it’s more than that, too. He was nice to me. Doesn’t that sound pathetic? I just said it out loud and it sets my teeth on edge.”

“It’s all right. You know that of all people, I understand.”

And she does, which is why I can trust her to listen to the mess going on in my head. “He wanted me. He actively pursued me and took me home with him. And when I saw he wanted me I really mean wanted me. He cared whether I was having a good time. He took the time to make sure I was satisfied. When I tried to leave this morning, he pulled me back into bed! I mean, come on! He even invited me out with him tonight.”

“He what?”

“Oh yeah, didn’t I mention,” I gush happily. “He invited me to a party tonight! Medium-fancy.” I giggle, heat rushing into my cheeks. “This is like something out of a dream, Gena. Things like this just don’t happen to me.”

“But oh, my dear,” she quips, and I can hear the smile in her voice, “they do. Because it’s happening right now.”

“I don’t know what the heck I’m going to wear.” I turn my head in the direction of my half-open closet door. I was so merry I left it open last night before going to the gym. It’s chock-full of clothes, most of them dark and sort of … unflattering.

“You have that nice green dress, don’t you? You always look good in that.”

“Yeah, but that’s going-out-with-the-girls good. Not medium-fancy-party good,” I fret as I get up from the bed to go to the closet.

“The way you make this guy sound, Dawn, it won’t matter what you wear. For Christ’s sake, he picked you up at the gym while you were in workout clothes.”

“I know, I know, but he made a big deal about telling me how lucky he’ll be to walk in with me on his arm. I don’t want to let him down.”

“He did?” she sighs in a voice around an octave higher than normal.

I grin. “Swooning yet?”

“Yeah, I just full-on swooned, girl. Good thing I’m sitting down.”

“I should’ve warned you in advance, I guess,” I say with a laugh, as I begin sliding dresses back and forth over the rod—but that laugh dies in my throat when I reach the half of the closet that isn’t mine. “Oh, crap.”

“What?”

“James. All his things are still here. You know what that means.”

“It means you get the joy of throwing every last bit of it out of the window, that’s what it means. And while you’re at it, you need to get the locks changed so he can’t come slinking back like the slimy little creep he is.”

“Yeah. You’re right about that. Though I don’t know if that approach would go do too well with my neighbors. I don’t want to piss them off.”

“True. Just get rid of every trace of him. Make sure you don’t owe him a damn thing.”

I run my fingertips over one of his shirts. “Girl, we are on the same page. Don’t you worry.”

“Meanwhile, in all seriousness, I hope things work out with Ace.”

I wish my heart didn’t go and skip a beat when she just said that. “I told you, I’m not looking for anything to come of this.”

“I know, I know, but don’t pretend it wouldn’t be nice if it all worked out. You deserve something really good in your life, Dawn. You’re the best person I know, and you’ve lucked out on happiness for a long time now.”

“Thank you,” I murmur.

“This Ace sounds like a good one. I hope he is.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I insist, shaking my head. “Because here’s the thing: it really doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work out.”

“Why not?”

“Because you need to see this guy.” I say, trying not to let my voice change. “Sure, I’m fun for a night or two. It’s flattering, and we both know I needed the boost to my self-esteem. But I’m nothing like him. We’re too different. He’s a fitness buff, and I’m…not. Most definitely not.”

“What difference does that make?”

“Oh, come on. Be real with me for a minute. Stop speaking as my supportive best friend and give it to me straight. I’m not the sort of girl a gym owner could be serious about for the long-term. He’s going to get tired of not being with a girl who looks more like he does.”

“You don’t give him a lot of credit, do you?”

“Maybe I’ve been burned too many times.”

“Maybe you were messing around with the wrong guys. Ever think about that?”

I picture her in my head: tall, statuesque, with a body that makes men turn their heads wherever she goes. I once watched a guy almost fall into a mall fountain because he couldn’t stop looking at her as he walked by. It was funny as hell, yeah, but a reminder of who she is and who I’ll never be.

She could never understand what it feels like to be me.

Isn’t it funny how girls like me, who’ve witnessed the shitty side of men more times than we can count, know more about the way men really think than girls like her do? You’d think it would be the other way around, since she’s supposed to be the one with all the experience.

“Either way, I don’t want to fall into anything right now. You’re the one who thought it was a little soon to be hooking up with somebody hours after I broke up with James. Now, you’re telling me you hope things work out with us.”

“What’s wrong with wanting you to be happy?”

“I just want to have fun. That’s all. Okay?” The more she talks about how I deserve happiness and how she wants things to work out for me and Ace, the more my heart wants it, too. The more realistic it sounds. The more dangerous it becomes.

“Okay, okay. Whatever you want. But if you end up having his babies, that’s all right, too.”

“Shut up,” I laugh. “You’re not helping things.”