THE SMELL OF basil filled the kitchen as I got out my great-grandmother’s recipe for chicken parmigiana. I found myself singing “Tied Up” along with Olivia Newton-John and Charity. The song was blaring from her room. Her obsession with Olivia had caused me concern when we first moved in as roommates. After countless hours of hearing her songs, going to two concerts in Vegas, and repeated viewings of her movies, I was a bit of a fan myself. Nothing like Charity though.
“Why are you cooking dinner? I told you I had a date.”
Glancing over my shoulder to Charity, I replied, “I know. I’m making dinner for someone else.”
I turned before I could see her reaction. Charity was pretty much the only friend I had in Colorado Springs. Well, besides the ladies from knitting club and Max and Liza.
She was next to me in a flash. “Really? Who?”
“Just someone I met earlier down in the bakery. It’s sort of a thank you dinner. He helped get rid of Ms. Loft once and for all.”
Charity took a step back, held up her hands and said, “Wait. Hold on. Back things up a bit here. First off, Ms. Loft is gone? What happened?”
“She freaked out on me and I might have accidentally called her a name when I thought I was thinking it.”
Laughter roared from Charity. “It’s about damn time.”
“Funny, Max said the same thing. No thanks to you though. I wouldn’t have thought it had you not have said it earlier in the car.”
“You can thank me later. Now tell me about this date.”
With a quick chuckle, I shook my head. “It’s not a date. It’s a thank you dinner.”
She leaned against the counter, folded her arms and stared at me.
When she quirked her eyebrow up, I knew I needed to be truthful not only with her, but with myself.
“Okay fine. It’s a date!”
Charity grabbed my hands and began jumping. “Oh my gosh, this is the best news! Finally your vibrator will get a break!”
I stopped jumping with her and pulled my hands back. “Hey!”
Staring at me like I was the one who was insane, she tilted her head. “Since I’ve known you, Gabi, you’ve only gone out with one guy and I’m pretty sure you were not getting any nookie from him.”
My mouth opened, but I couldn’t argue with her. Jack was a nice guy, but we never hit it off. We went out a few times and that was it. He never even tried to kiss me.
“It’s just dinner. And really, Char. Nookie? What are we, ten?”
She bumped my shoulder. “Oh! I see it in your eyes. You want the nookie! Who is he?”
The heat on my cheeks was hard to hide. “His name is Nic Drivas. He’s a police officer.” Peeking over to her, I added, “A SWAT officer.”
Her eyes widened. “Shut up. Was he in uniform?”
Sinking my teeth into my lip, I couldn’t help but think of Nic in that tight black T-shirt. It had been a long time since a man had made my body come to life like he had. “Oh, yes he was in his uniform. Well, kind of I guess. Everything was black, including the two-sizes-too-small shirt he had on.”
“Holy shit. You totally want nookie! If he is SWAT, he’s got a rocking body.”
I nodded. “That’s putting it lightly. He was all muscle.”
“What did he look like? Oh, my gosh! My roommate is finally replacing her BOB with a real life dick!”
I pushed her away. “Stop it! I’m not looking to have sex. It’s just dinner.”
“Liar. It’s written all over you face. Now, answer me. What did he look like?”
Putting the knife I had been chopping the basil with down, I faced her. I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about Nic.
“He’s tall and built. Really built.”
She nodded. “Right. I got that.”
“He’s got dark hair, almost black. Some stubble on his face with the most beautiful hazel eyes and olive skin I’ve ever seen.”
Wiggling her eyebrows, she asked, “Italian?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Greek.”
She stumbled back. “What? Like full-on Greek?”
Shrugging, I answered, “I’m not sure. He sure looked like it.”
Charity grabbed my shoulders. “You know what they say about Greek lovers, don’t you?”
I frowned. “Who is they?”
“That doesn’t matter. You know what they say?”
Laughing, I tried to break free of her hold. “No, enlighten me, Char.”
“Well, there is one thing they say, but I’ll save that for later. Gabi, they are sex gods! Sex. Gods. Alpha’s in and out of bed. Slightly possessive of their women, which works for me and is hot as hell. And they can’t keep their hands off their women. Always feeling them up.”
I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“Do I need to Google it for you?”
“No, that’s quite all right. I think I’ll wait and get to know him before I label him in one of your groups.”
She let go of me. “Oh, it’s not one of my groups. I’m telling you now. I know. I’ve had Greek cock before.”
“Oh, my gosh, Charity!” I exclaimed. “Really?”
Lifting her eyes up to the sky, she seemed to be taken back to a moment in time that I knew I didn’t want to hear about. “It was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life. I lost my virginity to that boy.”
I went back to chopping up the basil. Charity had no problem sharing every detail about her life with me. I, on the other hand, shared very little. The less lies I had to remember the better. I told her my parents died when I was in high school and the rest of my family lived in Italy. Charity never really asked me anything about my childhood. Every now and then I would share something that I didn’t think would hurt to share, but for the most part my life was not an open book like hers.
“What was his name?” I asked.
She looked up and smiled. “It’s kind of funny. His name was Nicholaus too.”
I dropped the knife and turned to her. My heart started pounding.
“Don’t look at me like that, Gabi. I went to high school in New York. Your Greek dick is not the same as mine.”
A sigh of relief washed over me before I snarled my lip at her.
Charity laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s a common Greek name.”
“Yeah. I’m sure it is.”
Her eyes roamed over me as she took a step back. “Um, you’re not wearing that, are you?”
I looked down at my clothes. I had on sweats and a cropped black T-shirt.
“No. I’m going to change.”
“What are you wearing?”
“Um, well. It might be a little . . . smutty.”
She laughed. “Is it the black dress we bought a few weeks back?”
“You mean the black dress that you forced me to buy? Yes.”
“Holy shit. Who are you and what did you do with my best friend? Inviting a guy to dinner, cooking for him, and dressing like a whore.”
I wasn’t surprised Charity was shocked by my actions. I was as well. But it was time for me to move on with my life. My cheeks heated as I let out a giggle. “I don’t know! It’s like my libido is in charge. Besides, it’s been a while since I’ve dated.”
She nodded. “She’s tired of plastic. She wants real dick. Greek dick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why are we friends?”
“Because I speak the truth. Look at me and tell me you don’t want some Greek dick.”
Laughing, I grabbed the fresh pasta I had made earlier. “Don’t you have a date to get ready for?”
“Yep, as a matter of fact I do. And this girl is hoping to get her own dick tonight.”
Ugh. “Seriously? Keep your dick thoughts to yourself.”
“When is he due? I’d fix your hair, but Scott’s expecting me at seven.”
The buzzer for the front door went off. Charity and I both looked at each other.
“Please tell me your date is picking you up.”
She shook her head and smiled wide. “Nope.”
“Oh crap.”