Last Call (Bad Habits Book 3) by Staci Hart Read Free Book Online

 
    “Hmm,” she hummed as she took a drink. “Ooh, What about him? SkateTreason ? He’s cute, his picture’s good, and he skateboards, look. Click on him.”
    I did and we read through his witty profile. He sounded cool, but I paused. Too good to be true. “I’ll save him for later. Let’s see what else Cupid has hiding.” I kept swiping. “Look at this guy. UndyingArt .I love this picture of him, so cute. Nice jaw. Tattoos.”
    “Wow, Rosie,” she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “Artist with a nice jaw and tattoos?”
    I smiled sweetly. “Fuck you, Lil. I have a type. Anyway, he’s blond, so it’s basically nothing like Tricky.” I opened up his profile and read his well-worded bio. “Says here he makes furniture.”
    “A man who works with his hands. He can build you a bed and then bang you on it.”
    I snorted. “I’m intrigued.”
    “Message him.”
    I made a face again. “Shouldn’t I, I don’t know, think about it for a minute? Keep browsing?”
    “Just message him and ask him for coffee. If you find a better one, ask him out too.”
    I wrinkled my nose.  
    “It’s just coffee for chrissake. You’re not asking him for his DNA.”
    I contemplated his profile again, not at all sure of myself. Look, as hard as I played, and as much as I wanted to move on, it wasn’t that easy. But I needed to do something. It was time for me to really move on, especially if he was going to be staying with me. After all this time, if we were going to be friends, I had to change, do something different. It was the healthy thing to do, I told myself.
    “Well, Operation Get Over Tricky’s Junk is off to a great start.”
    I rolled my eyes. “You suck.”
    “You’re the one who won’t pull the trigger. Maybe you’re just not ready.”
    “Am too.”
    She folded her arms. all sassy. “Prove it.”
    I threw the shade right back at her. “Fine, pusher.” I clicked message button and paused for a long second, swinging back and forth between jumping and running.
    “Chicken.”
    I glared at her, then turned back to my messages. Rip off the Band-Aid, Rose. I typed out a message, hoping I didn’t sound desperate or dweeby, reading it over once.
    I’d love to meet up for coffee, you free tomorrow?
    Short, simple, to the point. I hit send and half-tossed my phone onto the table. “There. Happy?”
    Lily grinned again. “So happy. Want to look for more?”
    I picked up my drink. “I want to get wasted and hide under a rock.”
    She laughed. “It’s not like everyone doesn’t do this.”
    “Then why does it feel so pathetic? Shopping for a date online is exactly like buying condoms. You stand there scanning eighty different packages, trying to hurry because of some lingering shame, topped with the worry that someone might see you. I mean, what do you get? Ribbed? Extra sensitive? Fire and Ice? You never know what you like until you try one, so you take a risk on some shit like Fire and Ice and it ends up being a burning crotch nightmare.”
    Lily burst out laughing.
    “Seriously, whose idea was it to put Icy Hot on your genitals? I’m pretty sure that cautionary tale has been in every teen movie ever.” I took a drink. “Like I said — it’s exactly like online dating. I don’t want Fire and Ice in my lady parts. I just need some nice, normal, no-gimmick business that won’t get me pregnant.”
    My phone buzzed in my hand.
    I gaped when I saw the message. “Oh, my God. It’s UndyingArt. He says he’s free tomorrow.”
    She squealed like a pre-teen who just got the newest Tiger Beat in the mail. “What are you going to say?”
    “Well, it’d be kind of weird to say no at this point,” I said as I answered him, setting the place, and he agreed almost immediately. Butterflies took off in my stomach. “We’re meeting at Roasted tomorrow afternoon.” I set down my phone and smiled at her. “A date with a cute artist.”
    “How do you feel?”
    I bobbed my head, rolling the feeling