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out of her early morning daze by Carrie’s accusing tone.
    “I can’t believe you would do this to me!” Carrie’s voice was muffled as her head disappeared. Jenny heard the sound of chair wheels scooting across the floor and Carrie reappeared in the cube opening. Jenny sighed, racking her brain for some offense she had committed against the usually cheery Carrie.
    “How can you be dating the love of your life , be practically engaged , be having sex with a man and not tell me about it? Do you know who I heard it from? Do you ?”
    Oh that. For a sleep-deprived second, Jenny had forgotten about her Evan-evasion tactics.
    “Mary!” Carrie continued without waiting for a response. “Mary is telling me that you, my friend , who should tell me everything, have not only broken your non-dating streak but have found ‘the one ’!” Carrie crossed her thin, freckled arms over her baby-enhanced chest and glared at Jenny. “I’ve been married for seven years, you know. I have a baby. I have a minivan, for God’s sake. You know that the only thrills I get are vicarious ones! I mean, I understand keeping this from the rest of the office but why didn’t you tell me ?” Carrie’s tirade ended in a wail.
    “Chill, Carrie, chill!” Jenny couldn’t hold back a grin. Even Carrie’s hair looked outraged, springing from her head in angry, carroty corkscrews. “I didn’t tell you because he doesn’t exist.”
    “I bet you told Christian all about him. I bet he knows all the details—” Carrie broke off and looked confused. “Wait—what?”
    Jenny scooted closer to Carrie and lowered her voice. “I made him up. Evan finally asked me out and—”
    “Yeah, I heard. You would have thought the little asshole could have waited two more days.”
    “Huh?” Jenny looked confused.
    “I picked tomorrow as the ask-out day in the betting pool.” Carrie waved her hand in dismissal. “Quit changing the subject. Who is this guy and why did you make him up?”
    “As I was saying ,” Jenny shot Carrie a reprimanding look, which Carrie ignored as she made a “hurry up” gesture. “Evan asked me out yesterday and all I could think of was the ‘I’m seeing someone else’ excuse. Well, that and the ‘I’m a lesbian’ but—”
    “That never works,” Carrie said, cutting her off again. “So this guy is just made up. There’s no boyfriend.”
    “Nope.”
    “No engagement.”
    “Not even close.”
    “No sex?” Carrie’s tone was disappointed and a little wistful.
    “ Nada .”
    “Oh.” Carrie was silent for a moment. “Sorry I called you a skank.”
    “That’s okay—that part’s probably true.” Jenny looked at Carrie thoughtfully. She was dying to tell someone about her encounter with William yesterday and Carrie looked so sad that she wasn’t going to hear any juicy sex-related details.
    “Actually, I did meet someone…”
    Carrie’s face lit up at that and she leaned forward. “So there is sex!”
    “No!” Jenny eyed Carrie with exasperation. “Get your mind out of the gutter, woman. I just met him yesterday.”
    “Fine, fine—no sex. Tell me the rest.”
    “Well—”
    “Did I hear someone mention sex?” The two women’s heads, bent close together, jerked up at Christian’s interruption. He was peering over the partition at them.
    “I should have known,” Jenny said. “You can smell gossip a mile away, Chris.”
    Carrie waved at him impatiently. “Get your ass over here if you want in on this. You’re holding up the show.”
    Christian scooted around and jammed his chair next to Carrie’s. She shoved back and they battled for position for a moment while Jenny watched, tapping her hand against her leg impatiently. The two settled down and both looked at Jenny expectantly. She laughed.
    “You guys look like Rosie when she’s about to get a treat.”
    “Forget your dog for a moment,” Christian said. “Spill. Who are you having sex with?”
    “For the last time, I’m not