Read The Other Fish in the Sea for Free Online Page B

gaze.
    “Nice frame, Camie! You got the first turkey!”
    I’m pretty sure that came from Pete, but it could’ve been Mike or Keith, or maybe even Conner…either way, I ignored him.
    “Uh-oh…there’s murder in them there eyes…good thing I’ve got a shovel.”
    That was most definitely Jeff. I ignored him too, but mentally I got a small chuckle over his explanation about the shovel to Melissa when she asked him what he meant.
    “You find out who your real friends are when you call and tell ‘em you just accidentally killed a hooker and they show up with a shovel and a full tank of gas.”
    Already on the defensive, Tristan grabbed my arm as I went to walk past him on my way to the bathroom. “This isn’t my fault, Camie.”
    “I know that,” I replied in a clipped tone.
    “Okay, so you’re gonna punish me for something I had no fuckin’ control over. That’s just fuckin’ great .”
    “You know what, Tristan? Now would be an excellent time for you to realize that I’m not mad at you , but that I am mad and that I might need a minute to cool off, okay?”
    He studied my face briefly. It vaguely looked like he might’ve been considering using our shared anger over this as an excuse to lose control and vent our emotions on each other with unbridled passion. We’ve done this a few times, and although it’s pretty freaking spectacular, we don’t give in to the temptation very often. There are a couple reasons why we don’t, but it’s mostly because I’m not ready to not be a virgin and he knows that. What he doesn’t know is that I’ve been thinking about it more and more lately. I’m not there yet, but I am thinking. Really, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that it’s been on my mind more than his. Yeah, and I’m still blaming those over-active and not-so-under-used-anymore hormones.  
    Anyhow, I’m guessing he must’ve come to the conclusion that I would’ve been even more pissed if he did that in a crowded bowling alley, because he only pulled me to him by my elbow so he could kiss the top of my head and then without another look or word, he let me go. And go I did, rather quickly and without looking back.
    I was barely to the sinks in the bathroom before Kate appeared and because that’s totally the kind of friend Kate is, I half expected her to be carrying a shovel.
    “So you could cut the tension out there with a freaking plastic spoon…what the hell happened?”
    “I don’t wanna talk about it,” I told her while splashing cold water on my face.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yep. I just need a few minutes.”
    “Okay, but my door’s always open if you change your mind,” Kate told me and then left to give me my space, which is not a typical request of mine.
    I usually like to talk things out with her and/or Melissa, but I really don’t want to talk about this because the truth is, I thought I’d put the whole Samantha thing behind me. However, my reaction tonight proves I haven’t and I really don’t like what jealousy feels like. I now have a completely new understanding and appreciation of how Tristan feels about it, and I gotta tell ya, it’s no picnic. I’m also tempted to say that from now on, I won’t find his desire for no one of the male persuasion to lay a finger on me to be amusing anymore, because I swear to God, if she were to actually touch him in any way—even to remove a freaking piece of lint from his clothes—I’d probably go berserk.
    I left my self-imposed exile after having spent somewhere between five and ten minutes alone, telling myself that Tristan has a sexual history that doesn’t include me, that it wasn’t the first time a girl hit on him and it probably wouldn’t be the last time either… These are the issues you face when your boyfriend is ridiculously beautiful and was previously kind of a slut. Breathing evenly again, I felt composed enough to rejoin the herd. As I did, my attention was drawn to my friends laughing pretty hard so I