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their child,
sitting at the table while they talked about me like I wasn’t even
there.
    The other half, the one not listening,
began to have an anxiety attack. Cheryl was right. I didn’t know
this man at all. I invited a complete stranger, who even the United
States government had little or no known background on, to live at
my home. What if he wasn’t who I perceived him to be? Did I
actually make him out to be someone I wanted, just because I was
looking for it? He could be a cold-blooded killer or a crazed
maniac, and he was at my house alone with all my things. At this
point in time, he could be looking through my computer for all my
personal information or stealing all my jewelry. I felt a cold
sweat break out on my forehead.
    “ Hun, are you okay? You’re
not looking so good right now.” Gina reached up as she said it and
felt my forehead like the great mom she was going to be to her
future kids.
    “ I’m good.” The pit in my
stomach and the lump in my throat said differently. I wanted to
jump in my car to rush home to check on Aiden.
    “ Syd, did I just ruin
everything for you with your new man? I’m sorry. I just worry about
you. It’s bad enough I worry about you being alone all the time in
those woods that surround your house, but now, add a complete
stranger that I’ve never met to the mix. I’m just looking out for
you.”
    “ You scared the shit out of
her, Cher. Stop it. Let her enjoy falling in love without all the
drama. I’m sure everything will be fine. Why don’t you tell me more
about him, Sydney,” Gina requested.
    “ I don’t know if I would go
to the extreme of saying I’m falling in love. He’s a very sweet man
and the potential is there. Heck, right now he’s working in my
yard.”
    “ A man that does yard work
is a plus. Tell me more. It’ll make you feel better again,” Gina
said.
    “ He cooked dinner with me
last night, and we never ran out of things to talk about the entire
time. He got up and made me coffee this morning.” I sounded like I
was trying to convince all three of us that he was a good
guy.
    “ Did he bring it to you in
bed?” Cheryl was not going to let this go. Gina shot her a dirty
look and I swear I heard her mumble ‘no sex for you tonight’ under
her breath.
    “ No,” I said
flatly.
    “ Well, was there any nookie last night?” Cheryl questioned.
    I really didn’t want to tell her how we
made out on the couch. At the same time, I really wanted to get all
giddy over it with Gina.
    “ Does kissing
count?”
    “ Who are you and what did
you do with my prudish friend Sydney?” Cheryl said, rolling her
eyes.
    “ Yay! You kissed him. Is he
a good at it?” Gina was full of enthusiasm. I wished I had only met
with her for lunch.
    “ I don’t want to hear about
her kissing him. If it was a hot chick, maybe.”
    “ Shut up, Cheryl. Just
ignore her, Sydney. Tell me. I want to hear all about it. Did he
give you soft gentle kisses? Was there tongue involved?” Now both
Cheryl and I rolled our eyes. It was like I was in the cafeteria in
high school.
    “ Yes, Gina. We French
kissed. He touched my boobs, too.”
    “ Over or under the shirt?”
Gina liked her details.
    “ Are you kidding me? We do not need to hear about that. That’s all, though, right?”
Cheryl quizzed.
    “ I stopped him. I was
seriously going to let him do whatever he wanted, but I didn’t want
him to think I was easy.”
    “ Oh no, nothing easy about
a girl who invites you back to her house the first day you’ve met …
to live with her.”
    “ Cheryl, you know I’m not
like that.”
    “ I’m not sure what you’re
like. This whole thing is completely out of character for you.
Might I add it’s also not ethical? Where is your work
professionalism? It anyone finds out, you’ll lose your
job.”
    “ The only people who know
are you two and Aiden. I’m quite confident none of you are going to
say anything.”
    “ His name is Aiden? That’s
such a nice name.