“I’m the last girl you slept with?” Carmen sounds shocked. “What about all the girls I’ve seen you with since then?”

“You never saw me ***** any of them did you?” Shane says.

“What about the flower girl? Or Phoebe Sparkle?” Jenny asks.

“I swore not to tell, but nothing happened with Phoebe Sparkle.” Shane says.

“But you …”

Shane finishes Jenny’s sentence, “Spent the night on her couch. That’s all. And the flower girl, I couldn’t go through with it. I stopped before it went too far.”

“And the twins?” Carmen says finding herself filled with a little regret. Wishing she’d known all this months ago.

“They weren’t twins.” Shane says for the millionth time.

“They looked like twins.” Carmen says for the millionth time.

“They got it on but I didn’t participate.” Shane comes clean.

“Wow Shane.” Jenny says leaning back against the couch. “I can’t believe it.”

“Well, it’s true.” Shane says.

The room fills with silence after Shane’s big revelation.

Carmen sits with her knees pressed to her chest. “I thought you’d fucked all of them.”

“That’s just what I wanted you to think.” Shane says leaning forward in her chair. “Carmen, you are an amazing woman, but I knew I couldn’t be what you needed me to be. And I knew I would only hurt you worse if I tried. You opened my eyes and showed me that people do come along who want more then just ***** from me. I just need to figure out how to give them more then that.” Shane stands up. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.” She says leaving the girls with their eyes wide and their mouths open.

***

Shane’s laying in her bed, her head is propped up against her head board. The morning sun is streaming through the cracks in the blinds. She dials her cell phone and waits as it rings.

“Hi, you’ve reached Harper. I can’t grab the phone right now so leave me a message.”

Shane clears her throat before the beep. “Hey Harper, it’s Shane. I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner one night this week. Give me a call when you have the chance. My number is 323.555.8813. Talk to you soon.” She turns her phone off and takes a deep breath.

***

Harper sits in her seat as the plane comes to a stop at the gate. She shakes her head and laughs at all the people who rush to stand up. Anyone who’s ever been on a plane knows it takes a few minutes for them to open the door. Yet people rush to stand and then proceed to impatiently huff and puff. Her other pet peeve is that no one seems to be able to live without their cell phone. The moment the flight attendant announces the use of electronic equipment is once again permitted every phone turns on. Is it really that hard to be disconnected? In true punk rock rebellion Harper leaves her phone untouched until she’s in her car. She has two messages. One from Christine who’s “dying to hear what happened!”

Her second message takes her by surprise. She listens closely to Shane’s low ***** voice. When she mentions dinner Harper’s smile grows even bigger. She listens a second time to write down the number. The third listen is purely to hear that voice again.

***