Blooming All Over Read Online Free PDF Page B

attitude. It had challenged and amused her, and their conversations had been great, and the sex, once they’d finally gotten around to it, had been even greater and…
    Damn. She wasn’t ready to settle down yet. Not even with Casey.
    “So…by turning him down, does that mean you’ve broken up with him?” Julia asked.
    “I’m not sure,” Susie admitted. “He raised the subject last night. This morning I rented a van and drove to Ithaca. It’s not like we worked everything out.”
    “In other words, you have no idea what you’re going back to.”
    “A pissed-off boyfriend, I’m guessing.” Susie sighed. She didn’t want him to be pissed off. She wanted to return to New York City tomorrow evening, unload Adam’s junk from the van and then spend the night screwing Casey senseless. Somehow, she didn’t think that was the way things would proceed.
    “I’ll be honest with you, Susie,” Julia said. “I like Casey. He’s done a fantastic job of running the Bloom’s bagel department with Morty—”
    Susie snorted. “Yeah, that’s always a big item on my list. I sure don’t want to get involved with any guy who can’t do a fantastic job of running the Bloom’s bagel department.”
    “And he’s crazy about you.”
    If he were really crazy about her, he wouldn’t have put her on the spot with this stupid invitation. “I don’t want to break up with him,” she moaned. “But, I mean, cohabitation! It’s so serious! You’re marrying Joffe, and you’re still not living with him.”
    “Technically,” Julia muttered. “And only because my apartment has another eight months on the lease.”
    “And because you don’t want Grandma Ida to stroke out.”
    “That, too. But you’re right, Susie. Moving in together is a big thing.”
    “I love Casey. I really do. If he breaks up with me, I swear I’ll hate him.” She felt a tear tremble on her eyelashes and wiped it away, hoping Julia wouldn’t notice it.
    No such luck. Julia climbed off her bed and onto Susie’s, butted hips with her and arched a sisterly arm around her shoulders. “I wish I could make it better,” she murmured. “If he breaks your heart, do you want me to fire him?”
    “If you fire him, your bagel department will go to hell. And Bloom’s earnings support us all,” Susie pointed out.
    “All right. I won’t fire him. I’ll just give him lousy hours or something.”
    Susie managed a limp smile, even though that first tear turned out to be the drum major leading a whole parade of tears. One of the problems with warm weather was that she didn’t have long sleeves to wipe her eyes with.
    After giving her shoulders a squeeze, Julia climbed off the bed and crossed to the bathroom. She returned carrying a tissue. “You’re right,” she said as she handed the tissue to Susie. “That bathroom is ugly.”
    The phone on the table between the beds rang so shrilly they both flinched. While Susie mopped her damp eyes, Julia lifted the receiver. She said, “Hello,” listened for a minute, then said, “Okay,” and hung up. “Mom and Grandma Ida are unpacked and they want to head over to the campus,” she reported.
    “Fine.” Susie sniffled and rose from the bed. “Let me just wash my face. We’d better get something to eat, too, or I’ll faint,” she warned as she wandered into the bathroom. She splashed some water onto her cheeks, then patted them with a towel and inspected herself in the mirror. Her hair had settled down somewhat, her eyeliner had survived her little bout of weeping unsmudged, but she still looked like barf. If Caseysaw her now, he sure as hell wouldn’t want her moving in with him.
    Or maybe he would, because that was the kind of guy he was.
    Why did he have to be so damn perfect? Susie wasn’t ready for perfect yet.
     
    “That’s your best shot,” Mose taunted, “and you ain’t hit it yet.”
    Casey grunted. What could he say? Mose was right.
    They were playing one-on-one on the asphalt outside