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became very nervous. I wasn’t sure why. He stared at me and I waited for something to happen, for him to kiss me, but it never came to pass.
    “Where did you go to college?” he asked.
    “NYU.”
    He nodded. “Good school.”
    “My parents were n’t happy when I decided to major in art fashion.”
    “Fuck them,” he said bluntly.
    I smiled. “You don’t care what other people think, do you?”
    “Never.”
    “Well, they paid for my education so I understood their objection.”
    “That still doesn’t matter,” he said. “Now you work for a fashion magazine and you can afford this apartment on that salary. Obviously, you didn’t make a mistake. You are a successful young woman. They should be proud.”
    “I wish they felt the same.”
    “Well, I’m proud of you,” he said. “Tell them that.”
    “I think I will.”
    He rested his hand on his thigh.
    I watched it for a moment, wondering how it would feel to squeeze it.
    “Well, thank you for the wonderful evening,” he said. “I should probably go.”
    “Oh,” I said sadly.
    He caught the look. “Unless you want me to stay…”
    “ I would love it if you stayed, but you can go if you want.”
    “I just didn’t want to overstay my welcome.”
    “You didn’t,” I said quickly.
    “Cool,” he said with a nod. He stayed on his side of the couch.
    I never wanted to be kissed more in my life. Most of the time, I had the opposite problem. I wanted the freaks to get away from me. I wanted Tony to kiss me, slip his tongue inside my mouth. I could tell just by looking at him that he would be a good kisser. Then I imagined what he would be like in bed…I stopped the thought. I hadn’t gotten in laid in over a year. I was going through the worst dry spell ever. I really liked Tony and thought he was a sweet guy. I wanted to take this slow but I also wanted to jump his bones.
    He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. “Let’s see if there’s anything good on.”
    I sighed in frustration. I moved closer to him on the couch and sat right beside him.
    He picked a channel with a college game on. We watched it together and shouted when his team scored. He didn’t grab my hand. Maybe he didn’t kiss me because he thought I didn’t want to be kissed. I turned toward him so my face was near his. If that wasn’t a clear signal, I didn’t know what was.
    He still didn’t take the bait. He leaned back and drank from his coffee. When it got really late, he turned off the TV. “I should get going.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “I have work.”
    He stood up and grabbed his sweatshirt, pulling it over his head. It messed up his hair but it still looked sexy. I walked him to the door and leaned closer to him.
    “I can’t wait to see you on Thursday.”
    “Me too,” I whispered. I stared into his face, waiting for him to embrace me or kiss me. Something .
    He opened the door and walked out. “Goodnight.”
    I closed the door, sighing in frustration.

4
    “He didn’t even kiss you?” Orlando said when we had lunch.
    “Nope,” I said in annoyance.
    “Okay, he has to be gay.”
    “You think everyone is gay.”
    “And I’m always right.”
    “I know he isn’t gay,” I said. “But I don’t know why he didn’t do anything.”
    “Did you make it clear you wanted to be kissed?”
    “ Very clear,” I said. “I’m so annoyed.”
    “Did he at least hug you?”
    “Nope.”
    “Is he Mormon?”
    I laughed. “I don’t think so.”
    “Why didn’t you just kiss him?”
    “I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to,” I said. “I mean, if I was making it clear I wanted to be kissed, why didn’t he take the shot? He obviously didn’t want to.”
    “I’m sure there’s a reason.” Orlando sprinkled the sugar into his coffee then sipped it.
    “Maybe he isn’t attracted to me.”
    “Shut up!” Orlando rolled his eyes. “I may be gay but I can guarantee that isn’t why.”
    “Then what?”
    “Maybe he’s old-fashioned.”
    “He doesn’t