Opposites Attract by Cat Johnson

just
wasn’t good enough to marry. She was glad his parents had
saddled him with a girly name. He deserved it.
    Troy
shook his head. “I still don’t get why you’re so
convinced you’re going to be alone in five years. I mean you’re
great.” When she shook her head in protest, he continued. “I’m
serious. You’re smart, funny, beautiful, a great friend. Anyone
who doesn’t want to be with you is crazy.”
    He
was being so sweet and she was feeling so insecure at the moment,
tears started to blur her eyes.
    “ Oh,
no. Don’t cry. I’m sorry.” Troy leaned forward and
brushed her cheek with his fingertips.
    With
his lips so close to hers and with the wine and her emotions calling
the shots, she couldn’t help herself. She closed the distance
between them and brushed her lips over his.
    She
heard his quick intake of breath and then felt his big hands envelop
her face. He kissed her back and when she opened her mouth slightly
in silent invitation, he accepted. The warmth of his tongue melted
what little reserve she had left. She wanted him like she’d
never wanted anything else in her life. She wrapped her hands around
the back of his head, surprised at how soft his cropped hair felt,
then pulled him closer.
    He
kissed her hard and deep until she lost all track of time. Then he
suddenly backed away and dropped his hands from her face. She missed
the heat of his contact immediately. He launched himself off the
couch so quickly, she nearly fell into the dip he’d left in the
cushion.
    “ I
have to go.”
    Of
everything he could have said, that was the last thing she expected.
What had just happened? The questions and doubts sailed through her
mind. Was she too aggressive? Did he have a girlfriend? Were all
those sweet things he said just to make her feel better even though
he didn’t mean them?
    She
wanted to beg him not to leave, ask him why he didn’t want her
and tell him how much she wanted him. But instead all she said was,
“Oh. All right.”
    He
was out the door in an instant, leaving behind both his pot of chili
and her to cool off without him. Amy leaned against the door and
hugged her arms tightly around herself, more confused, alone and
insecure than she’d felt in a long time.

    Across
the hall inside his own apartment, Troy leaned back and let his head
fall hard against the door. He stared at the white ceiling and
berated himself.
    He’d
pretty much done everything wrong, starting with going over there to
begin with. Followed closely by letting Amy drink too much wine after
she’d told him she hadn’t eaten all day, getting her
upset by prying into her last relationship, then the topper, kissing
her. And not just a friendly “feel better” kind of peck
on the lips either. Oh, no. He had gone in for the full tongue
probing, head grabbing, one step closer to ripping her clothes off
kind of kiss.
    She
must have been drunker than he thought, since he was sure she was as
into that kiss as he. He ran a hand over his smooth chin thoughtfully
and paused, then considered why he’d chosen to shave prior to
going to Amy’s that night. He never shaved on his days off.
    God,
he hadn’t let himself consider it, but he must have hoped on
some level that something would happen between them, even as the
evidence that she didn’t date men mounted higher before his
very eyes. The newest knock-you-over-the-head clues being her
ex-girlfriend Whitney and the visit to the sperm bank.
    What
an idiot. He was just asking for heartache thinking he could change
her. A broken heart was the last thing he wanted. Not at this stage
in his life. He had a job he loved, a great apartment and a few women
friends who he could call if he felt the need for human companionship
for a night, no strings.
    Lesbian
or not, he didn’t need the emotional upheaval that would come
with falling in love with Amy. If he wasn’t careful, that’s
what would happen. One dinner with her and he was confessing his
deepest and darkest