CHAPTER 2 #2
“I rented you a space with Samantha. Well, at that co-working place she still works for. I got a membership for the month, and it comes with the conference room rental. They have options, and I know you’re booking interviews already now that you’re getting applicants, so we should look tonight, probably after dinner.
Do you want a room with a big conference table, or one of the smaller ones? ”
“Sorry. You got me a membership at your ex-girlfriend’s company? A co-working place?”
Larissa pulled a pan out and set it on the stove.
“Yes. Want me to get wine or something? Do you have any?”
“No, we drank the last bottle I had.”
“I can run out and get some.”
“Why did you rent me a room?” Larissa asked, dropping the ground beef into the pan and turning it on.
“You’re going to season that, right?”
“Harlow, do you want to take over cooking dinner?”
“Yes, obviously,” she replied, moving around Larissa and letting her hand skate along Larissa’s lower back, trying not to think about how good it felt to be in the kitchen with her like this, cooking dinner together like they were a couple and she’d just gotten home from work.
“And I wanted you to have a professional place where you could conduct your interviews. They have water and coffee and stuff.”
“You rented it?”
“Yeah.”
“Harlow, I don’t want you spending money on this.”
“I didn’t,” she lied as she added salt and pepper to the ground beef to start. “Samantha gave it to me for free. She has an employee discount thing that she hasn’t used.”
“And she just gave you a month for free?”
“All I have to do is write some review online about how great the place is and mention that she’s the best, and we’re good. I’ll do that when we finish.” She lifted the spoon from the sauce and took a taste. “Jar?”
“No, I made homemade pasta sauce,” Larissa said sarcastically. “Who do you think I am?”
“A woman in her mid-thirties who cannot cook,” she replied. “And is it okay? We don’t have to use the library now, and you don’t have to try to find an office on campus.”
“It was a great idea, yeah. Thank you for thinking about it. So, how is Samantha?”
“Good, I think. We didn’t talk long. I’m adding garlic to this.” She pointed to the sauce. “And to this.” She pointed to the meat.
“Go for it. You’re the chef,” Larissa replied.
“I’m a decent cook. You’re just a terrible cook, so you think decent cooks are chefs.”
“I’m good at other things,” Larissa argued. “I’m great at loading the dishwasher, and I run a good vacuum.”
Harlow laughed and said, “Yes, you do. Other things, too. You use a mean coaster.”
“I only use the nice coasters. I throw the mean ones on the floor I just vacuumed.”
Harlow’s laughter continued as she grabbed minced garlic from the refrigerator.
“And sex,” Larissa added.
Harlow nearly dropped the tiny glass jar she had just grabbed and said, “I’m sorry. What?”
“I’ve been told I’m good at sex.”
“You… have?” she stuttered as she opened the minced garlic.
“Yeah, a few times.”
“A few…”
Harlow accidentally tipped the jar over the ground beef, and the oil from the garlic went in first, causing the pan to sizzle. Then, a massive amount of garlic dumped out of the jar and into the pan.
“Shit.”
She set the jar down quickly and pulled open a drawer to get out a spoon.
“Who told you that you–”
“All three women I’ve been with,” Larissa said.
“All three?”
“Well, not all of us have had a dozen serious relationships and several shorter ones.”
“No, I just meant that they all specifically told you that you were good at sex? They used those words? Not exactly romantic.”
She scooped a pile of minced garlic out of the pan, let some of it fall into the sauce, and put the rest back into the jar to worry about later.
“Not exactly, no, but that’s what they meant.”
“Oh. Well, good… then.”
“I bet you’re pretty good at it, too.”
Harlow turned to her best friend with wide eyes and asked, “Why do you think that?”
“Because you’ve had a lot of it, and generally, more experience in something makes a person better at it. If a doctor performs their first surgery, they’re okay, but after performing the same one a hundred times or a thousand, they’re better, right?”
“You think I’ve had that much sex?”
“I don’t know how much sex you’ve had. It was just an example.”
“Can we talk about something else? Not sex and maybe not surgery while we’re preparing dinner.”
“Sure. What?”
“Interviews. Do you have any more applicants?”
“Yes. Surprisingly, offering them a hundred bucks per person for a one-hour interview and the possibility of a one-hour follow-up did it.”
“And you can afford that?”
“I don’t pay rent, Harlow. My car was old when I got it and is paid off.
I work twenty-five to thirty hours a week, so yes, I can afford it.
And it’s worth it anyway. I think this is the right approach: start with existing couples, ask them how they fell in love, and maybe add in others later.
It was a great idea. Thank you. I’m giving you co-author credit on the book, by the way. ”
“Oh, I don’t need that,” she said and pulled out a spatula so that she could push the meat around. “Just a dedication to your hot, sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, funny, kind, amazing, best friend, Harlow. That’s all I need.”
Larissa laughed and asked, “Are you hoping to get dates out of this book or something?”
Harlow turned back to the stove and didn’t answer the question. She just stared down at the pasta, wondering if Larissa had put salt in it.