Free Lingus by Mariana Zapata

me?"
     
    No .
     
    Yes .
     
    No .
     
    "Yes."
     
    The tip of his perfect nose brushed against the skin right by my ear. "Okay," he whispered, before stepping away and giving me a soft smile.
     
    I looked at him, and then back at the poster again before turning on my heel and marching away from the table of sluts as quickly as I could. I figured I'd be able to hear when he was done, and then just walk back. All I knew was that there was no way I'd want to stand there like a moron and stare at the parade of women embarrassing themselves.
     
    Nicole, Zoey, and the big hunk of a man I recognized as Calum were standing in the same spot they'd been in earlier. The booth closest to them had a huge assortment of different lubes. In the middle of the table was a small, eight by ten frame of Calum holding up a small blue bottle.
     
    He was a spokesperson for DrizzLube. Go figure.
     
    Zoey grabbed my hands, pulling me toward her with a strength I didn't know she possessed. Then again, I guess she was used to having her way with women on a regular basis. Ha . "What did he want?"
     
    "That was Calum's friend," I tried explaining, but she gave me a confused expression. "The one I told you guys about that I met earlier?" She nodded at me in understanding. "He asked me to wait for him until he's done with his signing."
     
    Zoey squeezed my hands between her two smaller ones as she looked deeply into my eyes. "What did you tell him?"
     
    "Yes."
     
    She let out a shaky breath and squeezed my hands again. "You know he's in the industry right?"
     
    "I do now," I said, biting my lip subconsciously.
     
    Zoey gave me a sad smile and I knew she was aware of the way I was feeling right then. It was perfectly fine for me to like watching porn, but besides Zoey, who I'd known for so long that she was Zoey Quinn to me instead of Zoey Star, I never bothered to realize that porn stars were more than just that. "You'd still be my friend even if I didn't do this," she stated, not even opening up the conversation for me to interpret her words as a question.
     
    Zoey would be my friend regardless of what she did with her life because I liked who she was, not what she did when I wasn't with her. Unless she was a serial killer, I'd take her in any way.
     
    "Of course I would."
     
    She threw her arms around my neck as she pulled me to her so tight, my boobs pressed against her throat. Zoey pulled away from me, smiling. "Just remember that when you talk to him. He's a nice guy."
     
    The severity of her words sank into my brain for me to mull over. Yes, he did porn. Yes, I liked to watch porn. Yes, he'd been with a lot of women more than likely. Yes, that idea made my stomach hurt, but it wasn't like he expressed an interest in me other than possibly friendship. Could I deny him friendship if he asked it from me? We got along so well, it was strange.
     
    I pushed away a tiny fraction of a thought that entertained the idea of seeing what he'd learned in his profession. I was jumping ahead of myself.
     
    Maybe he didn't even want to be friends? He might just want to ask me not to tell anyone his real name.
     
    "Kat, where is Josh's party?" Nicole's loud voice tore me from my thoughts.
     
    I looked over to see her standing really close to Calum's massive, muscular form. He looked like a professional wrestler from how large he was, but his face was very open. He smiled in my direction, a sweet grin. "It's at Breeze," I told her referring to the lounge that Josh preferred going to.
     
    "I'm inviting Calum and his friend." she said to me before shaking her head. "Oh shit, Calum this is Kat, Kat this is Calum," she introduced us.
     
    I reached out to shake the gigantic hand he held out toward me. We each said, "Nice to meet you," to the other, and then just stood there awkwardly.
     
    Calum looked from Nicole back to me, and then again. I cleared my throat and scratched my cheek. "So, uh..."
     
    A sharp, bony elbow stabbed me right in the spine.