Her chin lifts as she gives it some thought. “You know, presiding over the timeline of our friendship, I would say you are correct.”
“See?” I give her arm a nudge with mine.
“Quite observant, Pike. But I would still like you to tell me something. Best friends engage in recapitulation concerning their day to day lives, but you are rather reticent.”
True, I listen a lot when it comes to Keiko, but I’ve also learned a lot by listening. Keiko doesn’t have much of a filter and that’s okay with me, because the brilliance of listening to her talk is that she’s easily the most honest and upfront person I’ve ever met.
This might be the moment when I could get more information out of Keiko to help me with Cora.
“Okay.” I clear my throat. “So, you know how Cora and I got married in Vegas—”
“Coraline Turner?” Keiko interrupts, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
“Yeah, your friend,” I answer, confused as well.
Does Keiko not know about the marriage?
From the distant look on her face, I’m going to guess she doesn’t.
Fucking hell.
“What do you mean, you married her in Vegas?”
Why wouldn’t Cora tell Keiko? I know she told Greer and Stella, but why not Keiko? There has to be a reason.
“Color me surprised. I didn’t perceive you two to be in love. Marriage is sacred and should not be entered into without eternal affection for one’s counterpart.”
Hmm . . . maybe I know exactly why Cora didn’t tell Keiko.
But I’ve opened the conversation, so I can’t hide away from it now.
“Yeah, I can understand that, but unfortunately, when we were in Vegas, we got really drunk and ended up getting married. She didn’t tell you?”
She shakes her head. “She has not divulged that information to me.” She takes a second to think. “She was on her divorce-cation—at least, that’s what she referred to it as, I don’t care for such a title. It feels like a bunch of jumbled words on my tongue. I don’t believe her plan was to get married, but rather have a wild one-night stand.” Keiko’s eyes connect with mine. “Did you join together with her in matrimony and then partake in a wild night?”
“Uh, are you talking about sex?”
“Presumably, I am.”
“Then, no. We haven’t.”
“Haven’t?” She looks at me, a little more confused. “Why would you say that in present tense?”
Oh God, I’m in too deep now. I think I spilled the beans on something I probably shouldn’t have, but there’s no going back once Keiko knows something, because she doesn’t grasp the concept of “just kidding.”
I drag my hand over my face and lean back in my chair, neglecting my pizza completely.
“Present tense because, presently, we’re living together, and even though we’re living together, we haven’t had sex yet.”
Talk about shocking the eyebrows right off Keiko. Her eyes shoot wide open and her jaw drops. Yeah, news about your friend living with someone—
“You haven’t had sex with her?” She pokes me in the arm. “Are you not aware that she is what the street terms refer to as horny?”
Well, I wasn’t expecting that. I laugh and say, “I thought you were more shocked about us living together.”
“Dwellings are not as shocking as Cora living with a man and not participating in coitus.” She studies me. “Are you inept with the basic acts of flirtation?”
“No,” I answer. “I know how to flirt, and it’s not as if we haven’t done things. We just haven’t, you know, done the whole ‘penetrating’ thing.”
“Ah, I am quite aware of the types of pleasurable experiences one can offer to a partner.”
“Yeah, so . . . uh . . . I don’t know what to say now.”
“Not much to be said, other than . . . do you like your wife? It seems as though you must if you married her and are now residing with her in the same apartment, unless you’ve relocated to a single-family home in the hopes of procreating, like myself.” She touches her belly.
“No, we’re in her studio apartment together. But I guess I brought it up because I thought that maybe you could help me.”
“Assistance.” She nods. “That’s what best friends are for.”
“Yes, they are, I suppose.”
She presses her hand to my arm. “Please, ask for my assistance, and I will be sure to see if I can be of service.”