What A Girl Wants

What A Girl Wants Read Free

Book: What A Girl Wants Read Free
Author: Liz Maverick
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so she moved her hand on him, which he also liked, and he went to repay the favor, sliding his hand over her sweaty, sticky thigh and—
    â€œMaggots. Uh-huh. This guy’s been dead a little while. We’ve got maggots.”
    Grant’s eyes opened. The foggy look cleared and he stepped backward, distancing himself from Hayley in one motion.
    He looked stunned. He and Hayley locked eyes, panting. He put his business back in his pants and zipped up. He stared at Hayley. She stood up and stared back at him while she tried to snap her bra together with shaking hands behind her back.
    He frowned, swallowed, turned her around without a word,and rehooked her bra, then turned her around again to face him, straightened her shirt, and smoothed down her skirt.
    Hayley just stood there like a rag doll, attempting to clear her throat, making more of a gargling sound.
    He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “There’s a deceased person approximately four feet from here.” He took a business card out from his wallet, set it down on the counter, and walked out.

Chapter Two
    A fter returning home early on Friday afternoon of the Unusual Incident and its accompanying Inappropriate Response, Hayley changed into an oversize T-shirt and crawled into bed. She stayed there for approximately thirty consecutive hours, rising only to pee and eat canned soup.
    On Sunday morning, even knowing she had to get up and meet her friends for Girlie Brunch, she was still lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling.
    When her alarm finally beeped, Hayley flung out an arm without even looking and slapped the off button with her palm. Resistance was futile. Not to mention she desperately needed a cup of coffee. She stood up, shuffled over to the closet, and squinted into the dim storage space. Then, to avoid unnecessary decision making, she simply picked Friday’s clothes off the floor and put them on. She added a black baseball cap to bypass the hair issue, and finally got herself out the door.
    Girlie Brunch started as a huge postcollege gathering of UC and Stanford alumnae and their friends. They’d promised to usethe brunch as a vehicle to stay in touch. After a year of gradual attrition (read: those who found serious boyfriends stopped showing up), only Hayley and three others still attended. Now best friends, Hayley, Diane Gradenger, Audra Banks, and Suz Herrick never skipped a Sunday if it could be avoided.
    Gerttie’s Diner was walking distance from Hayley’s tiny Bernal Heights apartment. It was the kind of breakfast place that didn’t really deserve the classic interpretation of “diner,” since the food bordered on gourmet and it served lattes. But the place still looked the part: red vinyl seat cushions, Formica tabletops, the works.
    Hayley grabbed the usual window table and ordered breakfast; an oversize latte called “the Gigante” for herself, regular-size lattes for Diane and Audra, and the pancake special for Suz.
    Minutes later, Diane arrived in her uniform of ripped jeans and an ancient UC Berkeley sweatshirt with a nasty blue ink stain on one cuff. Her wet, mousy-brown shoulder-length hair was soaking into her sweatshirt, but she didn’t seem to notice. There were a lot of things Diane tended not to notice.
    Scribbling furiously with a stylus into her Palm handheld, she never even looked at Hayley as she sat down. “I may end up failing my Human Sexuality elective if I don’t get some sort of paper going here.”
    Hayley didn’t take it personally. After all, Diane was known more for her extensive vocabulary and analytical mind than for her people skills. “I still don’t get why an MBA student takes a class like Human Sexuality.”
    â€œIt’s supposed to be easy credits. As it stands, I’d rather do another excruciating round in the Stock Market Challenge than write this paper. All I have is a random accumulation of ideas that don’t

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