London Harmony: Squid Hugs Read Online Free

gotten ourselves into back in college.  June was almost in tears as she told Vannie and Jen, who were laughing so hard they were crying, “And then...”  She snorted.  “And then, the museum security guard asked, 'But why the ostrich?', and Zil...”  She made a squeaking laughing sound and tried to finish, “And Zil just looked up at the man and blinked innocently and asked, 'Why not?'.”
    The three laughing women exploded into more giggles as I blushed and defended weakly, “What? Every good plan needs animals in it.”  I gave them all a big grin as that sent them all into another fit of giggles.  My cheeks were hurting from smiling so much as I watched Jen trying to catch her breath.  I was proud that I had made her laugh.
    She was pleading with us, “Stop.  Stop.  No more.  My gut is about to burst.”  She dabbed the corners of her eyes with her napkin and set it down on the table.  It slipped off the edge and she started to reach down to get it when a GQ beefcake of a man in a well-fitted suit knelt as he walked past and picked it up for her and presented it across his arm as a royal gift.
    As she accepted it from him, Jen blushed demurely and said, “Thank you kind sir.”
    He shot her a dazzling smile and said in a deep basso, “My pleasure for such a lovely lady.”  He walked off to the register and Jen tilted her head to the side and had this dreamy expression on her face as she looked at his tight butt.
    It was like all the air was sucked out of me as I slumped in my seat.  The atmosphere seemed to dim as the girls looked at Jen and me, then shot me an apologetic look.  Jennifer turned back to us with a grin and she caught on to the change.
    June was quick to smile and ask, “So what about you, Stems?”
    She gave nicknames to everyone, Jen got Stems for her shapely calves that she showed off with almost every one of her immaculately pressed skirt suits she wore.
    She seemed to contemplate this.  “I didn't have any grand adventures like that.  I tried to hide in the shadows as much as possible.  Kept my head down to get my marketing degree.  It wasn't that long ago, but times were a little different back then, on the acceptance front. And I was sort of an infamous celebrity back then, as it was just a couple years after my reassignment surgery.  So I had men mocking me and threatening me, and women not accepting me for who I was, who I had always been.  They would comment on how I was just a man perving out in the women's loo and whatnot.”
    We were all silent then, thinking about this.  I couldn't imagine the hate and bigotry she had to endure.  But seeing the spectacular woman she had become, I could only feel sorry for those who went with hate instead of getting to know Jen better.
    She looked around sheepishly, realizing how much our moods had turned.  So I tried to lighten things back up.  “I've heard the story of the first time you met June.  But only from J-Dub's perspective.  Let's hear it from your perspective.”
    June looked at her wrist, at an invisible watch. “Isn't lunch over?”
    Vanessa looked at her with an evil glint in her eyes.  “No love, we still have about ten minutes before we have to start back.”
    June grinned at her. “Drat.”
    We all turned to Jen and she was tilting her head, a silly lopsided half-grin on her face as she relived the memory.
    “Well as it happens, it was at a restaurant like this.  I was at my favorite cafe for lunch, Cavendish's.  I was out and about handing out resumes and going to interviews after the fashion designer and apparel company I worked for went out of business.”
    She tilted her head cutely.  “I was just sitting there when a woman stopped beside me and said, 'Is that a Lane Bachman?  It is gorgeous.'  I had to blink.  I didn't know the woman or her companion, and a quick appraisal told me she was wearing some custom fitted clothing herself.  It isn't often I rub elbows with someone with an eye for