The Kiss Test Read Online Free Page B

he felt nothing from the kiss, it didn’t matter how well they got along, how attractive the girl was or how much he liked her, she was out of the running.
    Katya had been administered the Kiss Test two weeks ago and failed.
    “Doesn’t sound like a dumb game to me,” Adair said, snatching the fan back from Katya, who was now sulking beside her roommate, who would no doubt soothe her later with Häagen-Dazs and Kahlua. “He just needs to give that Kiss Test to the right person.” He puckered his lips and made kissy noises. “He’s doling out those tests to the wrong people. No offense, honey.”
    Katya glared at him and went back to pouting.
    “Don’t even think about it,” I told Adair. “Stick to your own team.”
    “Speaking of.” Adair’s entire demeanor suddenly changed. He tucked the fan away in his back pocket and stood taller. His hands immediately went to his hair, quickly patting it into place. “In com ing.”
    Katya and I followed his fluttery-eyed gaze to where the Wide-Strider moved along the sidewalk, making his way to cross the running path. This guy never failed to get a laugh out of Kat and me, but Adair was totally smitten. At probably six-foot-ten, the guy was nearly skeletal, and usually wore a tan polyester suit with a black silk shirt and tie. His pasty white head was shaved bald, he wore ultra-mod shades no matter what the weather and carried a big black leather purse. Okay, it was probably a soft-sided briefcase, but it sure as heck looked like a man bag to me. To Adair, it was a sign that they walked on the same side of the fence.
    The funniest part about this guy, though, was the way he walked, like an exaggerated member of Hitler’s SS—long, straight-legged strides, like his knees didn’t bend or he thought it might take less time to traverse the park if he took larger steps, his body bobbing up and down with each slow-mo stride. He never failed to crack us up. Even today.
    As soon as the Wide-Strider passed us, Katya stopped running and mimicked his bobbing saunter.
    “You stop that right now!” Adair scolded. “He may be our new roommate some day, if I can figure out how to meet him. I’ll run my own Kiss Test, and that Mr. Studly will be mine.”
    Katya met my gaze behind Adair’s back and we both cracked up. Mr. Studly?
    “He’d better not move in with us,” Katya said, when we finally stopped snickering and returned to running. “I don’t think I could ever look that guy in the face without laughing.”
    “Humph,” Adair snorted.
    “Well, back to a subject that makes some sense,” Katya began with a smirk. “Aren’t you going to tell Chris about being laid off, Margo?”
    “Not yet. I’ll tell him Friday night over drinks.” We parted waters to pass a couple of dawdling walkers and met up again on the other side. “I’m not telling Kevin yet either.”
    “You’re not?”
    “No.” I’m not sure when I’d decided that, but the minute it was out of my mouth, I knew it was the right decision. “He’ll just try to micromanage my job search, which I don’t need.”
    “How are you going to keep it from him?” Adair asked, apparently not angry at us any more for making fun of his dream man. “Won’t he notice when you don’t get out of bed and go to work every morning?”
    “I have one more week left. By then I’ll have a job.” Hopefully. “Even a one-week reprieve from telling him is better than nothing.”
    “What if he calls work and someone blows it?”
    “He never calls work. He calls my cell.”
    “What if he hears that the station’s been sold?”
    “If he asks me point-blank if I lost my job, I’ll tell him. We have an honest relationship.”
    “Dishonesty by omission is still dishonesty,” Adair said, with a slightly haughty look.
    I returned it with a look of my own. “Oh, you mean like how you’ve omitted telling your parents you’re gay?”
    He pinched his lips together and faced forward again. “That’s