30 First Dates (23 page)

"Well, why not?" Sherri said. "He seems like a sweetheart. And sexy in a mysterious kind of way…sort of enigmatic." She paused, and then nodded. "And breakfast. That's a very good sign. The fact that he wasn't anxious for you to leave—that's huge."

"I know he's a good guy," Erin said, her voice muffled because her head was still resting on her forearms on the kitchen table. She lifted it, her expression bleak. "It's just that, so is Paul. I have a date with Paul in two days. Oh. GOD. This just isn't something I
do
." She looked at Sherri. "No offense, Hon, but this is more like something
you'd
do."

Sherri licked peanut butter off a spoon and dropped the dirty spoon into the sink with a clatter. "None taken." She pulled out a chair and sat down across from Erin, splaying her legs out in front of her.

"You haven't been with anybody since Noah, right?"

Erin, lost in her own thoughts, took a few seconds to answer. "No, no one since Noah."

"And that was, what? Like, two years ago? Cut yourself some slack, girlfriend. You have needs."

Erin smiled wryly. "It was eleven months ago," she said, counting back to their dramatic breakup. "Long enough for him to—" She gulped, realizing she'd been about to say "
marry somebody else
." She was going to have to watch herself on that. "For him to be in a whole new relationship."

Sherri didn't seem to notice. "At least you got a whole year of Noah." Her face took on the dreamy look Erin recognized as her gawk-over-guys expression. "He is hawt." She paused for a beat. "Not as hot as Colin Marks though. I still can't believe
any
woman would throw over Colin Marks." Sherri shook her head. "God, what I wouldn't give to have Amelia Wright's problems."

"Everybody has problems," Erin replied, remembering the worry lines on Amelia's forehead after the
TODAY
interview. "Nobody's life is perfect. Honestly, the more perfect somebody's life looks, the more complicated it probably is." Her eyes were distant, and she was quiet for several seconds. "At least they have each other."

Sherri cast her a bemused glance. "Riiight. Well, it looks like you've got a choice to make, too." Her voice dropped so it was low and dramatic, like a voiceover on a cheesy late-night dating show. "Will it be bachelor number one—tall, blond and artistic, with skills in the kitchen and bedroom eyes? Or bachelor number two? Taller, darker and arguably more handsome…the kind of boy you want to take home to mom and dad." Her voice returned to its normal tone. "Seriously, here's your situation. Devon's the type of guy you date. Paul's the type of guy you marry." Her eyebrows arched as she watched for Erin's reaction.

"Yeah, well, that's one of the problems," she said. "Devon's got a kid, remember? He's
been
married. And I don't like messing with his head when I'm in no position to get serious with him."

Sherri scoffed. "As if that's ever stopped any guy in the history of the world. Ever. You don't realize what kind of power position this blog has put you in."

Erin laughed a short, hard laugh. "Yeah, tell that to Marissa Spiegel." The feminist blogger had been lambasting Erin and 30 First Dates ever since the
TODAY
interview had aired. Erin was getting all kinds of press now, her phone ringing off the hook. Her blog posts were being linked all over Twitter and Facebook, and feminists, especially, were among her biggest critics.

"Fuck Marissa Spiegel," Sherri said, and Erin's eyes widened. "I get it, like, we're not supposed to need a man. But in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking out true love. At least you're taking an active role in deciding your own future."

Erin shrugged. Her phone, which was sitting beside her on the table like a time bomb she didn't know how to deactivate, buzzed again, causing her to jump.

"Girl, you're as tight as a drum," Sherri said, leaning forward to read the phone's screen. It was a text from Devon: "Had great time. See u soon." Erin groaned.

"Relax," Sherri said. "Text him back and then go out with Paul. You don't have to decide anything right now." She slumped back in her chair again. "Forget Amelia Wright—what I wouldn't give to have
your
problems!"

Erin harrumphed. "What are you talking about? I thought things were going great with Brandon?" Sherri had been out with her old college boyfriend at least three times since the party.

"They are." She sighed dramatically. "I don't know, though. I just don't think there's enough chemistry. I'm starting to remember all the reasons we broke up in the first place."

"And you called
me
a romantic," Erin said. "Besides, I thought you broke up with him because school was almost out and you didn't want to be tied down for the summer."

"Oh, yeah," Sherri said, a faraway look in her eyes. "You know, Alex called me again."

Erin almost laughed out loud. "Sounds like our problems aren't all that different."

Her phone buzzed again, and she glanced down, expecting to see a second notice of her incoming text from Devon. Instead it was a new text, from Ben. "Call me."

She sighed, guilt mixing with the confusion and regret bubbling in her stomach. She hadn't seen much of Ben since the night he'd met Devon and Paul at the party. Erin wasn't sure who was avoiding whom. She was sure, however, that Ben was the last person she wanted to answer to right now.

*  *  *

"You looked beautiful on the
TODAY
show," Paul said, looking down at his plate.

Erin reddened, and it was for him, not for herself. He was just so
sweet
. She was sure he couldn't survive in her new world.

"Thanks. Hopefully that distracted people from the hot mess of that interview. I still can't believe the show blindsided us like that." She and Sherri had put two and two together and realized the
TODAY
producers had most likely called her for a new angle on the Amelia-Noah-Colin situation, and the surprise "reunion" must have come about when they learned Noah and Amelia themselves were suddenly accepting interview requests. Talk about a new angle.

The interview had been recapped on every celebrity gossip show and covered by every star-gazer website, yanking Erin into a sudden, bizarre spotlight. She was getting all sorts of interview requests, but she was only accepting ones from people who claimed to want to interview her about 30 First Dates, not about Noah. Apart from asking her to keep quiet about their relationship status, he and Amelia hadn't expressly instructed Erin to refrain from answering questions about them, but she got the feeling they'd rather she didn't. She had zero desire to do otherwise.

"It seemed like it went okay to me," Paul said, and shrugged. "30 First Dates has really turned into something."

"It's just fortuitous timing," Erin said. "My ex-boyfriend going viral while I'm writing about boyfriends." She paused, thoughtful. "I never expected things to turn out like this. I never expected any of it, from the moment Jess ran that ad in the
Page
all the way up to now." She gave him a pointed look.

"How do you like your new job?" he asked, and she noted the quick subject change. He seemed as determined to avoid talking about Jess Mickelson as she was to get him talking about her.

"I like it…I think," she said. "It's not much responsibility, but I've got to start somewhere. Hopefully it'll help me land a real writing gig at some point."

"Isn't the blog a real writing gig?"

"Everybody keeps saying that," she said, laughing. "I guess I won't really feel validated until someone's actually paying me to write." She speared a bite of salad, thinking while she chewed. "My parents and my best friend don't understand at all why I'm doing this internship."

"Your friend, Ben?" Paul asked.

"Actually, my friend Hilary," she answered, surprised Paul would think of Ben as her best friend, even though he was—she only called Hilary her best friend out of habit. She felt a tug in her chest at the mention of Ben's name.
I miss him
, she realized, and wondered again why he was acting so weird.
Maybe this woman he's dating has something to do with it.
That thought gave her a new pang.

"Ah, Hilary, the one getting married," Paul said, nodding and pulling Erin's attention back to the present.

She groaned out loud. The wedding was mere weeks away, and she dreaded it more with each passing day. Hilary was calling often and acting like the past five months hadn't happened. Erin answered out of a sense of duty as her maid of honor, and she was doing what Hilary asked of her despite her busy schedule. On Sunday she'd gone along while Hilary finalized the programs, and she was working with a couple of Hilary's sorority sisters to plan a bridesmaids' luncheon. But her heart wasn't in it, and she thought even Hilary could sense that.

"Yeah, that's the one," she said.

"I didn't realize you were such close friends," he said. "But wait a minute—you're in the wedding, right?"

"Yep. Maid of honor."

"And isn't she the one you walked in on with—" For a second Erin was surprised Paul knew about that, but then she remembered all the talking they'd done while drinking together at the salsa bar.

"Yep. The very one."

"That's big of you," he said.

Erin made a strange sound that was a cross between a cough and a laugh. "I don't think it's so big of me," she said. "I'm standing up for a friend I've known my whole life, and I don't want to do it at all. I should've walked away from the whole thing. I hate feeling two-faced."

He shook his head. "I don't think there's anything two-faced about you. You're the most straightforward person I've ever met."

Erin smiled. "That's an awfully nice way of saying that I have a big mouth."

He laughed. "I'm glad you say what you're thinking. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't be here right now."

"Why do you say that?" Erin asked.

"Because
you
asked me out, remember?" he said. "If you hadn't done that, I don't think I'd have had the nerve to talk to you."

"How could I forget?" She laughed, remembering their embarrassing first conversation in the school parking lot. Then she leaned toward him, sensing her opening. "Since we're being straightforward, tell me what happened with Jess Mickelson this summer."

Erin was sure he paled beneath his tawny skin. "How did you hear about that?" he asked, his voice rough.

She put a hand on top of his. "I didn't," she said. "I just picked up hints at my party a couple of weeks ago." When he looked at her suspiciously, she added, "From you." She paused and pulled her hand back. "Now, what the hell happened?"

Paul shook his head. "That woman is crazy." He swirled a finger next to his right ear. "Loco."

Erin looked at him expectantly, and he gave a resigned sigh.

"She started calling me," he said reluctantly. "It started after you left school. There were reasons at first—she called and asked me about a student, and then she asked about proctoring the PSATs and then if I was going to some conference. But then she kept on calling me. She asked me to go out to get drinks with her, and of course I said no. Finally I just said to her, look, aren't you
married
? I don't play that game." He shook his head, looking down at the table.

Erin prodded him. "So did she stop calling you?"

Paul looked back up and shook his head. "No, but I stopped answering my phone. And the school year was over by then, so she couldn't talk to me at work."

He stopped talking, but Erin sensed there was more. She waited, nodding her head to encourage him.

He picked up a fork and began twirling it between his long fingers, not looking at her. Finally, he said, "She came over to my place." Erin's mouth opened slightly, and she instinctively tilted her head closer to his. "I was so surprised I let her in not even thinking about it. She was drunk, and she started crying and telling me her husband hated her and that she wanted a divorce. Luckily my roommate was home, so when he came in the room she stopped acting so crazy. But…before that happened, she sort of threw herself at me." He was fiery red now, blushing fiercely.

"Sort of?" Erin prompted.

"She kissed me," he admitted sheepishly. "I didn't kiss her back, but she grabbed onto me, and I couldn't really stop it from happening." He paused as Erin tried to picture the scene in her mind. "And then my roommate walked in, thank God, and she started crying again and then she left. I haven't heard from her since. She's back at school, though, and she's still wearing a wedding ring."

Erin sat back in her chair. "Wow."

He shook his head. "I know."

She grinned at him. "You're irresistible to the ladies," she said, mainly to watch him blush again. He was just so damned cute.

"I hope I'm irresistible to the right ones," he said, looking at her as he said it. Erin shivered. It was the most direct thing he'd ever said to her.

The server walked over then to clear the salad plates, letting her off the hook, if only for a moment. She tried, unsuccessfully, to keep Devon and what had happened Saturday night out of her head, but images kept coming to her mind against her will.

After dinner, Paul asked if she wanted to go to his apartment, and Erin turned him down. But when they got back to her place she invited him in. Twenty minutes later she was nestled into one end of the sofa, her shoes off and her legs curled underneath her. He was at the other end. She offered him coffee instead of wine.

They talked about things not related to school, or her blog, or the party or what they were doing together. Instead they talked about their pasts. He told her about his family—he had two brothers and three sisters, and they'd grown up on a small ranch in West Texas. All five of his siblings still lived close to home, and he thought about moving back all the time.

"I hate not ever seeing my nieces and nephews," he said, and Erin felt the chasm of the difference between their worlds. He was so unselfish, and she'd never had anyone to focus on outside of herself.