Cinderella Screwed Me Over (6 page)

“Like it really hurt. Spill it.”

“I told Dad and Janet that Michelle and I broke up because she wanted to get more serious than I did, which I’m sure she probably did. Really, she was just irritating me more and more by the day. I started wondering if her voice had always sounded so nasally—”

“She does kind of have an annoying voice,” I said.

“And she’d call, like, every hour and ask what I was doing. I wanted to shout, ‘I’m working. Some of us work.’”

I leaned back on the couch. “You always attract clingy girls.”

Drew shrugged. “I guess I should start trying relationships with women I don’t think are my type.”

I swiped a hand through the air. “I tried that before. I hunted out guys I’d never usually go for, but all I got were several short relationships with noncompatible people.”

“I’m not looking for anything serious right now, anyway.”

I shook my head at him. “Typical guy.”

He huffed and shoved my knee. “Like you’re any better. You don’t even believe in long-term relationships.”

“I don’t believe in short-term flings, either.” I knew this conversation would only get us arguing about women and men, so I grabbed the menu for the Yellow Dragon out of his hands and pointed at the chicken lo mein. “This is what I’m getting. What do you want?”

Drew pointed out the orange chicken and the Szechuan beef. “I’ll eat the leftovers tomorrow morning.”

“Ew. You can’t eat Chinese leftovers for
breakfast
.”

“Fine. I’ll eat them for lunch. What time do you have to go in tomorrow?”

“I can slide in a little late.”

“Okay, then!” Drew tossed the rest of the menus onto my glass coffee table. “Chinese food, then we go find us some insignificant others for the night.”

“You know, you really are a bad influence.” I grinned at him. “You should come over more often.”

…

The Wagon Wheel, a rustic bar with a jukebox full of country music, seemed like a good place to take Drew. I didn’t think the girls there would mind that he was a full-on cowboy, even though he didn’t so much look the part in his T-shirt and loose-fitting jeans. Plus, it was a nice break from the norm for me. Stephanie’s fiancé, Anthony, always insisted on going to the nightclub hot spots. Which meant my options were hanging out alone at home or being a third wheel. Neither was all that great.

“Now that’s more like it,” Drew said, eyeing a couple of girls who sat down at the opposite end of the bar.

“Which one?” I asked.

“The redhead with the—” Drew froze, cupped hands out in front of his chest. He dropped them. “Who looks like she’s really smart.”

I’d gone off before about him looking at girls like they were pieces of meat. At least he’d tried to edit this time. Drew was very charismatic, and I’d seen what he did with his charm. He got a girl all wrapped up in him, then got bored and moved on. So far tonight, he’d flirted with three women but decided none of them was worth a drink or more than a few minutes of his time.

Drew slapped the bar with his palms. “I’m going in.”

He walked over, sat down next to the redhead, and introduced himself. Immediately, she was laughing, leaning in as he told another joke or story. She was already hooked. So it looked like he’d settled on her—at least for tonight. Or the next five minutes. You never knew with him.

A guy with enough hair gel for ten people walked up to me. “Yo, hot stuff, how you doin’ tonight?” His Jersey Shore accent was so thick I lost a few IQ points just listening to it.

“I’m okay.”

He puffed out his chest. “You need Romeo to buy you a drink?”

“Is your name actually Romeo, or do you just think you’re a Romeo?”

He put his hand on the bar and leaned closer to me. “Both.”

I held up my glass—cranberry juice and Sprite, because I’d had a feeling I’d be driving home. “I’m good, thanks.”

The guy didn’t even look old enough to be buying drinks, which just made me feel old. And only the tiniest bit flattered.

“I get you. You playin’ it cool. Let me guess, you’re one of those uptight gals. All wound up. Let Romeo unwind you.”

“Okay, you can move on now. Thanks for playing.” I glanced over at Drew, who had his arm around the redhead.

Romeo looked back at his friends, seeming unsure whether he’d been rejected or not.

I waited for him to get the hint.

When he didn’t, I leveled my eyes on him. “Look, if you’re worried about saving face, you can tell your friends I have a boyfriend or that I’m meeting you later or whatever you want. But I’m not interested.”

He lowered his head and walked off.

Some people might think that was mean. What
would
be mean was if I let him waste his whole night on me. Drew had taught me that. He said hint once, then be brutal if they didn’t get it. Some of my girlfriends had guys hanging around not just for a night, but weeks—months even—because they didn’t want to be mean.

Romeo’s head perked up when another girl walked into the bar. He walked past his friends’ table and over to talk to her. See, he’d recovered just fine. In fact, I did him a favor because he might actually have a chance with that girl.

The girl smiled. Romeo put his arm around her and led her to the bar.

Looks like Romeo found his Juliet.

Now there’s a story for you. I used to think there was something so lovely, so powerful about
Romeo and Juliet
. To be so much in love that you were willing to die for it. Now that I’m older and wiser, I can’t help thinking the lovers jumped the gun—or dagger, in Juliet’s case. The two of them barely knew each other. If they’d just played the relationship out a bit, they’d probably find that they didn’t even like each other all that much.

“Hey, is this seat taken?” a guy asked.

I looked at him, contemplating my answer. He was cute, and maybe he—

“Because my friend needs a place to sit and there’s not enough stools at our table.”

That put my ego back where it belonged. Karma must’ve been getting me back for dissing Romeo. “Go ahead.”

As he dragged the stool away, I turned my attention back to my empty glass.

I should’ve brought my headphones so I could at least listen to my audiobook.

Thinking about my book reminded me of my embarrassing encounter with Jake yesterday. I’d been standing there holding that stupid book on bondage, and he’d just flashed his perfect smile at me, melting my resistance to him even as embarrassment burned through me. I heard his voice in my head.
It’s okay to admit that you were stalking me.

For a brief second, I was tempted to break my rules, to see what going out with him would be like. Then I remembered the last time I’d had my heart broken and came to my senses. The rules had gotten me this far.

…

I climbed out of Drew’s truck and pocketed his keys. Since he’d gotten a little tipsy, I’d driven his giant Dodge Ram back to my place. “So, did you find a lust connection with the redhead?”

“Lust, yes,” Drew said as we headed across the parking garage toward the elevator. “She was funny, too, so I’ll be giving her a call. What about the guy you were talking to at the end of the night?”

“He was nice, and I needed someone to chat with, since you left me stranded.” I gave him a mock dirty look. “But after talking to him for a while, I knew we’d never go anywhere. I gave him a fake number. If he calls, he’ll be able to order the best pizza in the city, so at least there’s a possible consolation prize.”

“Cold.”

I pushed the up button on the elevator and the doors opened. “Hey, you’re the one who said you have to stab the knife in deep enough for them to get the point.” Drew and I stepped into the elevator and I pushed the five button. “And I quote, ‘Otherwise they waste months taking you out, spending all their money on you, when they have no chance. That’s far crueler than rejecting them. So you don’t scrape or barely poke, you jab hard enough to pierce the heart.’”

“I forgot about telling you that. I should probably take my own advice.” He held up his phone. “Five missed calls from Michelle. Apparently, I didn’t go deep enough for her to get the point.”

“Yeah, rookie mistake.”

The elevator stopped on the first floor. When the doors opened, I automatically scooted toward Drew to allow space for whomever or however many were coming in.

Of course it was Jake. Because he was
everywhere.

Our eyes met and the air around me thickened. No, I definitely couldn’t deny the obvious chemistry between us, as he’d put it. Now to decide what to do about it. I lifted my hand to wave, the word
hi
on my tongue, when Drew said, “I can’t believe you’re calling me a rookie. I taught you how to do it. Then again, you’re the one who’s taken it to the next level. Like when you slapped that guy in front of everyone at the wedding and told him you never wanted to see him again. Now
that’s
driving the point home.”

Jake’s eyebrows shot up as he settled into the corner.

The elevator suddenly felt way too small. And way too hot. “Yeah, but that guy deserved it. He said disgusting things to the whole wedding party, hit on the bride, all the bridesmaids, and then came back to me. He was a special circumstance.”

“Don’t be ashamed,” Drew said. “That was good stuff. I tell everyone that story. It’s what keeps my friends from hitting on you.”

I thought about explaining to Jake that I wasn’t really a mean, horrible person, but I knew it would come out wrong. And why did I care anyway? I didn’t want to date Jake.

Of course, I didn’t want him to think I was an awful person, either.

And okay, maybe I did kinda sorta want to date him. Hell, I was more confused with every encounter, and if we were going to keep seeing each other every time I turned around…

“Chinese food never fills me up,” Drew said. “I say we eat the leftovers now, then I’ll make a real breakfast tomorrow morning.”

The elevator landed on five and the doors slid open. I thought about waving or saying good-bye to Jake. But in the end, I just decided to walk out with the small bit of dignity I had left.

Chapter Six

The sound of pots and pans clanging together woke me up. I squinted at the clock and pulled my covers over my head. Drew had gotten chatty last night and we ended up laughing and talking while we ate leftover Chinese food. It’d been fun, but I’d had a hard time falling asleep. Even after a solid six hours, I still felt exhausted.

Whistling accompanied the clanging pans, and I cursed myself for not closing my bedroom door. Groaning, I threw off the covers, got out of bed, and padded down the hall.

Drew was already up and cooking eggs. He put down the spatula and headed over to the fridge, where he took out the carton of orange juice and set it on the island. “You don’t have any bacon or sausage.”

“I don’t usually have time for real breakfast. Mostly I just grab cereal and toast.” I took two glasses out of my cupboard and filled them with orange juice. “I thought you’d sleep in.”

“I did. I’m used to waking up at six, and I made it all the way to seven. Besides, I feel bad leaving Dad and Devin doing all the work.”

I covered my yawn with my hand. “How is Devin anyway? I know last time I was there, things between him and Anne were tense.”

“Ava’s still in that crying-all-the-time baby stage. It’ll get better once she’s older. At least it did after Levi got older.”

“I just think it’s sad. They used to be so in love. Ever since they had the kids, all they do is fight.”

“It’s not like they’re going to get divorced.” Drew scooped out the steaming scrambled eggs onto the two plates.

“Yeah, but it proves my point. Love—the I’m-crazy-about-you kind—never lasts. You still care for and love the person. But you don’t stay
in
love.”

Drew shoveled a forkful of food into his mouth. “I remember when all you ever talked about was finding a guy and getting married. You’d hog the TV, watching those sappy chick flicks—”

“Then I grew up and learned why they always end the movie after the guy and girl get together. That’s when everything falls apart.”

…

While I waited for the elevator, I listened to the voice mail message Steph had left for me. “Just thought I’d remind you to be nice to Karl. He’s Anthony’s best man, so you’ll be seeing him again. No pressure,” she teased, and I couldn’t help but smile despite my reservations.

I’d already had a failed blind date on Monday, and two in one week made me feel desperate, even though it was everyone else who was desperate to set me up with someone. But I’d quickly learned you don’t argue with the bride when it comes to anything even semi-wedding related, and as she’d pointed out, I had to meet Karl eventually. She also said this guy was different, and if anyone had a chance of setting me up with someone I could have a casual dating relationship with, it was Stephanie.

The elevator doors opened, and I walked in, my gaze on my keypad as I sent Steph a text. I
F THIS ADVERSELY AFFECTS YOUR WEDDING, YOU AND
A
NTHONY WILL HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELVES.
I
WANT A STATEMENT DETAILING SUCH IN MY OFFICE BY NOON.

I hit send, knowing she’d get that I was joking, then glanced up to make sure the elevator was going down to the garage.

I wasn’t the only person in the elevator. Jake—of course—was in the corner. He smelled like a combination of fresh, soapy scent and that amazing-smelling musky cologne. It filled up the elevator, and I wanted to take a big whiff and hold it in all day.

“Hey,” I said. “Off to work?”

He nodded. Nothing else.

Is he snubbing me? Maybe it’s because of last night.

I twisted a strand of hair around my finger. “I should’ve said hi last night, but it was kind of crazy.”

“You had company. I get it,” he said, his voice lacking its usual carefree quality.

I realized he’d probably gotten the wrong idea about who Drew was, and suddenly, I was desperate to explain. Because first of all, ew, and second of all, I didn’t want him thinking I brought guys home all the time. “That was my brother. He was in town for the night, and we actually spent most of it trying to land him a new girl. I won’t know for a few weeks how successful it was.” The memory of Drew saying in front of Jake how mean I was came rushing back to me. I put my hand on his arm. “You know, Drew was exaggerating. I’m a nice person. Most of the time.”