Uninvolved (31 page)

"
I just wonder if I let the whole Kyle thing drag on because I was missing something somewhere else."

"Alright
.
What
makes you happy
,
Becks?"

"My friends, shopping, reading, boys, going out."

She stopped as Dave began laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Your list
.
It
just cracks me up."

"I don’t
get it."

"Come on
.
Fluff
, fluff, reading, fluff, fluff."

"My friends aren’t fluff
.
Hello
, you're one of them
.
Besides
,
it's not like your list was any better."

"It's just that they all seem connected
.
You go shopping, then out with your friends to hit on guys."

"I guess so.
"

"Are you unhappy?"

"I don’t know
.
I'm not going to start reading Sylvia Plath anytime soon."

"What?"

"Depressed writer
.
Killed
herself."

"That's good to know."

"I think
Nate
is bad for me."

"How come
?
"

"Because I like him
more then he likes me
, and you know how I feel about liking someone.
"

"So stop liking him."

"It's not like a switch you can turn off and on
,
Dave."

"Whatever
.
That’s
all I got
,
" Dave said
,
lifting her feet and getting up.

"You are completely unhelpful
,
" Becka pouted.

Giving up
,
Becka spent the rest of her Sunday watching a TBS movie marathon.

#

So not feeling work today
,
Becka thought to herself as she
sorted documents
.
She had thought about calling in sick but decided she would have been just as bored at home
.
Becka got up to make herself a cup of cocoa
.
When she got back to her desk
,
there was an email from
Nate
.

How
are you
?

I got dumped.

Is that a bad thing?

Undecided
.

Fair enough
.

Nice to know you're still talking to me.

What does that mean?

Still like me now I'm single?

I always liked you
,
kid.

That's good to know.

Lunch?

Becka
walked up to meet him at the front entrance
.
Was she ever going to be able to look at him and not want to mount him
,
she wondered as she saw him leaning against a pillar by the door
.
He was wearing khaki slacks an
d a green sweater
.
She was wearing a
red pencil skirt
with a black blouse and heels.

He took her to a nice Mexican
restaurant.

"Everything okay?" Becka asked.

"Sure
.
Why
?"

"You just seem tense."

"Really? Maybe a little."

"What's going on?"

"It's just that now that you are single, I feel this pressure."

"You're joking
.
From
me?"

"
Don’t get annoyed."

"I
’m
not annoyed
.
I'm just trying to be clear that you should not be feeling any kind of pressure from me."

"Cool."

"You're a dork
,
" Becka laughed.

"A what?"

"You heard me
.
Is this why we're having lunch? So you can
make it clear to me that you
still
don’t want a girlfriend?"

Nate
just looked at her, cocking his head to the side innocently.

"Whatever
,
Nate
.
You’re
buyin
g
.
Or wait, would that make this
too date like?" Becka said
,
kicking him gently under the table.

"I suppose I could make an exception."

"How big of you
.
"

"Your ass looks hot today."

"My ass looks hot every day."

That made
Nate
laugh out loud and broke the tension.

"I still can't get over how much you eat."

"Shut up
.
I eat like a normal person."

"Maybe like a dude
.
"

"A dude! Oh my God, you did not just say that."

Nate
,
grinning at her expression
,
said
,
"Don’t worry
,
kid
.
I've seen what's under that skirt."

"You've done more than just look
,
if my memory is correct
.
" Becka laughed.

"
Nate
?"

They both looked towards the source of the voice
.
It was Robin, Kyle's sister.

Oh shit
,
Becka thought.

"
Oh, h
ey Robin
,
"
Nate
said
,
standing up.

"What's going on here?" Robin asked
,
regarding Becka coldly.

"Um, I'm having lunch with a friend
.
"

"I know your friend
,
Nate
.
K
inda hard to forget the girl who cheated on my big brother."

Becka's mouth dropped open as
Nate
said
,
"Hey, let's not go there."

"Was it you?" Robin asked
,
jabbing her finger into his chest.

"Robin
—
" Becka began.

"Shut your fucking mouth
,
" Robin cut her off.

"Excuse me?" Becka said
,
standing.

By now
,
the manage
r of the restaurant came out to
inquire what the issue was.

Robin was asked to leave
,
but
Nate
interceded and said they were done eating anyway
.
He quickly paid
,
and they left with Robin
staring
daggers into Becka's back.

"That was fun
,
" Becka said
,
buckling her belt and resting her forehead against her fingertips.

Nate
reached across the console an
d turned her chin to face him.

"You okay?"

"I guess."

He gently kissed her
,
and they drove back to their building in silence
.

Chapter 14

When Becka got back to her desk
,
her phone chirped with a text notification
.
She pulled her phone out
.
It was from Kyle
.

Robin is telling me she saw you out with
the guy she brought to
my birthday party
.
Is this true?

Not sure what else to say
,
Becka replied
:

Yes
.
I saw Robin
,
and I was having lunch with
Nate
.

He responded
:

Is he the guy?

Becka closed her eyes and took a deep breath before replying
.

Does it
matter?
Will it change anything?

She didn’t get any more text messages from him after that
.
Becka also did not get any more emails from
Nate
that day, or the day after,
or
the day after that
.
Fucking perfect
,
Becka thought to herself
.
I went from having a boyfriend and whatever the fuck
Nate
was to nothing
.
If any guy other
than
Dave
looked in her direction
,
she may have to punch them in the nuts.

Dave was up when she got home from work, laid out on the sofa watching TV
.
Becka dropped her purse by the door and went to lay with him
.
She must have dozed off because Dave startled her when he went to get up.

"I was trying not to wake you
,
" Dave said
,
looking guilty.

"No worries
.
What
time is it?"

"Only just after
eight
."

"Cool
.
You
aren’t working tonight, are you?"

"Nope, but I, um, have plans."

"Whacha doing?"

"Don’t get mad
.
I'm meeting up with Kyle."

"Why would that bother me?
It's not like you're abandoning me to go hang with my ex
,
you
traitor
,
" Becka huffed
,
burying her face in the couch.

"Over dramatic much?" Dave said
,
smacking her ass.

"Hey!" she yelped
,
sitting up
.
Then added
,
"You're meeting him out
,
right?
He's not coming here is he?"

"He is swinging by to pick me up, but I think he plans to just honk from the driveway."

"What if he doesn’t? Shit! What time is his getting you?"

"What's your problem?"

"My problem is
,
if for some unknown reason he comes into this house
,
there is no fucking way I want him to see me sleeping on the couch."

"You have mental issues."

"No, I do not
.
There is nothing crazy about not wanting to look like ass the first time you see your ex after a breakup."

"Okay, I don’t think guys think that way."

"Well
,
girls do
.
I should go somewhere
.
It would look better if I wasn’t here
.
Where are you all going so I can avoid it?"

"Penny draft night at the Ol
’
B
oob show."

"A strip club
?
Really
? I thought you said all of those girls had butter faces."

"I'm going for the penny drafts."

"Whatever
.
There
is no chance I am running into you there
.
Can you text me once you leave so I know it's safe to
come
home?"