Wasted Words (12 page)

I’d given him everything, and he took it with no intention of giving himself to me.

So with a broken heart, I sat there in the cool dirt under the shade of the bleachers and wrote a list of rules while I waited on my face to stop looking like a puffed up raspberry. And those rules were something I still lived by.

1) Know who you’re dealing with and put them on their shelf.

2) Don’t date anyone not on your shelf.

3) When something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

And follow the rules I did, even though following them meant that I was lonely. I went back to being friends with everyone and no one, not caring, or pretending not to care. I asked for a new lab partner and endured the year of classes with Will, doing my best not to meet his eyes when he would watch me from across the room. And every time I saw Will and Kenzie in the halls or the cafeteria, a little piece of me squeezed and hardened to bolster myself against the hurt.

By the time I went to college, I was solidly detached, dating guys from my shelf, and only from my shelf. Some were great guys, guys I could have been really happy with, but they weren’t it for me. I didn’t feel like it was a matter of trust, but who knows how it really was, because from the inside, I was likely too blind to see.

Tyler should be with someone like Adrienne, not someone like me. My guts twisted at the thought of him with her, and I realized it was the first time since I’d known him that he’d had a prospect I felt could be real. But my feelings for Tyler didn’t mean anything. I’d put them aside a thousand times if it meant he could be happy.

He’d meant the text message to be taken only as a friend — it all of a sudden seemed ludicrous I would have thought it would be any other way. That he would require my undivided friend attention for the day so we could talk shit and kid around. Not that he’d never say something like that to his guy friends like Kyle or he’d end up with a meaty fist in his pie hole.
 

No, I was just reading too much into it, that was all. Just thinking a little too far out of the box.

And as if I needed a sign, I looked up and found Adrienne and Sarah taking seats right in front of me.

“Hey,” I said, approaching the bar, willing my heart to slow as I tossing coasters in front of them. One said,
Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why. - Kurt Vonnegut,
and the other said,
Every blessing ignored becomes a curse. - Paulo Coelho.
“Didn’t expect to see you ladies again so soon.”

Adrienne smiled, her dark cheeks flushing. “Us either. We were actually at another bar but decided to swing by.” She glanced around hopefully. “Is, ah, Tyler here?”

She’s perfect for him. They’ll be perfect together. Now, take no mercy.
I smiled, feeling better at the prospect of setting him up, certain I’d feel eve better than that once they were together and happy.
“I think he’s coming up here in a bit. Let me hit him up. What are you ladies drinking?”

“Whiskey sour for me,” Adrienne said.

“Same,” Sarah added with a smile.
 

I poured quietly, composing my message to him in my head, and the first second I got, I shot off a text.

If you haven’t taken your bra off yet, you should come up here. Adrienne just showed up asking about you, and she looks amazing. Like, ah-maz-ing.

The dots bounced as he typed out a response.
Too late. I’m already free and clear of all underwear.
And then he sent a shrug emoji.

Come on. She came all the way down here looking for you. So hitch up your knickers and get down here, Knight.

Dots again. Then they stopped. A pause, then they started and stopped again for another pause. The next time they bounced, they didn’t stop.
 

Can’t leave a pretty girl at the bar all alone. Give me a bit and I’ll be over.

Did he mean me? I shook the thought away, almost laughing out loud, wondering what had gotten into me. Of course he didn’t mean me. He’d never mean me.
 

Atta boy. See you soon.

I smiled as I slipped my phone back into my pocket, applauding myself for having put everything back to rights. His weirdly invigorating text went unaddressed, and he was on his way down here to hopefully ask out a pretty girl who wasn’t me. Everything was right in the world.

“He’s on his way,” I said.

Adrienne lit up, eyes sparkling and smile bright. “Oh, good. I hope it’s not weird that I’m here — he just mentioned he’d be here tonight and thought I’d stop in and say hi.”

I shrugged and joked, “I mean, it’s a little creepy, but Tyler’s not easily spooked.”
 

She laughed, and the sound was disarming. For a high-powered ad representative for Nike, she was nervous about Tyler. I took that as a solid sign that she was genuine. She was forward and honest, smart, and if what I’d heard from Sarah was true, she was one of the good ones in the world.
 

“So,” I started, fishing for more information, “you talked to Tyler today?”

“Just for work. I sort of asked him to come out, but he said he had plans to be here. After last night, I thought we hit it off, and he seems like a great guy.”

“The best,” I said with a smile as I leaned on the bar.

“And he doesn’t have a girlfriend, right?”

“Nope, no girlfriend.” I smirked. “Looking to fill the spot?”

Her lips were red, curling into a smile. “I think I am. The thing is, I’m a Type A kind of girl — I’m not afraid to go after what I want, you know? People play dating games: wait three days to call or text, don’t look desperate, blah, blah, blah.” She waved her hand as if to wipe the construct away. “But I don’t play games. I want to get to know him better, so that’s what I’m going to try to do. Hopefully I don’t come on too strong — that’s a problem for me sometimes,” she said with a chuckle.

Sarah laughed too. “I call her the Badass Honey Badger.”

“I can relate,” I said, amused. “Well, you came to the right place. I’m his gatekeeper.”

She chuckled. “So is this an interview to see if I’m the keymaster?”

I snickered. “Well, you just won major points for a Ghostbusters reference, so you’re well on your way to securing the job. This is your second interview, by the way — the first was last night.”

“And how’d I do?”
 

I smiled, admiring her for so many reasons. “Real well.”

“Well, hit me with your best shot,” she said as she leaned on the bar.

“All right.” My smile faded into seriousness. “Grape or strawberry jelly?”

She laughed. “Strawberry.”

I nodded. “Good choice. Unicorns — yes or no?”

“I’m a believer.” She raised her glass.

“Whiskey or vodka?”

“Depends on what night of the week it is,” she said before taking a sip of her drink.

I snickered. “Last long-term relationship.”

She swallowed, voice a little tighter when she answered. “David. We dated for three years, broke up because he was fucking someone else.”

“Cold. So, no stranger to heartbreak, huh?”

She shrugged. “What doesn’t kill us, right?”

I watched her for a moment, wondering if I could have crafted a more ideal girl for Tyler. “I like you, Adrienne.”

She smiled in a way that made me believe, all the way down deep to my gut, that she was genuine. “I like you too, Cam.”

“If you hurt him, I’ll rip your face off, even though you could probably crush me with your thighs. Just know I’m a fast runner.”

Adrienne chuckled. “I won’t hurt him. I promise. I don’t play games, remember?”

“I believe you.”
 

Greg flagged me from the other end of the bar, nodding to the crowd of chicks who had lined up in front of him.
 

“Be back when I can. Keep an eye out for Tyler for me. And Adrienne?”
 

“Yeah?”

I smiled. “Congratulations. You’re in.”

She laughed as I walked away, feeling as sure of myself as I did uneasy.

Tyler

I DIDN’T FEEL ANY LESS confused as I made my way to Wasted Words, still sifting through my thoughts for answers. I’d turned down a date with Adrienne for Cam, if I was being honest with myself, and then Cam pressured me to come to the bar with the intent to convince me to ask Adrienne out.
 

I shook my head as I crossed the street, having opted to walk again to give me more time alone. Nothing made sense, not my feelings about Cam or my feelings about Cam trying to set me up with someone else. But she’d made it clear once more that she wasn’t interested in me at all. I just hated that it bothered me so much.

When I walked into the bar, I spotted Adrienne and Sarah, sitting across from Cam. When Cam looked up and saw me, her content smile spoke to my heart — it was a smile that knew me. And then Adrienne turned and smiled — hers was a smile that wanted me.

I only wished her smile had been on Cam’s face instead.

I took a deep breath, putting on a smile of my own as I greeted the women and took a seat in the empty seat next to Adrienne. Cam didn’t ask what I wanted, just poured me a beer and set it in front of me, sending me an encouraging smile before walking away to keep Sarah company.
 

Adrienne shifted in her seat next to me, tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked amazing, as Cam had said — a denim shirt unbuttoned low, tight black jeans, and suede flats. Her lips were red, lashes long as she looked up at me.
 

“I feel like I shouldn’t have surprised you like this.”

I smiled, not wanting her to feel unsure of herself. It was almost unsettling that someone so strong could be so nervous. “I love a good surprise.”

“Not me. I actually hate surprises. Once, I actually punched my ex-boyfriend when he walked me into a surprise party.”

A laugh burst out of me. “Wow, I bet nobody saw that coming.”

“He definitely didn’t. It was just my first reaction.
Wham
, right in the cheek. It hurt like a son of a bitch, too.”

“Did the party end up happening?”

“Yeah. I felt better once I had a drink, and Dave was fine too, other than being a spectacular baby about it, whining and looking at it in the mirror for days,” she said and took a drink.
 

I laughed again, comfortably amused.
 

Adrienne turned to angle herself toward me as she leaned a little on the bar. “Really, though. I hope it’s not weird that I came. I just couldn’t stop thinking about you after last night, and I wanted to get to know you a little better. See if there’s more to it, if you were interested.”

She was so forward, and in a way that would have normally caught me off guard, but there was something so honest about the admission that I found myself charmed. But I didn’t answer right away, glancing at Cam, who gave me a reassuring smile.

Adrienne was still watching me, smiling. “You can say no, Tyler. I sprung this on you pretty hard, even after getting shot down this afternoon.”

I chuckled. “Hey, I didn’t shoot you down. I just had plans, that’s all.”

She picked up her drink, hanging it between her fingers. “If you say so. Felt kind of like a shoot-down, but I’m nothing if not persistent. How do you think I beat out three of the best reps in the business for my job?”

I turned to her, mirroring her, leaning on the bar. “Persistence is an admirable quality. Being determined is how you get what you want out of life.”

Her face softened. “Football lesson?”

I nodded. “But it’s relevant to all of life, I’ve found. Just as important as knowing when to let go.” I took a drink. “So what did Cam say about me before I got here?”

“Oh, well, she interviewed me.”

I smirked, shaking my head. “Of course she did. Did she give you too hard of a time?”

“Not at all. She had some very important questions for me, like if I was a grape or strawberry jelly kind of girl.”

“How’d you answer?”

“Strawberry. Anything else is blasphemy.”

I laughed, in part because Cam really was that good in the matchmaking department — strawberry was my favorite to win the great jelly debate too.

Adrienne watched me, smiling with her lips sealed and eyes bright. “Go on a date with me, Tyler Knight.”

“I thought I was supposed to be asking you out?” I smiled, though discomfort had settled in.

She shrugged. “I’m a girl who knows what I want, and I want to have dinner with you.”

She watched me with big, brown eyes, waiting for an answer with her long, dark fingers around her drink. After a second, her red lips curled into a smile.
 

“Come on, Knight. Do I have to beg? I’m not above it.”

But my eyes darted to Cam who stood at the tap, pouring a beer in jean shorts and a flannel, smiling across the bar at a girl she was pouring for.

“What do you have to lose?”

Nothing. Everything.
I looked back to Adrienne. She was sexy and fun, and I actually did like her, a lot. But I didn’t want her like I felt like I should.
 

On the other hand, I trusted Cam to know what I didn’t, what I couldn’t. She saw something there, and Adrienne seemed like a great girl.
 

What’s the worst that could happen?

Maybe I’d have a great time, get my head back in the game. It was just a date, one that Cam sanctioned. Maybe her intuition would serve us well. Maybe some magic would happen like it did for so many of the matches Cam made.

So I took a breath and made a decision with a smile. “I’d love to take you to dinner, Adrienne. Just say when.”

And her smile widened even more, face glowing when she answered, “When.”

Cam

I didn’t have much time to hang out once Tyler showed up, and I counted it as a blessing, not wanting to get in the way. They chatted for a long while before Sarah and Adrienne left, but it was late by that time, and Tyler was dead in his seat from his long day without a full night’s sleep. I tried to send him home, but he wouldn’t leave without me, which meant he kept drinking to keep himself occupied. So once the rush died down and Beau and Greg could handle the end of the night, I clocked out and grabbed him by the arm to get him into bed.