I liked him. I really liked him, I finally admitted to myself. He’d turned my world upside down in such a short span of time. He was like a bull in the china shop of my life. But, strangely, in a good way. I hadn’t laughed as much as I did with him since… since LCB. And that was the problem. He’d snuck in, under my radar, made me laugh, made me care, made me want him. And was he any different than LCB? Apparently not. He wanted to use me just like LCB had.
With a heavy heart, I threw away my yogurt container and put the spoon in the dishwasher. There. Spotless apartment. Train wreck in my heart.
Chapter 18
It was another toss and turn night but, nonetheless, Monday came too soon. I would have to go to work. See people. And Diane would ask about the concert. I dreaded that most of all.
After my shower, I dressed and made myself coffee and eggs. I sat at the table with my breakfast and turned on my phone. There were several texts. All from Jack.
Jack: Hey Eve! Thanks for coming to the concert. It was awesome to have you there. You get home OK?
Jack:You left in kind of a rush. Everything OK?
Jack: I miss you already. Sweet dreams, hon.
I sipped my coffee and considered. It would be rude to just ignore him, but I certainly wasn’t going to waste any more time on someone who just wanted to use me for a good time. I replied:
Eve: Thanks for the concert, Jack. It was a lot of fun. But I don’t think this is going to work. We want different things, and I don’t want to invest anything further in a relationship that’s not going anywhere. It’s been nice to get to know you and I wish you every success.
He already had every success, I reminded myself, so it’s not like it would be difficult for him to replace me
As I walked through the door at work my phone tinged. I glanced at it and saw I had another text from Jack. I ignored it.
Diane greeted me with a smile and a cup of coffee. The world would be a better place if everyone had a Diane in their life. She followed me into my office and placed the day’s schedule on my desk, then closed the door. I could see her practically vibrating with anticipation.
“Spill the beans, Eve! How was it? Was it the best night ever? Did he pull you up on stage and sing to you and propose to you?”
I blinked to banish the tears that were pricking at my eyes.
“Nothing like that,” I laughed half-heartedly. Really, nothing like that.
“It was a great concert,” I replied truthfully. “They did a fabulous job. The songs were great. They did a special number with jitterbug dancers; that was a lot of fun.”
Diane picked up on my prevarication. “But what about the all-access pass? Didn’t you go backstage to see him?”
“I did,” I said, cautiously, putting the files from my briefcase on my desk.
“And…” Diane made drawing out motions with her hands. “What else? What happened?”
“And I met the band. They were all very nice.”
“And…” She wasn’t going to stop until she got it all.
“And…he kissed me.”
Her shriek made me glad the door was solid and shut. “Get out! He kissed you! And you kissed back, because of course you did because he’s gorgeous!” She sighed. “Your babies are going to be so pretty!”
“Diane, there aren’t going to be any babies. He made that pretty clear. He’s not interested in anything serious. Just, you know, fun with no strings attached.”
Diane stared at me slack-jawed. “You’re kidding me, right? He said that to you? To YOU?”
“Um, yes, I’m fairly certain it was me to whom he was speaking.”
“I just mean, come on Eve, you’re a goddess in mortal form! Any man in his right mind would bend space and time just to talk with you. And if there was a chance of having you as the mother of his beautiful little babies, he’d walk over hot lava barefoot.”
She paced back and forth, muttering to herself. All I could pick out were random words like “clearly crazy” and “idiot man.”
Well, at least Diane was firmly in my corner.
