“What about those friends you share? Can’t you explain the situation and ask for it?”
I laugh. “I’m betting our mutual friend won’t be on my side.”
“I’d say if you’re sincere and you tell them how you feel, you might be surprised.”
I shrug, figuring nothing can make it worse at this point. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”
“Anything is worth a shot right now, wouldn’t you agree?” he says, raising his hand to signal another round.
“Yeah.”
“So, you get her address, go to her house, and beg her to listen to you for five minutes.”
“You think groveling will be enough?” I ask, hopefulness filling my lungs.
“Nope,” he says matter-of-factly.
I deflate.
“But it’s a start.”
By the time lunch is over, four hours later, I’m two sheets to the wind and not fit to talk to either Eli or Cici. Instead, I go back to the hotel room and pass the fuck out.
The next morning, I have a slight headache as I struggle to remember everything we discussed yesterday afternoon. As I try to recall the evening before, losing count of how many old-fashioneds we drank, at least one thing stands out. Not to be deterred from my goal, I tuck my tail between my legs and dial up Eli.
“Well, look who’s calling. Surprised I’m hearing from you while you’re with Poppy.”
“Yeah… about that. We had a misunderstanding.”
“You don’t say…. This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact you went onto the same dating app she was on, would it?”
I groan. “Did she already call Cici?”
“No. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out when I ran into Warren last night. Funny, but when I asked him about it, he said it was the craziest shit he’d ever heard of and that he wouldn’t be caught dead on a site like that.”
I groan into the phone. That’s two for two. I’m crap at this whole deception thing… obviously. Apparently, I’m not like my dad, since he was pretty damn good at it.
“Look, I feel like a broken record, but I wasn’t doing it maliciously. I just wanted to get to know her. I like her and she wouldn’t give me the time of day, so that was my solution. I didn’t mean for it to blow up like this.”
“I can’t imagine you did. I’m sure we’ll hear all about it on Wednesday, so why are you calling now?”
“I was hoping you could help me out. I need to talk to her and explain. I can’t just give up.”
“Where do I fit in?”
“Can you ask Cici for her address. And her parents’ address. I can easily have Justin find it, but I’m trying to go about it the right way.”
He chuckles. “Isn’t it a little late for that?”
“Listen, I’m beating myself up enough. I don’t need it from you too. Are you willing to help me or not? If Cici hasn’t heard yet, you might want to do itbeforeshe hates me.”
“You sound like shit, so you’re obviously wrecked. I’ll at least give it my best effort.”
Instead of staring at my phone for the next however long it takes, I decide to jump in the shower. I’m toweling off, stepping out of the bathroom, when I receive a notification from an incoming text. Holy shit—he fucking did it. I’m not sure how he managed to drag the information from Cici, but I’m hella glad he succeeded.
With a clear mission, I dress quickly, with more fervor than I’ve had since Poppy walked out of the restaurant, ready to make the first attempt at getting her back.
Thirty minutes later, I realize I’m probably making the dumbest move of my life by knocking on her parents’ door. This isnothow I wanted to meet them, but I have no other choice with my flight taking off in a couple of hours.
