“Hi. You look…incredible,” he said with a shy grin.
“Thanks.”
She didn’t speak at all on the way there, but as they went up the long driveway to Tony’s parents’ house, she decided to stop being a sourpuss and enjoy herself. It was a massive house and there were people everywhere. Some chugging beer, others running around with their shirts off. She was greeted by an overzealous Tony the second she entered the large living room. He threw his arm over her shoulder, pulled her away from Brad and into the kitchen. “Glad you could make it, dream girl,” he said, shoving an ice cold beer into her hand.
“Oh, so I’m your dream girl again?” she teased, twisting off the cap. “What happened to the brunette at the rodeo?”
He sighed dramatically. “Look, I’m gonna be frank with you. I’ve already been in a commercial and you don’t even have an album out yet, so until you reach the same level of fame, I have to keep my options open.”
She laughed. “I can respect that.”
“Okay,” he said, and quite expectedly slapped a kiss on her temple. “Drink, be merry. I’m hitting the dance floor.”
“He’s so strange,” Jasmin commented as she turned around to face Brad.
Brad chuckled. “I think you’re the only person who doesn’t take offense to him. You seem to just get him.” He leaned back against the counter. “So are you enjoying it here, or do you miss home?”
“There’s not really much to miss. I miss my cousins and as I told you before, I miss the weather…and, of course, the food, especially bunny chow. It was my favorite…I prefer to skin them myself, though, and the meat from the babies are so tender.”
His eyes widened with shock. “You kill and eat…baby bunnies?”
She giggled. He really didn’t get her sense of humor. “I’m kidding, Brad. Bunny chow is a truly Indian South African treat. It’s a quarter loaf of unsliced bread and you hollow out the middle so that it’s like a bowl made of bread, and you stuff it with curry, or whatever you want really, and then you shove that piece back on top. It’s quite a meal.”
He gave a sheepish smile. “You keep catching me with these weird jokes of yours. I don’t think I like them very much…but…” He was shy again. “I like you. It’s weird that you’re leaving tomorrow. I feel like I want to get to know you better…and now I won’t get a chance.”
It was strange to hear him say that so openly. So not all boys were like Kevin. Some were really sweet, yet still Brad held no appeal for her. What was wrong with her? She must have acquired a taste for assholes. It was a little awkward, because she didn’t feel the same and couldn’t think of anything to say in response to that.
She nodded towards the living room. “Do you wanna dance?”
“Sure,” he said, following her out of the kitchen.
She found Megan and April dancing on the coffee table in the living room. They were already wasted. Jasmin had another beer and Brad made strawberry daiquiris for everyone. Megan gulped hers down in a few seconds, but Jasmin could only stomach half. She didn’t like the taste. Though, despite the alcohol, she still found it impossible to loosen up. She danced and talked and socialized with the new people she’d met, but the argument from earlier had her wound up pretty tight. So much for having fun.
She thought about asking Brad to take her back to the motel a few times, yet she couldn’t find the will to say the words. Back at the motel was a man who didn’t want anything to do with herand here there were people who actually seemed to enjoy her company.
April hopped off the table and came to stand beside her. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Seems like your mood has dipped since the rodeo.”
“I could be better.”
“Guy trouble.” She stated it like she knew it for a fact. “I know how you feel. I broke up with my boyfriend a week ago and I feel like shit.”
Jasmin gave half a smile. April knew exactly how she felt.
“Let’s ditch this party,” April suggested. “You wanna come over to my house? We’ll have a sleepover and eat donuts and hate on men all night. What do you say?”
Jasmin gave it some thought. She didn’t want to ditch Brad when he’d been so nice to her, but a sleepover and some girl time sounded so much more appealing. “When do we leave?”
November, 24
Amarillo, Texas
Sunshine peeked through the thin curtains and she still wasn’t back. He’d called her over and over again and she didn’t answer. He didn’t know where she was, what she was doing, who she was with. It was torture.
The empty hours were slowly causing him to crumble. He couldn’t take it anymore. The only thoughts racing through his mind was her with another guy, thoughts of Brad touching her and kissing her. A few nights ago he was the only man who knew what that felt like and he wanted all of it, all of her for himself. But then he’d pushed—pushed her right into the arms of another man. It was his fault. Everything was his fault.
Midday came rolling in and more of his calls went unanswered. All he got was one text that said: I’m fine. She never stopped talking and now they were down to two words. She’d been nothing but nice to him and he was an asshole every single time. He wanted her to back off because she didn’t need the shit that he came with, but all he did was hurt her over and over again.
This was a problem. Jasmin was a problem. She didn’t realize that she made him want things that he didn’t deserve to have. She made him care too much when he should be dead inside. She made him want to move past the pain when he should be stuck in it for eternity. He didn’t want to feel any of that, but now she was just there and he couldn’t get rid of her because every time he tried, he hurt himself even more.
