“Seriously, the guy was gorgeous,” she says again. “But you acted like you weren’t interested. Why?”
The truth is, I told him no twice before Shelby strolled up to the counter, but Cole wouldn’t stop asking. I only said yes to get him to leave. I certainly don’t have any intention of calling him. I’ve never had good experiences with dating and romance. My last boyfriend broke up with me because I wouldn’t sleep with him. He didn’t seem to understand it’s my choice to make. Not his.
To be honest, I’ve never had a good experience with men. Most are disappointing. So, I’ve pretty much opted out of dating, choosing to focus on my education instead. I’m planning to be a child psychologist, and my course load and training are both pretty demanding. And it’s not like I have a lot of time for boys anyway.
“He was gorgeous, girl,” Shelby says, tapping me on the arm.
“Maybeyoushould go out with him.”
“Give me his card, and I’ll give him a call.”
I laugh and hand his card over. “Sure thing.” I hold it out over the trash can. Shelby stares at it for a moment, a nervous giggle spills from her mouth before she slaps my hand away. I drop the card, and it drops straight down into the trash.
“He didn’t ask me out,” she says. “He askedyouout.”
I give her a look. Shelby and I have been friends since we were kids, and she’s always been all bark, no bite. She poses like she’s this worldly, experienced, sex vixen, but the truth is, she’s as shy around guys as I am. Shelby could have any guy she wanted. She’s gorgeous. She’s intelligent. And she’s a lot more outgoing than I’ve ever been. In a lot of ways, I’m jealous of her and the attention she gets. I feel absolutely ordinary next to her. Then again, I feel ordinary anyway. But it’s ten times worse when I’m with Shelby, and the guys flock to her like bees to honey.
“So? What are you going to wear on your big date?” she asks. “We have to make sure you’re on point. I mean, he works in TV and all, so?—”
“I’m not going out with him.”
“Babe, you need to go out with him.”
“Why?”
“Because you haven’t been out with anybody in like a thousand years,” she says. “It’s time you go out and have some fun.”
“I have fun.”
“That’s debatable,” she snaps. “But if nothing else, you need to get laid.”
“Shelby!” I say as a laugh sprays from my mouth.
She grins. “Babe, if you don’t use it, eventually it’s just going to clam up from disuse. Game over!”
“Oh my God, you are awful.”
“Yeah, but you love me.”
“Do I, though?”
“Yes, you do,” she chirps. “But seriously, you should go out with him.”
“I don’t know. Not feelin’ it, to be honest”
“Babe, he’s gorgeous.”
“You know I don’t care about that stuff.”
“I know. But it doesn’t hurt,” she says with a wink.
A smirk touches my lips, and I shake my head. “I’m not going out with him.”
“Brynn, you seriously need to get out and have some fun,” she says. “You need the company of a good-looking man, if only for a night.”
“Maybe you should take your own advice.”
“I do just fine on my own, thank you,” she says. “But we’re also not talking about me. We’re talking about you here, so stay on topic.”
