“I’m not chasing her,” I reply out of habit, defending my playboy status. I’m totally chasing her, and the worst part—or maybe the best—is I don’t mind at all.
Roxy snorts. “Really? Taking her to events, going to her house, crashing her date…” She brings over two glasses. “How did that go, by the way?”
“Ed fucking Reynolds is an idiot.”
“Agreed.” She clinks her glass with mine. “So why have you been moping?”
“I’m not moping.”
“You’re awfully defensive today about everything. That’s not your jam. Tell me what happened. Was she upset you interrupted her potential lifetime of happiness?”
“Take your drink somewhere else.”
She laughs. “So, remember how you owe me?”
I take a gulp. “What do you want?”
“I want to know what happened.” She leans forward, as if attentive listening is the only thing on her agenda.
“Out of all the things I can make happen for you, you want me to recount that insane moment?”
“Look at that! You’re self-aware enough to recognize you act insane.” She cheers with a smile.
“You really need to live a little.” I take a sip. Perhaps a female perspective won’t hurt. “There is not much to share. She hated the date, she pretended to hate I interrupted it, but after Ed left, we kind of hit it off.”
“What did you do?”
“What the fuck, Roxy? Why would you assume I fucked something up?”
“You’re a self-absorbed man. It’s an easy conclusion to draw.”
“Why am I even talking to you?”
“Okay, okay, what happened?”
“I don’t know. We left the restaurant, and then she suddenly changed her behavior and bolted for a taxi.”
“No explanation?”
I shake my head. “I considered calling her, but I’ve done enough stalking. She just… I don’t know, she saw my bike and—”
“Oh,” Roxy utters knowingly.
“What does that mean?”
“This is not my story to tell…” She takes a sip.
“Well, now you have to tell it.”
“She needs to explain that herself.”
“Is this some sort of female thing I’m not aware of? I really don’t fucking understand what happened. If she is scared of riding a bike, she could have just said so.”
Roxy hums pensively.
“What?”
She shakes her head, refusing to explain.
