1
Paige
“You just walked out on him?”Pippa’s disbelief is easy to detect even over the phone, although her doubt surprises me.
She’s the first to say I’m a loser magnet and sadly, this guy fits the bill.If he’s a deadbeat, I’m interested, or I used to be.Now I’m not so sure.I have numerous stories just like the one I’m sharing with her from tonight.
“Yup.”Wedging the phone between my shoulder and ear, I rummage through my bag on the hunt for my house keys.“First he’s late and then when he finally arrives, he isn’t even seated before he asks me to spot him a twenty for cigarettes.”
“He did not.”
“He did.”
“And that’s when you walked out?”My best friend’s voice climbs a notch with excitement, and I smile, wishing she were here.
My dating disasters thrill her to no end even if she thinks I’ve got bad taste in men.What I’d give to see her bright smile right now, even at my expense.Pippa at my side would make the bust of tonight worth it.
“No.I told him to buy his own cigarettes.I wasn’t giving him a dime.”
“And then you walked out?”
I chuckle at her eagerness.“Nope.I finished the wine I’d ordered while waiting for him to show up.Did I mention that he was thirty-five minutes late?”
“Shit, this guy…did he even try to make it up to you?”
“He apologized.”I wrestle with the door, exasperated at the thought of hissorryand the task at hand.“He even put some effort into it by taking my hand, stroking it while flashing a smile.Pip, you should have seen him.I’m sure he thinks it melts panties.And you know what?”
“You walked out?”
“Nuh-uh.While he was smiling and flirting, it hit me.Something told me that if I hooked up with this guy, he wouldn’t be worth it.I’d end up doing all the work.”
She belts out a laugh.“Oh my God, I love you.And let me guess,thenyou walked out?”
“Yes!”I shake a fist in the air, but I’m not sure if it’s in victory for avoiding further torture from my date or because my stupid front door won’t open.“I left him with the bill for my wine.Bastard.”
“Good for you.Where on earth did you meet him?”
“You don’t want to know.”My forehead lightly bumps the door and I close my eyes.“He was the first guy since Terry.I’m thinking of becoming a nun.”
Terry is my ex-boyfriend of just under a year before I recently broke things off.The icky part was that we had lived together for most of it.I’d moved way too fast with him and once we were over, he wouldn’t leave.
“Aww, babe.While black looks fab on everyone, you really shine with color.”We both snicker and she switches from audio to video—her blue eyes and blonde hair fill my screen and my lips spring into a smile.“Taking a break from the opposite sex isn’t a bad idea, but don’t write off men completely.There’s someone awesome out there for you.”
I snort, jiggling the handle with the key lodged firmly in the unlock position, but nothing budges.“This stupid door!”
My fist slams the brown metal, fed up with dealing with this problem every time I come home.It’s been a long day and an even shittier evening and all I want is to slip off my heels, change into some comfy clothes, and go to bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“This door gives me problems to open.”
Finally, the metal gives way to the weight of my body and I stumble over the threshold while the phone clatters to the wooden floor.
“Pip, sorry.”I bend to pick up the phone and we’re now back to audio.
“Your super needs to fix your door.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”Scowling, I shake my head and turn on the lights in my small kitchen.“I’ve given my landlord a looong list of things to fix.”
