Page 14 of Somebody To Love

“Fine.”

She folded her arms and I felt a little bad that she was angry with me, but then I remembered that she wasn’t my peer, she was my niece. It was my job to keep her safe and all that mattered was that she was safe. Even if she were mad at me.

I hated when she was mad at me though. “Hey, listen, I’ll buy you a whole pack of Snickers if you stop being mad at me, deal?” I was such a pushover.

Meredith loved Snickers. “Deal,” she said happily.

“I can’t believe I’m bribing you with Snickers.”

“Me neither. This is great.”

Sighing to myself in resignation, I pulled up to the nearest gas station and was about to get out when Meredith grabbed my arm.

“Isn’t that Brock?” she asked pointing in the direction of the gas station’s lobby which was clearly displayed courtesy of the windows that lined the building. It was definitely Brock. He was in the gas station buying a case of beer.

“Yeah, that is Brock—what does he need with a whole case of—”

I abruptly stopped as a woman appeared by his side. She leaned her chest against his arm and then stood on her tiptoes and whispered something in Brock’s ear. He smiled down at her and she smiled back. Clearly, she had whispered something naughty. She kissed him then and I recognized her as one of the other hotel guests.

I was done. I’d seen enough. Feeling numb, I pulled out of the gas station. I could feel Meredith’s eyes on me but I didn’t say a word. What could I say? I was an imbecile.

I was stupid. So stupid. Brock had been playing me the whole time. I bet his game was sleeping with women who came alone to the resort. A librarian. Ha. What a liar. What a dirty dirty liar.

“Umm, auntie, you’re speeding.”

Immediately, I slowed down and said softly, “Thank you.”

She looked at me from the corner of her eyes and I sighed, “I guess I’ll get you those candy bars tomorrow.”

“It’s cool,” she said looking again at me with concern. “Do you think that girl was his girlfriend?”

I didn’t bother beating around the bush. “I’ve seen her around the hotel. I think that’s his game. He dates all the single women who come here, sad and lonely. Gosh, I sure know how to pick them.”

“It’s not your fault,” Meredith said. “Sometimes guys do stupid things.”

“Yeah,” I said softly. But I blamed myself. I had picked wrong, again. I held back tears. I didn’t want Meredith to see me cry. Clearing my throat, I said, “Mind if we head back home tonight?”

“No. I kind of think we should.”

“You sure you won’t be upset?”

She shook her head. “I think we should just probably leave.”

I didn’t need any more convincing as I headed to the hotel, all the while trying not to get upset. First Jerry, now Brock. Why did I keep picking the wrong guy? Or better yet, why did the wrong guy always pick me?

Chapter Three

“Thanks for taking Meredith with you. She had a great time,” Dana said again for the billionth time. She had been thanking me for at least a week already.

“It’s no problem. We had fun.”

She side-eyed me and I knew she wanted to talk about what happened, but I was too embarrassed. I’m sure Meredith had filled her in.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nope. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Well—”