Page 24 of Be With Me

Tyler kept walking. He didn’t even look up.

She called him again when he was only about five feet from us. He didn’t respond, just walked past without so much as a glance. I grabbed her arm and pulled her the rest of the way across the street. We both stopped and turned, watching him walk away.

“Was he wearing ear buds or something?” Stef asked.

I tried to hide the hurt I was feeling. “Not that I saw.”

“Well, then what the hell?”

“Maybe he was just deep in thought, and with all the construction and cars and people—”

Stef cut off my words with a look. “Don’t make excuses for him. That was a complete douchebag move.”

I turned away from the sight of his retreating form. “Yeah. It kinda was.”

We exchanged the same “fuck him” look, and continued on to the restaurant, a little place we both loved that served just about anything you could think of in a wrap.

Much as I hated to admit it, Tyler’s snub had hurt. More than it should. And as much as I tried to defend his actions to myself—there were so many people and cars and buses and maybe he had those cordless earbuds in or something—the truth was it hurt that he hadn’t been aware of me. Like, at all. I mean, both Stef and I had been right in front of him. She’d practically blocked his path in the middle of the intersection, and he’d sidestepped her without even glancing up.

Yummy smells, bustling wait staff, and the clink of silverware accosted me as we entered the restaurant and my stomach growled in accord, distracting me from my troubles. Grabbing a table in the corner, we both ordered tea and a vegetarian wrap. Once the waitress had left, I pushed Tyler from my mind and tried to get more information out of Stef about our mysterious shopping trip.

“So, come on. You’re not seriously gonna keep holding out on me about the dress after I was publicly dumped in the middle of downtown Seattle.”

She grinned as the waitress returned and set our teas down. “You weren’t dumped. You were ignored. Besides, how could you be dumped? You’re not even dating.” She took a sip of her tea. “Yet.”

“Try ‘never’ if today is any indication.”

Stef looked past me, her forehead screwed up in deep thought. “Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt, ‘lee. I’ve never known Tyler to be an asshole.”

“Until today.”

“Maybe he had a good reason to be so obtuse. Maybe his mom is sick or something.”

I pulled my own tea toward me and took a sip. “He’s adopted. Well, fostered. Did you know that? Spent a year in foster homes until one family finally kept him.”

“No shit.” Stefanie obviously didn’t know this piece of history about her favorite model. “I just don’t understand how a mother could give up a child, unless it’s under extenuating circumstances.” I could see her imagination running wild as her inner author took over. “Makes me wonder why his birth mom made that choice.”

“Me too, but I didn’t ask. And he told me he didn’t really know much about where he came from. Only that he was born somewhere in the Middle East.”

“That would explain his gorgeous skin and smoldering dark eyes.”

Even though I’d thought the same thing myself more than a few times, I had to laugh. “Smoldering?”

“Girl, you know they smolder. It’s hard to hold it together watching him pose for the camera. I don’t know how he does it.” She paused and looked away, her face scrunched up in deep thought. “Oh, wait. Yes, I do. It’s because he’s looking at you, the woman he’s lusting for who won’t give it up.”

Our meals arrived and we temporarily put our conversation on hold while we shoveled it in as fast as we could. Stef and I both had no shame in our eating game. When I felt like my stomach wasn’t touching my backbone anymore, I took a drink and stared at Stef with my fork hovering over my food. “You really think I’m being stupid for making such a big deal out of this whole age thing?”

“Yes,” she told me without hesitation. Then she grabbed a French fry.

I set down what was left of my wrap and brushed my hands together, my appetite suddenly gone. “Don’t beat around the bush, Stef. Tell me how you really feel.”

The waitress came over to check on us, saving me from whatever smartass remark she was about to make. “This is all a moot point,” I told her when the she left again. “You saw him. Not thirty minutes ago he completely ignored me. I mean, I practically brushed shoulders with him. There’s no way he didn’t see us. And,” I continued when she opened her mouth to put in her two cents. “I haven’t heard a word from him in almost a week. Not a text. Not a quick phone call. A dick pic. Nothing.”

“Would you really want a dick pic?”

“Of course not. That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?”

---