Page 34 of Crave

“Six—”

“Enough. You are beautiful on the inside and out. He’d be a fool not to realize that, and he ain’t no fool. Go, listen and enjoy. Stop getting in your own way. Now, for the final piece.” She puts a floral headband around my head. It’s a small band with light pink, white, and green flowers all around it.

“Thanks, Tash,” I say as I admire the headband in the mirror.

“You’re welcome. I can’t believe you said you’d meet him at five o’clock. Those are some old people hours.” She shakes her head as she puts my collection of headbands back in their proper place.

“Since it’s not a date, it doesn’t matter. I’ll hear him out, but that’s it. I’m not looking for anything complicated in my life right now. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.” Since it’s unseasonably warm for April in Boston, I grab a pair of neutral open toe wedges and slide my feet into them, completing my outfit.

“Right,” Tash says, unconvinced. “Listen, none of that stuff that happened with Derek was your fault. You know the saying ‘the hearts wants what it wants?’ Well, the heart also knows what it doesn’t want. You didn’t love him, and that’s okay. You can’t force or will those types of feelings into existence. When your heart finds the one, you’ll know. Take it from me, okay? You can put up all the walls you want, but when you find that special person, he’ll tear all of them down.” I look away, unable to respond to her speech, but she grabs my face with both hands. “Put Derek behind you and move on.” I shake my head, unwilling to let any tears fall and ruin the makeup my sister lovingly applied. I force a smile and nod, and she hugs me tight.

“You better leave so you’re not late for your early bird dinner. Where are you meeting?” I give her the name of a restaurant that’s about a fifteen minute drive.

“Fancy,” she says. “Go on! I want details when you get back.”

“Seven, I think he’s rich, Tash. Like old money, my ancestors arrived on the Mayflower type of rich.”

“Rich? Oh, my god! The horror!” she says, feigning outrage.

CHAPTER 8

JAKE

“Who’s the woman in the relationship? You or Dee?” JD asks as he plops his ass on my kitchen counter. I ignore him as I design the pink and white roses in the basket. “You can’t just have some flowers delivered to her?”

“That’s why you’re still single, JD. You have no imagination.” I stick one last white rose into the foam base I placed in the basket and step back to admire my work. I add a few more pieces of green to balance out the flowers, but something’s still missing. I add a few more roses and some baby’s breath to finish it off.

“WhyI’mstill single? Last time I checked, Dr. Phil, you’ve been single for five years. You haven’t even had so much as a date,” he reminds me.

“By choice. What’s your excuse?”

“I’ve had several girlfriends in the past five years.”

“None of them lasted longer than a few months.” I realize I need a few things in the house in case she decides to come home with me. I grab my keys. “I need wine for later. You up for a trip to the store?”

“Since I don’t have a vagina, the answer to that question would be a firm no. I’ll head out when you leave to go meet Dee.” He hops off the counter and turns on Sports Center as I walk out of the house.

Realizing that I’m short on time, I turn into the Stop and Shop parking lot instead of taking the longer ride to Whole Foods.

“Shit,” I say out loud when I realize I still need to get home and shower before I have to meet Sandy. I make it to where the flowers are kept and find the baby’s breath.

If the dinner goes as planned and Sandy agrees to come back to my place, I’ll need more than just wine. I grab a basket and hurry to the produce department, where I find a fruit tray. I turn the corner to go find the wine. With the limited selection, I grab a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and a Riesling.

I turn back towards the front of the store and almost lose a step when I see a familiar face. At least I think she’s familiar. I take a few more steps and sneak a peek at her face. It’s her. Samantha.

A tall brunette from four years ago. My parents wanted all of us to go to the summer house on the Vineyard to celebrate the Fourth of July and my maternal grandmother’s birthday. I refused to go and be around Troy and Tracy, but Dad showed up at my house and ordered me to go.

“You’re doing this for your mother, Jacob.”

“I don’t want to be around them, Dad. I love Mom, but this is too much. No fucking way am I going to that shit. You can’t just walk in here and order me around like I’m some kid.”

“Stop acting like a goddamn kid and I won’t treat you like one. I hope one day you realize this to be true, but it never would have worked between you two. When you meet who you’re meant to be with, I want you to remember this conversation, but Son, this isn’t about you. Your grandmother is sick. She might not know who any of us are in a year, so you damn well better be sure you’re going to be there for her party this year. Don’t make me come and drag you by your hair. Pack your shit and be there by the third.” Without another word, he leaves, slamming the door behind him, leaving me furious.

In the end, I went for my mother’s sake, and Dad was right. Grandma declined soon after and was in a home by her next birthday, unaware of who any of her children and grandchildren were.

I didn’t go to the Cape on the third as Dad instructed. I went on the first and paid a fortune for the last suite at the Inn at Cape Cod. It was there that I met Samantha. Three nights of booze, sex, and marijuana. She provided the marijuana and brought a friend to my room, a redhead who was about fifty pounds overweight. I woke up the next morning naked, sandwiched between the two, condoms scattered about the room.

The first lesson I learned that day was never to be the one to invite the other person to your room. I was stuck until I could get them the fuck out. The second was that if you spend more than one night with a woman, she’ll have expectations. Case in point, when I woke them up an hour later so they could get the fuck out, Samantha asked me whether we should meet at the lobby before heading out to my parents' party together.

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