Page 60 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

He sinks down on the couch. “I got time.”

“Okay, but don’t tell her I told you this. I’m only telling you because I need some advice about how to handle this.”

I tell him what Trina’s ex said to her this morning and how she agreed to give him time to figure things out.

“She really thinks he still loves her?” Cole says.

“Yeah, she’s convinced he wants to continue where they left off. Get married. Have kids. Live happily ever after.”

He shakes his head. “That really sucks. I feel bad for her.”

“Me too, but there’s nothing I can do. She didn’t believe me when I told her guys don’t break up with a girl they love and want to marry.”

“You could’ve worded it better. What you said was kind of harsh.”

“I didn’t say those exact words, but really, there’s no easy way to say it. And why sugarcoat it? She needs to know the guy is lying. He doesn’t love her. Maybe he used to, but he doesn’t now.”

“He could still marry her,” Cole says. “I know guys who married girls they don’t love.”

“Like who?”

“My cousin. He dated this girl for a week and got her pregnant so he married her. He didn’t love her. And this guy on my hockey team married a girl he didn’t love just so his parents would stop nagging him to get married. I’m just saying, there’s a lot of reasons people get married. It’s not always about love.”

“So why would this guy marry Trina if it wasn’t about love?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he thinks she’d be a good mom, or take care of the house, or cook for him. ”

“You’re saying he wants a maid, a cook, and someone to raise his kids?” I huff. “Yeah, that sounds like him. She can’t marry that guy. She shouldn’t even be talking to him.”

“Why do you care? Why are you getting involved in this?”

“Because she’s got a lot going for her. I’d hate to see her throw her life away for that asshole.”

“It’s her choice. If that’s what she wants, then—”

“But why would she want that? She could do so much better. She needs to go out with a guy who’s better than her ex so she can see what a mistake it would be to go back to him.”

“You got a guy in mind?” Cole asks, grinning at me.

“I was talking hypothetically. Trina won’t go on a date. Not after her ex told her to wait for him.”

“What ifyoutook her out?”

“I’m not asking her out,” I say, like he’s crazy for even suggesting it. “She’s my tenant.”

“There’s no law saying you can’t date your tenant. And it doesn’t have to be a date. You could take her out as a friend. It sounds like she hasn’t spent much time around guys. If she did, she’d see what an ass her boyfriend is.”

“Not if all his friends are just like him.”

“True, I didn’t think about that. Hey, you know what you should do? Invite her to one of your parties. The guys there aren’t assholes. I’m not saying they’re perfect, but they’re a lot better than her ex.”

“She won’t be able to tell that just by meeting them at a party.”

“Then have her hang out with us. You, me, Hudson, Marc, Grant. We could convince her to leave her ex.”

The guys he listed off are all good friends of mine. They live in the building.

“That’s not going to work. She still loves her ex. She won’t be comparing him to other guys because, in her mind, he’s the guy she’s going to marry. There’s no one else.”

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