Page 1 of The Wrong Bachelor

1

Madison

My boyfriend had a death wish.

And if he kept making excuses about why he’d forgotten to pick up me up, leaving me stranded in the rain, there was a strong chance I’d be granting that wish.

“Where were you Saturday night?” I had already asked the question twice. I’d always thought that Jake was pretty smart for a football player, but right now he was looking at me with blank eyes and truly embracing the dumb-jock stereotype. I wasn’t usually an angry person, but the way he kept stalling made me want to punch him.

“Saturday night…” His voice hovered over the words, dragging them out like he’d been given a lobotomy and had forgotten how to speak. He glanced around at the school parking lot, and I couldn’t figure out if he was looking for someone or searching for an escape. It was still early though, and there was barely anyone at school—unfortunately for him.

I’d been silent the whole drive to school this morning, working up the courage to ask him about the weekend, and now all my questions were spilling out of me in a nervous, angry rush.

“You were supposed to pick me up from work,” I said. The fury in my voice had quickly evaporated, and my tone was now clearly tinged with sadness. I wasn’t very good at playing the angry girlfriend.

His eyes finally found mine again as realization dawned on him. “Aw, I’m sorry, Madi. I completely forgot.”

“I waited for over an hour,” I said. “I tried calling you a hundred times, but you never answered. I had to walk home in the rain.”

He rubbed his face, guilt flaring in his eyes. “Madi, I didn’t realize. I would never leave you stranded.”

Except he did.

“So, where were you?” I asked, trying to get to the point of the whole horrid conversation. “And why didn’t you return any of my calls yesterday?”

He swallowed, licking his lips as if they’d suddenly become dry. “I was out with the guys on Saturday,” he finally admitted. “And I dropped my phone.” He pulled his battered phone out of his pocket as proof. The screen had shattered into a thousand different pieces. “I was going to talk to Skip today to see if he could fix it for me.”

I stared at the phone, trying to process his explanation. “That doesn’t change the fact you forgot about me…” I said, peering back up at him.

He met my gaze and nodded. “I know, and I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

I let out an uneasy breath. It wasn’t the first time Jake had let me down, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. I knew he often got caught up in the moment when he was hanging out with his friends though, and his broken phone seemed like proof enough of why I ended up stranded.

“Forgive me?” he asked. “You know I’d forget my own name if my mom hadn’t sewn it on all my socks.”

“I’ll think about,” I said. Jake's joke caused a small smile to light my lips. I tried to hide it, but I knew it was too late.

He shook his head at me and grinned before pulling me in and smacking a slobbery lingering kiss against my cheek.

“How about now?” he asked.

“Jake!” I squealed. “That’s disgusting!’

He laughed before planting another kiss on my other cheek. “I can do this all day, Mads,” he said.

“All right, all right, you’re forgiven,” I conceded.

He let me go and smiled down at me smugly. I could only shake my head at him. I’d never been good at holding a grudge against Jake, and he totally knew it.

He slung an arm over my shoulder, and we walked into the school together. It was like everything had magically returned to normal. Jake was smiling so freely that it was almost impossible to believe we’d been fighting just minutes before.

His friends were all crowded around his locker when we arrived, and the moment Jake saw them his arm dropped from around me, and he went to join them. I didn’t even get a goodbye. It was hardly unusual, but today it upset me for some reason. As I watched him bump fists with the guys in greeting, a queasy, uncertain feeling returned to my stomach. I’d told Jake I’d forgiven him; why hadn’t my stomach got the memo?

I started toward my locker, trying to ignore how ill I suddenly felt. Jake was a good guy, but sometimes he seemed to fail at also being a good boyfriend. I cared about him a lot, but deep down I was beginning to worry that we weren’t right for each other. We were probably just going through a rough patch, and everything would be fine given a little time—at least, that’s what I was hoping.

I felt a hand touch my elbow and let out a breath as Hayley linked her arm with mine. Her long, brown hair was up in a ponytail today, and she was wearing one of her signature school outfits—cute wedges, a denim skirt and a white tank top. There was so much concern in my best friend’s hazel eyes, and she was giving me a hesitant smile, as though she wasn’t sure what mood I was in. I couldn’t even begin to verbalize how relieved I felt to have her at my side.

“How did things go with Jake this morning?” she asked.

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