Page 15 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“Is your name actually Romeo, or do you just think you’re a Romeo?”
He put his hand on the bar and leaned closer to me. “Both.”
I held up my glass—cranberry juice and Sprite, because I’d had a feeling I’d be driving home. “I’m good, thanks.”
The guy didn’t even look old enough to be buying drinks, which just made me feel old. And only the tiniest bit flattered.
“I get you. You playin’ it cool. Let me guess, you’re one of those uptight gals. All wound up. Let Romeo unwind you.”
“Okay, you can move on now. Thanks for playing.” I glanced over at Drew, who had his arm around the redhead.
Romeo looked back at his friends, seeming unsure whether he’d been rejected or not.
I waited for him to get the hint.
When he didn’t, I leveled my eyes on him. “Look, if you’re worried about saving face, you can tell your friends I have a boyfriend or that I’m meeting you later or whatever you want. But I’m not interested.”
He lowered his head and walked off.
Some people might think that was mean. Whatwouldbe mean was if I let him waste his whole night on me. Drew had taught me that. He said hint once, then be brutal if they didn’t get it. Some of my girlfriends had guys hanging around not just for a night, but weeks—months even—because they didn’t want to be mean.
Romeo’s head perked up when another girl walked into the bar. He walked past his friends’ table and over to talk to her. See, he’d recovered just fine. In fact, I did him a favor because he might actually have a chance with that girl.
The girl smiled. Romeo put his arm around her and led her to the bar.
Looks like Romeo found his Juliet.
Now there’s a story for you. I used to think there was something so lovely, so powerful aboutRomeo and Juliet. To be so much in love that you were willing to die for it. Now that I’m older and wiser, I can’t help thinking the lovers jumped the gun—or dagger, in Juliet’s case. The two of them barely knew each other. If they’d just played the relationship out a bit, they’d probably find that they didn’t even like each other all that much.
“Hey, is this seat taken?” a guy asked.
I looked at him, contemplating my answer. He was cute, and maybe he—
“Because my friend needs a place to sit and there’s not enough stools at our table.”
That put my ego back where it belonged. Karma must’ve been getting me back for dissing Romeo. “Go ahead.”
As he dragged the stool away, I turned my attention back to my empty glass.
I should’ve brought my headphones so I could at least listen to my audiobook.
Thinking about my book reminded me of my embarrassing encounter with Jake yesterday. I’d been standing there holding that stupid book on bondage, and he’d just flashed his perfect smile at me, melting my resistance to him even as embarrassment burned through me. I heard his voice in my head.It’s okay to admit that you were stalking me.
For a brief second, I was tempted to break my rules, to see what going out with him would be like. Then I remembered the last time I’d had my heart broken and came to my senses. The rules had gotten me this far.
…
I climbed out of Drew’s truck and pocketed his keys. Since he’d gotten a little tipsy, I’d driven his giant Dodge Ram back to my place. “So, did you find a lust connection with the redhead?”
“Lust, yes,” Drew said as we headed across the parking garage toward the elevator. “She was funny, too, so I’ll be giving her a call. What about the guy you were talking to at the end of the night?”
“He was nice, and I needed someone to chat with, since you left me stranded.” I gave him a mock dirty look. “But after talking to him for a while, I knew we’d never go anywhere. I gave him a fake number. If he calls, he’ll be able to order the best pizza in the city, so at least there’s a possible consolation prize.”
“Cold.”
I pushed the up button on the elevator and the doors opened. “Hey, you’re the one who said you have to stab the knife in deep enough for them to get the point.” Drew and I stepped into the elevator and I pushed the five button. “And I quote, ‘Otherwise they waste months taking you out, spending all their money on you, when they have no chance. That’s far crueler than rejecting them. So you don’t scrape or barely poke, you jab hard enough to pierce the heart.’”
“I forgot about telling you that. I should probably take my own advice.” He held up his phone. “Five missed calls from Michelle. Apparently, I didn’t go deep enough for her to get the point.”
