Page 61 of Falling for the Bad Boy
“Why didn’t you just ask me to make something for you? You know I’d say yes.”
“I know. But you’ve been so busy lately, we haven’t spent any time together. If I’d asked you to whip up a gift for my mom, you would have dropped it off and I’d still be waiting for a girls’ night.” She winced, like she was bracing herself for a good verbal lashing. “Are you mad?”
“Yes.” I reached for my glass. “Why didn’t you just tell me you wanted to grab sushi? You didn’t have to come up with an elaborate plan to trick me into spending time with you.”
Macy wrapped her arms around a throw pillow and pulled it close to her chest. “Didn’t I? You’ve been spending every waking moment at the co-op.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but she flipped her palm out, making me stop.
“Don’t even try to pretend that you haven’t. And you’ve been spending all of your nights with the cute Kiwi bartender. Where does that leave me?” She pushed her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.
“You’re so damn needy. How does Mitchie-poo put up with you?” I eyed her over the salted rim of my cocktail.
“I give really good head.” Macy winked and clinked her glass against mine.
“Well that’s definitely not something you can use to woo me with. But since we’re already here and you obviously aren’t going to be picking up any knitting skills, let’s hit the sushi bar. Sushi Dragon or Dynamite Sushi? Your choice.”
“Yay.” Macy set her drink back on the coffee table and stood. “And while we’re snacking on sashimi you can fill me in on how things are going with Oliver.”
“There’s not much to share. He’s awesome, he’s uber talented in the bedroom, and…”
“And what?”
I took in a deep breath, trying to stop the swell of emotion from rising. “And he’s leaving soon. That’s all there is to say.”
“He still hasn’t found a job?” Macy carried our glasses to the kitchen and set them in the sink.
I followed. “Nope. His professor said he might have a lead on something but so far nothing has panned out. It’s okay though. I knew he wasn’t going to be here forever.”
“I could make some calls, you know. Mitch could reach out to some of his fraternity brothers, and?—”
“That’s okay. I already offered access to your extensive network, and he said he’s more of a small to medium sized business kind of guy. How’s that possible though? If his family has a huge vineyard, you’d think he’d be used to a bigger business.”
“Not necessarily. Maybe they only bottle a certain variety of grape. Have you talked to him much about it? I’d love to find out the name of their vineyard so we can try it. You said they don't export, but I've got friends who know people in the business. Maybe we could get a bootleg bottle.”
I shook my head. “We don’t do a whole lot of talking when we’re together, if you know what I mean.”
“You dirty girl. I knew you’d have more info to share. Come on, let’s head out. Sushi Dragon has happy hour on their rolls for another half hour.” She spun me around to face the direction of the front door.
As I followed Macy out to her SUV, I couldn’t help but think about what she said. Why hadn’t I pressed Oliver for more information? I’d tried to talk to him about his home and his past, but he always seemed to change the subject or silence me by getting physical. I didn’t mind, in fact, talking was often highly overrated. But maybe there was something more I could do to help him find a way to stay.
I preferred to avoid any kind of interaction with my siblings if I could help it, but they were all incredibly well connected. And my dad still belonged to his downtown club. If I put a few feelers out, maybe something would come up that might be a good fit or snag Oliver’s attention. When we first got involved, I didn’t mind the thought of him leaving. It was a foregone conclusion that what we had between us wouldn’t last. His departure date was like the period at the end of a sentence. Something that was coming that would signal the end.
But now I didn’t know if I wanted things with Oliver to come to a close. I’d gotten used to having him around. For the first time in my life, I could picture myself functioning within the confines of a relationship.
“You okay over there?” Macy stopped at a red light and glanced over at me.
“Yeah. I think that margarita may have gone to my head.” I put a hand to my temple.
“You didn’t even drink half of it. Something’s bothering you, now fess up.”
Sometimes it sucked to have someone in my life who knew me so well. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I want Oliver to leave.”
“What?” The light turned green, but Macy didn’t press on the gas. “You can’t be considering the ‘R’ word.”
The car behind us honked. I immediately regretted opening my mouth. “Cut it out. Would you just go?”
Macy eased on the gas and faked a sniffle. “My little girl. Look at you, you’re growing up.”
