Page 76 of Love Undecided
"Are you drunk?" he asks.
"Pfft. No. But I'm working on it. Wanna join us?"
"Some of us work for a living."
"I work—“
"Save it. He returned Madison Taylor, she's in the hospital. It's looking like the same MO. But he's got a third girl, Makayla Jones. Got her with the puppy at the park routine if you can fucking believe it. I gotta go. Call me when you sober up."
And then he hangs up on me. I try to call him back, but he sends me to voicemail, all three times. I try googlingMadison Taylor returnedon my phone, but nothing pops up. Then I tryMakayla Jones kidnapped, and strike out again. I give Bauer one last chance to answer his phone when I call. Three strikes and I'm out.
This isn't even my job.
Or my concern.
Or my problem.
I go back to my seat in the barrel room, share more wine and popcorn with Lexie, finish watching one of my favorite movies and shoot death glares at the back of Stacy's head.
* * *
Alex and Remi give me a ride home after the movie, I make Remi ride in the backseat with me so that I feel better about my third wheel status. She wastes no time in grilling me about Brad. “So, what was up with you and the Sexy Ex?”
“What do you mean? Nothing was up.”
“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, you were freaked the fuck out when he walked in. Then you couldn’t take your eyes off him all night. Then you announced to the entire barrel room that he’s hunky.”
I sigh a great big heavy ‘I regret everything I’ve done over the past three hours’kind of sigh. “Yeah, that didn’t go down exactly the way I was hoping it would.”
“It’s okay to still be hung up on him, you know.”
“I’m not, though. That’s just it. Or at least I don’t think I am. But the other day when I was fantasizing about fucking Bauer, Brad popped into my head and now I can’t stop thinking about him.”
She starts choking and laughing at the same time. “You were fantasizing about fucking Chance Bauer??!!”
“Yes. Don’t judge me.”
“I won’t judge you, but I will start to doubt your taste in men.”
“Says the girl who dry humped him in front of an entire rugby party,” I whisper harshly.
“Touché,” she whispers back.
Alex clears his throat loudly. “Uh, ladies, just a reminder that I am in the car.”
“Sorry, Alex!” I say.
Remi’s mouth drops open in shock. She looks at me accusingly.
I continue, at a lower voice, “I invited Brad to lunch so I can remind him that it’s never going to work between us, then he can move on and marry Stacy and I can move on and get cancer again and die or something.”
“I gotta say Kat, I’m kind of amazed you haven’t done that yet.”
“What? Died or talked to Brad?”
She rolls her eyes at me.
I continue, “It’s not exactly easy to crush someone’s hopes you know. Again. Deliberately. And again.”
