Page 33 of Falling Too Soon
“Yeah, you’re in a bit of a tough situation, son. If she’sas special as you say, you’ll work it out. Don’t give up.” Dad was an eternal romantic despite the heartache he’d experienced.
Brandon chimed in, “Yeah, don’t give up, brother. You’ve got to woo her.”
“Woo her?” Dylan practically choked. “You guys are wild. You met her what, like five days ago? I think you’re still a little cum drunk. There’s no way you have real feelings after five fucking days.”
“Hey, language!” Dad scolded. Even though he had a mouth like a sailor and never censored himself, he still didn’t like us to curse around him, despite the fact we were all grown men.
“Seriously, Dad? You made a pretty foul crack about me and my cat before dinner.”
“Do as I say, not as I do, wiseass.” Dad folded his arms over his chest, signaling that the conversation was over.
“Listen, guys, there was just something about her, and it wasn’t just the S. E. X.” I spelled the last word for dramatic effect. My dad was not amused and rolled his eyes at me to let me know.
Brandon continued, “Yes, woo her. You’re a romance author for crying out loud. I’m sure you can come up with some sort of grand gesture to win her over.”
He’s right. I’d written so many grand gestures and happily ever afters. Surely, I could come up with a way to get the girl.
30
DAPHNE
My head was pounding. I really needed to lay off the booze. After I hung up the phone with Marcus, I was on a mission to forget. To forget about Marcus, to forget about Nathan, and to forget about all the things that were looming over me at the moment. Like, where was I going to live? How would I tell my parents what happened? Could I avoid Marcus completely at work?
Ugh. I rolled over on Lexi’s couch and peeled my eyes open. The blaring sunlight shot directly into my eyes through the open living room curtains. Yeah, this was not going to work long-term, but it was still nice to be under the same roof as my bestie. I craved her support now more than ever, although I definitely couldn’t continue to drink like that every day.
After I extricated myself from the couch, I made my way into Lexi’s room and collapsed on the bed next to her.She grunted. Her displeasure at being disturbed was clear. “Why, bitch, why? It’s too fucking early,” she whined.
“Yeah, well next time, don’t leave me on the couch with the shades open. I think I’m blind,” I joked, nudging her in the ribs. “Anyway, we’re up now. Let’s go get some breaky.”
“Ugh, why do you hate me?” She rolled over and buried her head under her pillow. “Fiiiine, but you’re buying.” She eventually relented and dragged her ass to the bathroom to start the process of getting ready.
While she was busy, I started some coffee, which I immediately regretted since it made me think of the last few mornings with Nathan. Great, now freaking coffee was ruined for me. What’s next? The things he did to my body and the way he made me feel, I’d never felt like that with anyone else. Did he ruin sex for me, too?Perfect.
I was standing in front of the coffeemaker, lost in thought, when Lexi came up behind me. “You okay?” she asked as she put a hand on my arm, startling me.
“Fuck Lexi, don’t do that,” I gasped. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.” I poured us each a coffee. “I’ll go get ready, and then we can get out of here. I’m starving.” My stomach growled as if on cue.
The twenty-four-hour diner down the street from Lexi’s was our favorite place in the city. We’d go there at all hours, before work, after work, after the bars, and in the mornings for breakfast on a day off. Max’s Diner was not only a favorite of ours, but at any given time, you could find one or more of our coworkers popping in to grab a coffee or a mealsince it was also close to the hospital. Thankfully, the one person who I could almost guarantee I wouldn’t see was Marcus. Max’s was beneath him, I guessed, but that was perfectly okay with me. He’s the last person I wanted to deal with.
Max greeted us as we walked in, as usual. I often wondered if this woman ever slept or if she even had a home away from the diner. She seemed to always be there, but she never seemed annoyed by that fact. She was always pleasant and welcoming, although I’d seen her hold her own when the late-night crowd would get rowdy and she had to intervene.
“Hey, girls. Just the two of you today?” she asked, waving two menus in our direction.
“Yeah, Max, thanks.” I nodded and followed her to a booth by the windows.
“Coffees?” Were we that predictable?
“You know it,” Lexi chimed in as I examined the menu, as if I’d order anything but my usual. Max’s had the best shit on a shingle in the city, and there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d order anything else. Max returned with our drinks, took our orders, and then retreated to the kitchen.
“Okay, first things first.” I cleared my throat. “I need to find a place to live. As much as I appreciate staying with you, I can’t sleep on your couch forever. I want something close, though. If I could walk to work and to your place, that would be ideal.”
“Yeah, I need you to stay close. I didn’t like Marcus’s place. It was too far.” Lexi pouted.
“Too far? It was like a ten-minute drive.”
Lexi laughed, “Yeah, I hate driving. That’s why I live close to work, duh.”
“I definitely want to stay close, but I may have to be open to…” My eyes bulged and my words caught in my throat. Lexi immediately caught on and whipped her head around to see what I was looking at.
