Page 9 of Forecheck
“Because I’m right?” I said, though I wasn’t entirely convinced I was. “He’sBrent Jean, Ames. What could he possibly want with me?”
“Why don’t you play along and find out instead of outright dismissing the idea?” Kimber said from my other side, shooting me a glare when I met her eyes.
Before I could launch a counter argument, my phone pinged again.
@Brent22Jean: I don’t know how I could be talking about anyone else.
“Damn, he’s smooth,” Amelia said.
“Lots of practice,” I quipped.
@BerkDaniels: So why didn’t you ask for my name or number at the bar the other night?
@Brent22Jean: You ran away before I could.
@BerkDaniels: Psh, I didn’t run away. My friend wanted to leave.
@Brent22Jean: A likely excuse.
@Brent22Jean: We should get a drink sometime. I’ll make it up to you ??
I snorted. “He can’t be serious.”
I could feel Amelia’s gaze on the side of my face like a brand against my cheekbone before she ever spoke. “If he wasn’t serious, then why bother talking to you?”
I met her eyes then, and Amelia gave me a look that said,don’t be stupid.
“Boredom,” I answered with a shrug, affecting a nonchalance I didn’t feel.
Unfortunately, these two women knew me too well.
“Stop selling yourself short,” Kimber said. “Why are you acting like this? It’s not cute.”
“No,” I said, ignoring her question. “What’s not cute is falling for this guy’s games.”
“You don’t know they’re games, Berk. Why don’t you hear him out? What’s the worst that could happen?”
It would be so easy to give in, to do as my friends asked. Any normal woman would.
“I couldn’t even keep a loser like Lee interested,” I said quietly. “What do I possibly have to offer a guy like Brent?”
I dropped my head into my hands, and a warm touch pressed between my shoulder blades, grounding me, telling me my friends were there, by my side, even when I was acting insane.
Which, at the moment, I undoubtedly was.
“Listen to me very carefully, Berkley Daniels, because I’m only going to say this once,” Amelia started. “You are loyal, beautiful, ridiculously smart and talented, and a whole slew of other things that I don’t have all the time in the world to list. You haveeverythingto offer a man like Brent.”
Unable to keep the tears at bay, I sniffed a bit, and Amelia’s hand rubbed circles on my back. When I finally spoke again, my words wobbled. “I just don’t even know if I want to date right now.”
Law school didn’t allow for a lot of free time, and what little I had, I spent trying to decompress. My dating life had taken a backseat to my education, but for good reason. I believed my career would fulfill me in a way a man couldn’t; it certainly would stick around longer.
What could I say? I’d been burned too many times not to feel a little jaded where the opposite sex was concerned.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Kimber said. “He’s not asking you to get married, Berk. It’s just a drink.”
“But drinks could lead to more,” I protested.
“I have an idea,” Amelia said suddenly. “Give me your phone.”
