Page 90 of Take A Number
“I didn’t do that. Your fucking new boyfriend here did.”
“Dean,” Norah growls and stands up, setting her champagne down before grabbing me by the hand and yanking me toward the front door, leaving Nate and Lala behind.
Her grip on my hand is a friendship hold, not a waffle hold. I didn’t even know what the fuck those stupid terms were until this woman came into my life. And now, that’s all she wants from me…a friendship hold. The churning in my belly has me regretting all those beers I had tonight.
She pulls me outside into the darkness, and the blue lights from the interior beer signs illuminate her angelic face.God, she’s pretty.
“What are you trying to do, Dean?”
“I’m trying to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“’Cuz I need to know what’s going on with you.”
“You don’t need to know, Dean. It’s none of your business.”
“It is my business because you and I are friends.”
She flinches at that term and closes her eyes tightly as she shakes her head. “We were friends…maybe…although honestly, that’s not true because friends don’t treat each other the way you treated me in your house on Sunday morning.”
Her words hit me right in the guts, and I groan while running a hand through my hair. “Norah, I’m sorry about that. You have no idea how sorry I am.”
“Sorry doesn’t mean anything, Dean, because I fell for you, and you rejected me. I can’t stay friends with a guy who rejected me. I’m not like Kate and Lynsey. I can’t get over it and stay friends.”
“You’re nothing like Kate and Lynsey,” I groan, my head pounding at that realization. “You’re…special.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t give me theyou’re special speechafter you showed up here with Lala. It’s all hot air with you. It’s all that stupid flirting you did with me in the bakery, back when I was Luke Danes and you were Lorelai Gilmore.”
“Wait…I thought I was Luke.”
“No, I’m the bakery owner, I’m Luke.”
“Why do I have to be the girl?”
“Because you’re the colorful, plucky patron who blows in like a freaking storm. You mess everything up, and you leave a wake of destruction behind you.”
“What about you, Norah?” I snap, irritated that I’m taking all the blame here. “You said all that shit to me in my house and totally blindsided me with talk of marriage and babies.”
“I was speaking hypothetically,” she cries loudly, throwing her arms out dramatically. “I wasn’t telling you I wanted to marry you. God, we hadn’t been together that long. I was speaking candidly to afriendabout the fact that my priorities have changed, and I’m open to more now.”
I nod slowly, my eyes narrowing. “So, because of that, you’re letting your mother play matchmaker? You’re gonna be out there dating guys like Douche Curb? Am I going to start seeing you on Pearl Street every night now?”
“I guess so.” She shrugs helplessly. “I liked having a boyfriend, fake or real…so the idea of sharing my life with someone doesn’t sound so bad. You have Lala, so why can’t I find someone too?”
I scowl, anger bubbling up inside me. “So, because you want a serious relationship, you have to cut me out of your business and your life?”
She nods and makes a noise in her throat. “That’s the way the croinut crumbles, Dean.”
“No…no. This isn’t fucking fair, Norah.” I take a couple of steps away from her to get some air, some perspective. “We promised each other we could do this. We had an agreement, and you broke that agreement.”
“And you ripped up my contract today, so I guess we’re both shitty at business,” she seethes.
My jaw clenches with frustration. “I hate this. I hate that you’re here with him. You deserve better than him, Norah.”
