Page 30 of Protecting the Boundary
I want them here.
Bothof them.
And I’m not sure what it says about me that despite telling myself over and over again not to feel anything for Meredith, I still feel things for her.
Feelings that might not even matter since I’ve been such a giant dick to her.
TWENTY
An Uber takes me to the club Addy chose for our girls’ night. I use the drive to check my lipstick in my phone’s camera before we pull up and I thank the driver. It feels good to dress up and go out, especially since I desperately needed to get away from Romel’s house.
This girls’ night came at the perfect time. Romel and I have barely talked to each other since our confrontation two nights ago, and the tension is nearly suffocating.
But the worst part is how Kay has pulled back in on herself because of it. She doesn’t say that’s why she’s gotten quiet, but the way she glances at her dad and me for the few minutes that we have to be in the same room together makes it clear she knows something is going on. I hate that she’s being affected, but at the same time, I don’t know how to fix it.
I don’t even know if it’s possible for me to fix it. How do you fix the issue when the issue is that your boss thinks being attracted to you is being unfaithful to his dead wife?
I didn’t learn how to handle this type of situation in college.
When I get inside the venue, I send a text to Addy because this place is packed and I have no idea where she is. She textsme that she’s in a booth in the back, and after pushing through the crowd of bodies, I finally see her standing and waving. I rush over and give her a hug, a smile splitting my face.
“You look amazing! I love this dress,” I say, gushing over the form-fitting red dress that makes her look like an absolute bombshell. Her smile is wide, her blonde hair falling in perfectly styled waves down her back.
“Thank you! You look great too! Here, come meet everyone.”
Her last words don’t fully register until I find myself in front of a booth filled with people I’ve never met before. I keep my smile pasted to my face as I turn to her. “I thought this was a girls’ night with Chelsea and Kate?”
“Oh, they couldn’t come so I decided to invite my work friends.” She leans closer to my ear so only I can hear. “Plus, I’ve got the worst crush on Jake and am hoping he’ll finally make a move tonight.” She pulls back with a smile and a wink as my heart drops to my stomach.
So much for a girls’ night.
I take a seat at the end of the U-shaped booth on the outskirts of a dance floor. Addy introduces everyone and then they all start talking about something that happened at work.
“I’m going to go get a drink,” I shout across the table to Addy. She smiles and nods and waves me off, so I slip out of the booth and head back to the bar.
For a second, I consider just going home. The thought of being social with a bunch of strangers does not sound appealing, but unfortunately, going home means possibly running into Romel, which sounds about as fun as having a root canal.
He was gone at a barbecue at a friend’s house when I left, but I have no idea when they’ll be back and I’m not willing to risk it. So I woman-up and order a drink, then head back to the booth and mentally prep myself to make new friends.
When I slide into the booth, the guy next to me scans down my short dress, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes at his blatant perusal. That is not the way to seduce me, buddy.
You want to make me melt into a puddle on the floor? Look at me like I’m beautiful, funny, and bring light to your life. Having a cute little dimple that only appears when youreallysmile helps too.
I take a big swallow of my lemon drop. It’s sugary sweet, but masks the alcohol so I can take a big gulp without feeling the burn right away.I will not think about Romel tonight, I tell myself for the millionth time.
“Hey, I’m Chad.”
I bite back a laugh. Of course, the dude-bro who looks like a stockbroker is named Chad.
“Hey, Chad. I’m Meredith.”
I figure it can’t hurt to be nice. I also expect him to ask me something about myself after this because that’s my experience with most guys, but instead he immediately starts talking about his new car and the condo he was able to buy. When he’s not talking about himself, he’s leering at me. I start to make a game of how many times he looks at my body—taking a drink every time he talks to my boobs instead of my face.
I finish my first drink in record time. The rest of the night starts to blur together as I drink more—much more than I planned on.
As Chad drones on, I don’t know what possesses me—alcohol, most definitely—to pull my phone out of my purse and drunk text Romel, but I do.
Me
