Page 87 of Must Be Love - Irresistible Bachelors

I sniffle. “It doesn’t matter. The one guy who ever looked at me wouldn’t take me out in public, and now we’re broken up. I should just get some cats.”

“You’re allergic,” Daisy points out. “And a dog person.”

Both points are true, but I don’t care right now.

“Can we go home?” I ask.

The girls look at each other and then back at me. We finish our drinks quickly and catch a large cab back to my apartment.

I expect my friends to walk me to my door and leave, but they follow me into my apartment instead. I walk numbly to the couch with Nicole and Tammy while Jasmine and Daisy rummage through my freezer. They arrive in the living room with my three remaining pints of ice cream and five spoons.

“I’m sorry for ruining the night,” I say.

Nicole throws an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t you dare apologize. We should have listened to you. You weren’t ready to go out.”

“I don’t want to be stuck in my apartment forever. I just need some time.”

“We understand. We won’t push you.”

I thank my friends. Nicole chooses the perfect romantic comedy, and the five of us watch it together, laughing and making fun of the movie the entire time. Tammy and Daisy are asleep before the movie is over. It’s only ten! I’ve been awake since before six, and even I’m not tired.

Nicole, Jasmine, and I decide to watch a second movie. It feels like an old high school slumber party. One by one, my guests drift off to sleep. I’m the only one who stays up to see how the second movie ends.

Nicole is leaning on me, snoring softly. Daisy is on my other side. Tammy fell asleep on the chair, and Jasmine is on the floor with my blanket collection.

I’m lucky to have friends who care about me as much as they do. This night may not have gone as planned, but I think it did the trick. I’m feeling better about everything with AJ.

The rejection at the bar stings, but I’ll get over it. I don’t need validation from some random guy at a bar. I had someone who looked at me like men usually look at my friends.

Too bad he ruined it by putting his semen in the serum gave me.

I run my hand over my face. My skin still feels soft, but I ran out of the emergency serum last night.

I hate that, despite everything, I still want the serum.

And a part of me still wants AJ, too.

27

AJ

This week has been torture.

I hadn’t realized how ingrained Amber was in my life until we stopped speaking.

There were multiple times a day when I wanted to text her about something but realized I didn’t have that right anymore. Our nightly phone calls on the way home from work no longer exist.

I’m lonelier than I’ve ever been.

My heart clenches. I need Amber in my life. I can’t live like this.

Last night, I went out with Mike and told him what happened. He was surprised that Amber reacted so poorly, but he understood at the same time. His advice was to talk to her and try to work it out.

That’s easier said than done. Every day this week, I’ve resolved to go to her apartment and talk to her. I want to do it. But the timing doesn’t seem right.

Now, it’s Saturday. I would normally be spending the day with Amber, or at least talking to her. Instead, I’m alone in my den, pretending to watch some home makeover show I’m not interested in.

My doorbell rings. What the hell? I didn’t order anything, and I don’t usually get solicitors. We are getting close to the holidays, though. Someone probably wants money for their charity.

I stop and grab my wallet before answering the door. I’m surprised to find Amber’s friends, Daisy and Nicole, standing on my porch.

“You’re not here raising money,” I blurt out.

Daisy gives me an amused look. “Nope. We’re here to talk. Can we come in?”

I step aside and wave them into the main hallway. They immediately make their way to the den and sit down on my couch.

The same leather couch where Amber and I kissed before her friends arrived last week.

Has it really only been a week since the triple date? How have things changed so much since then?

Amber was acting strange that night. Things seemed better when we made breakfast the next morning, but there was a weird distance between us, as if it was foreshadowing the end.

“So,” Daisy says. “What are you doing?”

“Um, I was watching TV until you two showed up.”

Nicole rolls her eyes. “That’s not what she meant. What are you doing about Amber?”

“I don’t know.”

“Figure it out!” Daisy yells. “Don’t just sit on your ass and twiddle your thumbs. You fucked it up; now you need to work it out.”

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