A Tale of Two Pretties (12 page)

Twenty

The Mall

Tuesday

1:13 PM

Darcy

A sense of jealousy wafted through me as I watched Brad walk away with Mac. He said it was all about buying shoes, but I’d heard the excuses before from so many different guys. I needed to get away.

Preston was looking down at his phone, barely even registering me on his radar.
Figures
.

“Hey, you should get me a smoothie,” I said, nudging his side.

He raised an eyebrow. “You should get your own smoothie.”

“I don’t have money for a smoothie. Please,” I pouted out my bottom lip. “We can share one.”

“Are you going to keep bothering me until I get you one?”

“Probably.”

He groaned and put his phone in his back pocket. “Fine. I’ll get you a smoothie.”

There was a small kiosk across from the shoe store and we walked over to it. The teen girl behind the counter couldn’t stop staring at Preston. “One strawberry banana with two cups.” He smiled and handed her his credit card.

“One with two cups?” I balked.

“Yeah, you said you would share, so we’re sharing.”

The teen girl glared at me as she handed Preston our drinks but he just smiled and gave her a tip. The guy looked like a heart throb from a Disney Channel movie so no wonder the girl was fawning over him. I would have been too, normally, if I wasn’t so wrapped up with Brad.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I wasn’t the type of girl to fall hard for a guy. I had to knock it off.

Preston handed me a cup. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, grabbing a straw.

“You’re welcome.”

I stirred the drink, staring down at the cup. “It’s weird that you’re not hitting on me.”

He laughed. “Okay, first off, you’re with B-Rad so that would be a real dick move if I hit on you.”

“I’m not with him. We’re just friends,” I scoffed.

“I totally caught you two making out in the back of the pizzeria. Don’t lie to me.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes.

“And, besides, I like Mac.”

“Of course you do. All the guys like the petite blondes, even Brad,” I muttered.

“Hold up!” Preston stepped in front of me, putting his hands out. I looked up at him and his eyes were serious. “You really think that B-Rad is after Mac?”

“He did just go off with her into the shoe store.”

Preston shook his head. “Yeah, he’s helping his girlfriend’s roommate buy shoes. The guy is crazy about you, like more so than I’ve seen him about any girl in a long time. As soon as you texted him and told him you had a new phone and that you were at the mall, he practically carried me into his truck so we could come out here to see you.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

“Would I have any reason to lie to you?” He raised his eyebrows.

I sat down on a bench a few feet from the smoothie stand that was near some skater store. “No, I guess not.”

“You must be falling hard if you’re already this jealous,” Preston said with a laugh, sitting next to me.

“Shut up! No I’m not. You’re the one who came here with him. Obviously you’re falling pretty hard for Mac too.”

“Of course I am. But I’m smart enough to keep my damn mouth shut. She’s not exactly the swooning type. Know your partner, Darcy.” He grinned at me and I had to admit he was right.
A little bit.
“Here’s the thing about B-Rad: he’s got a lot of baggage, not unlike Mac, actually. Their back stories are more similar than either of them will probably admit. But the reality is, they’ve got to be encouraged into love, not rushed in. So -”

“Love? What the fuck? I’m not talking about love here.”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m not saying you are. Neither am I, really. I don’t love Mac, but I could see myself falling for her, the same way I can see you could fall for B-Rad, if you let yourself.”

“Easy for you to say,” I muttered. “I’ve got baggage of my own. One who should come with her own warning label.”

He looked amused. “Doesn’t everyone come with baggage?”

“Not the mommy kind,” I sighed and looked at her latest text. Of course she was pissed that I went out and got a new cell phone plan. Everything I did that didn’t include her pissed her off.

“No one’s life is perfect. But if you find someone who you can connect with, someone who knows your faults and doesn’t judge you for them, chances are, you probably shouldn’t let them walk away.”

“Are you talking to me now or to yourself?” I asked.

“Touché.” He took a sip of his smoothie. “The truth is, I could be talking to either of us. My past isn’t exactly rife with happy memories. So creating them, even now, is somewhat difficult. But for now, Mac and I are or friends or whatever she’ll let us be.”

“If you tell B-Rad or Mac about this conversation, I’ll poke your eye out with this straw.”

He laughed. “Fair enough, but you have to get over your hang ups with B-Rad and stop leading him on or whatever you’re doing.”

I blew out a deep breath of air and stared down at my smoothie. “Yeah. I know. It’s hard, okay? I’m not exactly the type of girl that settles down for long periods of time and I don’t want to fuck things up.”

“Then the answer is simple. Don’t fuck it up.”

“Easier said than done,” I muttered.

As if they knew we were talking about them, Brad and Mac came around the corner. “There you two are,” Mac said.

Brad didn’t say anything, just looked at me as if he was trying to figure me out.

Good luck with that one because I didn’t know how to figure myself out either.

***

Twenty-One

Pay Way Less Shoe Store

Tuesday

1:15 PM

Mac

We walked all the way to the back of the store before he stopped, leading me to the flip-flops and sandals section. When he didn’t say anything right away, I turned my attention to the shoes, trying on a few different pairs. I sat down on the little bench while he stood over me.

“So, what’s the deal?” I asked, slipping a pair on.

“The deal with what? My shoe expertise? I worked at a shoe store all through high school. Sucked ass, but it helped pay for shit.”

I shook my head. “No. With you and Darcy.”

“Oh.” His mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ and he stared down at the floor.

I waited.

B-Rad sighed. “I have no idea. She’s an enigma.”

“Well, I think you two are kind of perfect for one another,” I said.

“I wish you’d tell
her
that,” he muttered.

“What? Why?”

“Forget it. How are the shoes?” he asked, trying to change the subject. I let him, but only because the shoes were horrible.

“They don’t fit. Will you grab me a ten?” I asked.

He handed them to me.

“Did you see that the two of them disappeared?” I tried to sound casual, but I doubted I achieved it.

“Are you jealous?” he returned, his eyes darting to the front of the store.

“Of course not!”

“Right, I believe that. Preston isn’t into Darcy. She isn’t his type at all,” he explained.
Thank fucking God.
“But it’s good to know you care.”

“Fuck you. If you even think about telling him, I’ll kill you in your sleep. And we both know you don’t lock your door.” I gave him my most serious look.

He laughed. “I got the message. I won’t tell him,” he adds, lifting up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

“Were you even a boy scout?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Why were you giving me looks at lunch?” I asked the question that had been weighing on me since I caught him.

He sighed. “I worry about Preston. And given your reputation, I’m worried about you, too.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, slipping my feet into the shoes he brought over. They were comfortable but ugly as hell. I quickly shucked them off.

“Preston always falls for the wrong girl. He did it so often in college, I thought he was going to end up married and divorced three times already,” B-Rad laughed.

“Has he been married?” I was suddenly dying to know.

Considering I’d been planning my own marriage to Peter, I could relate. We were at the age where settling down just sort of happens. Of course, I was thankful my wedding dissipated.

“No. He’s never let it get that far. Which is why this little thing the two of you have worries me. He hasn’t been this interested in a girl in a long time.”

“Are you worried I’m going to hurt him? Because I seriously doubt we’re ever going to be serious, or in an
actual
relationship,” I countered.

He stared at the shoe in his hand for a full minute before he turned his eyes to mine. “I’m worried the two of you are going to hurt each other,” he admitted.

“Well, when relationships don’t work out, that’s usually what happens. But, B, listen… I’m not in a good place for any kind of real relationship, and based on what you’re telling me about Preston, neither is he. I just want to have fun and see what happens. If it leads to anything, Preston and I will talk about it. But don’t worry about either of us, okay? We’re both adults,” I reminded him.

“I can’t help myself,” he said.

“If I were you, I’d be worrying about things with Darcy.” His eyes widened and I laughed. “Yeah, I thought that might get your attention. If you’re afraid someone’s going to get hurt, I’d say the winner of that game is you. She might be an enigma, but she’s also a flight risk. She’s never been in a serious relationship in her life, and that makes me concerned for you. She’s not going to be easy to convince to stick around for you,” I explained. “Hell, I’m more than a little afraid I’m going to wake up one morning and she’s just going to be gone, leaving me high and dry to deal with the apartment and you. And she’s definitely going to run if you push her too hard.”

“I like the chase,” he grinned.

“Well, then… More power to you. But don’t come crying to me when she breaks your heart. Because, believe me, it’ll happen.”

“So long as you don’t come to me when Preston breaks yours,” he countered.

“I thought I was going to break his?”

He sighed. “At this point, it could go either way.”

I paid for my shoes and then we walked out into the mall. I looked around for Preston and Darcy but didn’t see them.

“They probably just went into another store,” B-Rad commented.

“Wherever they are, they better not be fucking,” I muttered.

B-Rad stopped to stare at me. “You don’t trust anyone, do you? Darcy is your friend and Preston only has eyes for you. Stop looking for a way out of both relationships and just trust the people in your life. At this point, I’d say you’re a bigger flight risk than Darcy.”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. He was right.

***

Twenty-Two

Darcy and Mac’s apartment

Wednesday

7:00 PM

Darcy

Mac already published her high fantasy book. Freaking did it that morning while I was still slugging through mine. She gave me shit that I would have been done earlier if I spent less time over at Brad’s but I didn’t want to agree with her.

I was working on another run through of edits when my phone buzzed on the bed next to me. The guy who was buying our couch was coming by that night so I was just waiting for his text. Though the name that flashed on the screen was definitely not couch guy.

Brad:
Hey, what are you doing?

Me:
Writing and waiting for couch guy.

Brad:
Couch guy? Have another guy on the side?

I shook my head at the ridiculousness of it. He had to know there was no one else. If I wasn’t working, I was with him. Which was crazy because I’d known Brad a couple of weeks and it was the longest I’d gone without sleeping with a guy I was seeing. I was holding my ground on that one. It was also the longest I’d hung out with a guy without knowing much about him. Preston kept saying that Brad and Darcy were similar and I was starting to wonder just how similar.

Me:
No. The dude who is buying our couch. He messaged me through Craigslist and is coming by tonight to get it.

Brad:
Some stranger is coming to your apartment that you met on Craiglist?

Me:
Yeah.

Before I could type anything else Brad burst through the door without even knocking. He was wearing just a pair of Georgia Bulldog basketball shorts and staring at me with his blue eyes so intense I had to bite my lip and look away. “Did you seriously give a stranger your address?”

I snapped my head back in his direction. “I told you. He’s buying the couch.”

Brad shook his head and walked into the room, closing the door behind him. “What if he’s just some complete psychopath that is just going to come kill you or something?”

“That’s why I have my tattooed neighbor to watch out for me,” I quipped.

“Not funny,” he mumbled.

“Are you going to stay here and wait for him with me?” I asked. “Protect me or whatever?”

He laid next to me, propping his arms up on the pillow. “I don’t have any other choice. Someone has to look out for you.”

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that myself for the past twenty-one years, thank you.” I wasn’t exactly in the mood for his knight in shining armor stuff and I was probably coming off like a bitch, but I didn’t know how else to get the point across. Ever since we moved from Chicago to Atlanta, it felt like I’d been on my own. My mom didn’t give two shits about me and I was afraid that I was going to end up like her with one fucked up guy after another. I was already half way on that path as it was. Dylan was the latest in a string of guys that I’d used for what I wanted and broke up with when they got too close. It was another big reason I couldn’t afford to do the same with Brad and get too close, though I had to admit I liked him far more than I should.

“We all think we have our life straightened out. One day you could be working what you think is your dream job and then you get a call your uncles health is bad and he’s about to lose his business so you sell everything to help him out. Because of that, your fiancée dumps you and you’re left to start over. The only thing that makes it better is when a gorgeous brunette walks into your pizzeria and makes you feel whole again.”

I blinked, closing my computer screen and turning toward him. He was staring at the ceiling but as soon as he noticed me looking he turned toward me, raising an eyebrow. “That make sense?”

“Did all that really happen to you?” I swallowed. We didn’t talk too much about our past. Most of our conversations were about work, the video game we were playing, or dirty talk. It was the first I’d really had him open up to me.

“Yeah. That’s my sob story, but I can’t let it bring me down. I’ve tried to distance myself from that life as much as I could. That’s why I stopped going by Bradley and haven’t really let anyone in. You’re the first girl who I’ve been with in the past year and it may be fucked up, whatever we have, but I don’t mind it. I like having something different in my life.”

I laid down next to him. “You know, you’re really making me feel like a total bitch now.”

“I’m not trying to.”

I turned to my side. “I’m just...” I let out a deep breath through my nose. “Look, I’ve been burned by too many relationships. Obviously you’ve had the same problem. I like you. You have to know that I like you, but I’m trying not to jump into anything again.”

“You don’t need to keep explaining yourself to me. I want to be with you, badly.” He ran his thumb along my jawline. “But I’m okay with what we have right now. I know you just got out of a relationship and that you were jealous that I went off with Mac at the mall the other day.”

I frowned. “I was not jealous.”

He laughed. “You totally were. Preston told me.”

“I’m going to kill that little granola fucker.”

“Leave the guy alone. He’s just looking out for me. And for you.” His fingers trailed from my jaw down to my neck and shoulders. “You don’t need to worry about me being with other girls, especially not Mac. The girl looks almost exactly like my ex and it’s kind of weird.”

“Is that the only reason you didn’t go for her?” I raised my eyebrows, suddenly very self-conscious. I knew I had what most guys wanted: I was tall, worked out, knew how to do my makeup, and flirted when I wanted something, but when it came to other girls, I kind of sucked. I was always jealous. I had to be the center of attention or else I was afraid of getting thrown out on my ass which had happened too many times to count and not just by boyfriends, but my own mother.

He smiled, shaking his head and scooting closer so his body molded against my mine. “No, Peach. Besides the fact that I think you’re unbelievably sexy, you’re sweet, funny, and you bring out the best parts of me. The ones I thought were long forgotten.”

“You’re not a bad guy at all, Brad and you really have a way with words.” I ran my fingers through his spiky black hair.

He pressed his forehead to mine. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Peach. You don’t realize how great you are. You inspire the words.”

“Now you’re just saying things so I’ll kiss you.”

“Is it working?” he whispered onto my lips.

“I would if I hadn’t promised Mac that there would be no sex on her bed.”

“Who said anything about sex?” His fingers tiptoed down my arm and then rested on my hip.

“You are half naked on the bed I’m sharing with my roommate, so I just thought it was kind of assumed.”

“Not everything is about sex.”

It always was for me. That’s how I got what I wanted. Maybe I didn’t need to with Brad though. Maybe I could actually be myself.

Before I could respond, a knock came at the door. I was almost thankful for the interruption. I intended to keep my promise to Mac when we both agreed no sex in the bed and if Brad’s hands kept roaming, that’s where it could end up and that would be the worst way for her to find out about our relationship, walking in on us.

“Couch guy awaits,” I said, sitting up and scooting toward the edge of the bed. I stood up, not looking behind me as I opened the door.

My face fell as soon as I saw the faces of the two guys looking back at me. Dylan’s fraternity brothers: Steve and Nate. Steve was in the stupid mullet wig that he wore everywhere and Nate’s eyes of course just went to my chest, as always.

“Hey, Darcy, didn’t know these were your new digs,” Steve said.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t have given you my address if I’d known it was you two coming.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Darcy. We aren’t here to give you shit, we just need a new couch since Goose fucked ours up beyond recognition. Just hook us up with the couch.”

I felt Brad’s arm around my waist before I saw him. “Take it you know these guys, Darcy?”

Shit. Shit. Shit
. That wasn’t going to help me sell the couch if my new boyfriend or whatever Brad was decided to stake his claim.

“Yeah. We know Darcy.” Nate raised an eyebrow. “And who the hell are you?”

Steve laughed. “Dude, it’s that guy who delivers pizza on his motorcycle. What the hell you doing slumming it with him, Darc? If you really wanted to move on and make Dyl jealous we would have totally taken you up on the offer.”

Both Steve and Nate had tried to get with me on multiple occasions. As soon as me and Dylan broke up Steve sent me a naked pic of himself and asked what I was doing that night. That was when I bailed and went to the pizzeria. So much for brotherhood.

I groaned. “Look, I’m not here to talk about who I’m dating or not dating or going to fuck. Do you guys want the couch or not?”

“Chill out, girl. We’re just messing with you.” Nate put his hands up.

Brad’s grip tightened around my waist. “The couch is here. If you want it, take it and pay the money. If not, just leave. No harm. No foul.”

“Yeah, about the couch. You should really give us a deal on that. I mean you did squat at the house for a few months so you could totally give Nate Dawg a break on the price, one-hundred bucks is pretty steep for a used couch,” Nate said, of course referring to himself in third person like the ultimate douche he was.

I shook my head. “Nuh uh. One-hundred bucks was what we agreed on. You’re just trying to get a cheaper price because you know me and I’m not budging.”

“Come onnnn, Darcy. Cut us a break,” Steve whined. Very unattractive.

“She said one-hundred. Take it or leave it, guys,” Brad cut in.

Nate and Steve stared at each other. They probably shared one brain cell between them and sometimes I felt sorry for their dumbness. But not sorry enough to budge on the price. That money was going to help pay for our hotel room in Savannah and I needed it.

Steve groaned. “Fine, we’ll take the couch.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me a few twenties. I counted them again before stepping back and nodding to the monstrosity in the corner.

“It’s all yours, fellas.”

***