Bachelor Number Five (The Bachelor Series, Volume 1) (9 page)

“Yeah, so that guy on my wall?...”

“He was sitting at a table a few booths down from me.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“I tried to.” Peter laughed to himself.  “I told him he must be a pretty cool dude, because cute chicks all over Hollywood had his photo on their walls.  I was a little drunk.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much.”

“Was he with anyone?”

Peter seemed to sense for the first time how important this was to Amanda, that it wasn’t just a lark.  “There were a few people with him, yeah.”

“Girls?”

“I guess so.  It wasn’t any big deal.  I’m sorry I can’t help you out any more than that.”

“That’s all right,” Amanda said, though she was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more to it.  At least she knew that he really was around, and that running into him was indeed a possibility.

“If I see him again, I’ll try to make a better impression.”  Peter laughed again, but a little uneasily this time.  “Maybe I can glean some info for you.”

“Forget it.  I’m sorry to bother you.  I’ll see you around.”  Amanda walked back to her apartment and through the living room, again without saying a word to Lauren.  Once in her room she closed the door behind her, sat on her bed and kicked off her shoes as she processed everything that had just happened.  Peter thought she was cute.  That’s what he’d said.  “Cute chicks all over Hollywood.”  Amanda was a cute chick.  The realization made her very nervous.  She had to admit, deep down, it made her very happy, too.

Chapter Eleven

“Hey, you better be calling to tell me you met number nine!”

“What about Donny?  I don’t think he’d like it if he heard you talking about number nine all the time.”

“Forget about Donny.  I don’t want to talk about Donny.”

“Don’t tell me you guys split up again.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about Donny!”

“Oh, Piper, don’t worry.  Everything is going to work out fine between you two.”

“That’s easy for you to say, clear across the country out in La La Land, with the palm trees and the movie stars.  I’ve half a mind to come out there and join you.”

“We do have a nice big couch if you want to come for a visit.”

“A visit?!  Pffft…”  Piper made a sound of exasperation.  “If I drag myself all the way out there it’s gonna be for more than just a visit.”

“What would Lucy do without you?!” said Amanda.

“She’s doing fine without
you
.  She’d do fine without me, too.”

“Did she find someone to take my place?”

“Susie Chapman.  You remember her, from school?”

“Yeah, I remember Susie.  She always seemed like a nice girl.”

“She’s all right.”  Piper was dismissive.  “She’s not you, though.”

“Don’t be too hard on her.”  From her seat on the living room couch, Amanda crossed her legs and rested them on the coffee table.  She twirled a strand of her hair around her left index finger as she settled in.  She’d called Piper to quell a lingering sense of homesickness, but so far this conversation wasn’t helping much.

“How are you doing out there, anyway?” Piper asked.  “You dating number five yet?”

“No, but I’m working in the same restaurant he used to work in.”

“Get out!”

“I start on Tuesday.  It’s called The Hamburger Hut.”

“Did you ask about him?  Does anyone have his number?!”

“The only server I talked to thought I was just another fan girl with a crush.”

“Oh, please.”

“Which I sort of am.”

“Ok, maybe you are, but number five would still be lucky to have you!”

“Thanks, Piper.”

“I mean it!  When are you going to realize what a catch you are?!”

Amanda couldn’t answer right away.  She hadn’t even been on a date in nearly a year, and that had been a disaster.  The only thing he’d wanted to do was drink whiskey at Rusty’s and then drag her back to his place.  She’d almost gone home with him, too.  What did that say about her?  In some ways she wished that she
had
gone.  It would have been
something
anyway: a man’s touch, the kind she hadn’t felt in ages.  Amanda knew it would have ended badly.  Hell, it would have started badly.  He was a drunken farm boy with half a brain in his head.  She had no interest in a guy whose only topics of conversation consisted of football, muscle cars and corn, in that order.  In the end, Amanda simply couldn’t go through with it.  His hot, whiskey breath on her neck as he groped her in Rusty’s parking lot was all she could take.  She’d fled back inside, refusing to leave until Piper and Donny came to pick her up, her date nearly coming to blows with Donny as tensions flared.  No, that hadn’t gone well at all.  Was it a crime to want more than a one-night-stand with a drunken asshole?  If so, Amanda was guilty as charged.

“Are you still there?” said Piper after a long pause.  “Snap out of it!”

“I’m sorry,” Amanda replied.

“Do I have to reach through this phone and slap some sense into you?”

“No…”

“Don’t make me try!”  There’s probably an app for that.  I’ll download it right now!”

Amanda couldn’t help but laugh, despite herself.  “I’m fine.”

“I know number five isn’t the only cute guy in all of Los Angeles.  You must have some other prospects.  What about that server at the restaurant you were talking about?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s gay.”

“Ok, well there must be somebody out of the millions of people in that city.”

“There is a cute guy who lives downstairs from me.”

“See?  I knew it!”

“He’s gay, too.  He has a crush on number nine.”

“At least he has good taste.”

“He said the same about you.”

“Tell him hands off, number nine is all mine!”

“I’ll let him know.”  Amanda decided against mentioning Peter.  What did that mean; that she wasn’t even able to talk about him?  Amanda didn’t like those implications.  He was getting inside her head.  Was it because he thought she was cute?  Or because he was so good-looking himself?  Or both?  She knew he was just like that guy from Rusty’s at heart, only much more polished.  That made him even more dangerous.  What was that all about, answering his door in those sexy biking shorts?  Lauren was right.  Amanda had better stay away from him.  She didn’t want to talk about him.  She didn’t want him tramping around inside her head.  It was better to forget him and talk about something else.  “What about the house?” she said.  “Did you find somebody to rent my room to yet?”

“Nah…  I figured I’d live alone for a while.  Me and Whiskers.  I can swing it, and besides, I figured if things didn’t work out for you there in Hollyweird, you know…”

“Don’t hold the room on my account, Piper.”

“I’m not!  Can’t a girl live alone if she wants to?  You think I’m in gonna turn into a crazy old cat lady?  Is that it?”

“I’m just saying, I’m not coming back.  I couldn’t.  This is my life now.  I’m going to make the most of it.”  Amanda heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

“I guess it’s just me and Whiskers, then,” said Piper.

“Now who’s feeling sorry for herself?”

“It’s not the same out here without you.”

 “So come out for a visit!  We’ll do all of the tourist things together!  You know, Disneyland, studio tours…  Hey, they film Jimmy Kimmel right up the street!  We could get tickets!”

“Really?!” Piper sounded excited.

“It’d be fun!”

“I don’t know, I talk a big game, but I’m a small-town girl at heart.”

“I’m not saying you should move here!  Just come for a week!”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Why won’t you tell me about Donny?  Did you guys break up again?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean, you’re not sure?”

“I mean I told him he was a first rate asshole and I never wanted to see him again, but you know how it is.”

“Why did you tell him that?”

“You should have seen how he was looking at this girl at Rusty’s.  It was enough to make me sick!”

“All he did was look at her?”

“Come on, whose side are you on?”

“Oh, Piper, you better call him right now and tell him you’re sorry.”

“Why should I be sorry?!  He’s the one who was staring at that cheap whore!”

“You better ease up or you’re going to lose him for real.”

“I know…” Piper conceded.  “I just can’t help it sometimes, he makes me so mad.”

“Piper, I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

“I’ve gotta go.  You take care of yourself, all right?

“Don’t you worry about me.  Next time you call you better have some good news about number five!”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I’m counting on you!”

“Thanks, Piper.  It was good talking to you.

“You, too.  Bye Amanda.”

“Bye.”  When she hung up the phone, Amanda felt lonely still, though strangely determined.  She missed Piper, that was true, and Lucy and her parents and everyone else in Quincy, but while she’d felt the pull of home before she called, Amanda realized that there really
was
no going back.  Returning to Quincy at this point would mean only one thing, and that was failure.  She couldn’t just turn tail and run.  Being back there now would leave her feeling more depressed than when she’d left.  No, Amanda had to make the most of this new life.  She was already making progress.  What she’d accomplished so far was enough to be proud of and things would only get better, of that she was sure.  Soon Amanda would be earning a paycheck, she’d begin feeling settled, she’d find a good man.  It was all a matter of time.  Telling herself these things, however, didn’t make her worries go away.  There was only one thing proven to do that.

Amanda stood from the couch and went into her room.  She unlatched her guitar case and pulled out her guitar.  Just having that smooth, red mahogany instrument in her hands was enough to make her feel better.  She carried it back into the living room and sat cross-legged on the couch, cradling the guitar in her lap.  With the fingers of her right hand Amanda pulled out a pick that was tucked between the strings.  The fingers on her left hand found their way to the frets and Amanda started gently strumming, switching from one chord to another as she began to sing:

Wide open skies

And empty, worn out spaces

Hearts filled with lies

In search of God’s good graces

I wondered if you loved me

Was that too much to ask?

I dreamt about the future

You were mired in the past

Her voice had a mild country twang as she made her way through the song.  Amanda
was
a country girl, after all.  It wasn’t the kind of thing that would go over well in the big city, but she hadn’t written these songs for anybody but herself.  Singing them was Amanda’s way to make herself feel better when she was lonely and just a little bit sad.  The few occasions she’d played at Rusty’s were really just a fluke.  It was mainly Piper who had talked her into that and while Amanda had to admit there was a certain thrill in playing for an audience, she’d never had any intention of pursuing it further.  The crowd at Rusty’s was made up almost entirely of friends and acquaintances, and even then she’d been plenty nervous.  The idea of playing at some coffee house here in LA was not one she planned to follow up on, despite Peter’s encouragement.  She pushed the thought from her mind as she worked through her song list, relaxing as she lost herself in the music.  By the time she’d made it through the last of her originals, the whole world looked a whole lot brighter.  Amanda was making it here, all on her own.  Everything was going to work out fine.

Chapter Twelve

“Your friend was here the other day,” said Ariel, the slight Hispanic waiter at The Hamburger Hut who was responsible for training Amanda on this Tuesday afternoon.

“What friend?”  Amanda was confused.  How many friends did she even have around here?

“You know, your high school friend.  The Texas surfer boy.”

“Grant?  Was here?”  Amanda shot a glance around the restaurant, as if expecting him to be there still.

“Why not?  Nobody serves a better burger than we do.”

“Is he coming back to work?”

“Him?  No…”  They made their way through the dining room, resetting a few empty tables while a smattering of diners ate lunch around them.  “But I told him about you,” Ariel continued.

“Me?!  What did you say?!”  Amanda’s eyes lit up.