Save Me (The Me Novellas) (12 page)

“
I do,” I told him.

“
Good.” He stood up. “I’ll call Andrea. Let her know you’ll be in touch. She’ll get word to the right people.”

“
Thank you.”

“
No prob.”

“
No, wait.” I stood up, too. On impulse, I crossed my room and sat down next to him and hugged him. Hard. “I owe you about a million thank yous.”

Dylan shook his head but he wrapped his arms around me. “No you don’t.”

“
No. I do.” I rested my head in that space between his neck and shoulder and breathed in the scent of him. He smelled like shampoo and Dove soap, with just a hint of sandalwood. I wondered if it was his shaving cream. Or lotion. “You’ve helped me out more ways than I can count.”

“
I wanted to.” His breath was warm against my ear.

Reluctantly, I pulled away. I smiled at him. “You’ve been a really great friend.”

I thought he’d return the smile but he didn’t. He frowned.

“
What?” I asked, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

He stood up. “Nothing.”

“
Wait!” I said. “What did I do?”

“
You didn’t do anything,” he said.

And he left.

SIXTEEN

I parked my car in the parking lot of The Ale House and rested my head on the steering wheel. I couldn’t believe I was sitting there, about to do the unthinkable. I needed a date and I’d decided to come to the one place where I actually had a shot at finding one. Even if it was with my ex-boyfriend.

I took some deep breaths, wishing again for that yoga class. I just needed to walk in and get it over with. Ask. Or beg. Which is the one thing I swore I’d never do.

But I couldn’t let my best friend down. And I absolutely could not go to the engagement party with Gerald and his single ear.

Ben was walking out of the kitchen, two menus in his hands. He stopped short when he saw me.

“
Kat.”

“
Hey.” I stood there awkwardly, gripping my purse.

“
What are you doing here?”

“
I was in the neighborhood,” I said. God, I was the worst liar on the planet. “Thought I’d swing by.”

“
Oh.” He walked over to the hostess stand and tucked the menus into one of the holders. “How’s your new place?”

“
It’s fine.”

“
And school? You’re almost done, right?”

“
Yeah. One more paper to go.”

“
Cool.”

We stood there and stared at each other. I thought back to the day he’d moved me in. The inflection in his voice when I’d called and asked if he was free. His anger at seeing Dylan as my roommate. I didn’t know what to make of any of it but I hoped that I was right about how he felt about me. Even if I still wasn’t sure how I felt about him.

“
So, I was wondering,” I began.

“
Hang on,” he said. “Order’s up.” He disappeared toward the kitchen and I watched him go, wondering if I’d be able to work up the courage to ask him when he returned.

“
Katie!”

Dylan.

I spun around.

He stood in the doorway, dressed identical to Ben. Black slacks, a fitted white button-down. His dark hair was slicked back, his eyes friendly. I’d been wrong, I realized. He was just as good-looking as his cousin.

“
What are you doing here?” he asked. His smile was genuine. Happy to see me. Delighted, actually.

“
Uh, I was in the neighborhood.” I repeated the same lie to him. “Just thought I’d stop by.”

“
To see me?” His smile stretched even wider. “Cool. You wanna hang out? Grab a drink? It’s on me.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the bar. “I’m only here for a little bit tonight,” he said. “Filling in for Jordan for an hour or two. He had a flat, had to have it towed in for repair.”

“
Oh.” I looked around for Ben. He was at a table delivering a hamburger and a sizzling plate of fajitas.

I turned back to Dylan. He waited patiently. Expectantly. And suddenly, it hit me. Like a steamroller.

His reaction at the house earlier that afternoon. The uncanny way he always seemed to be around when I needed someone. Not someone, I amended. When I needed
him
.

How had I been so blind? So stupid?

I started to speak, but someone interrupted me.

“
I thought you came to see me.” Ben was at my side, his voice petulant.

“
What?”

He motioned to me. “You. Me. You said you came to see me.”

“
No,” I clarified. “I said I was in the neighborhood.”

“
Yeah. To see me.” He smiled. “I’ve been waiting for this, you know.”

“
For what?”

Dylan moved behind the counter, far enough away to not be a part of the conversation but close enough to listen.

“
For you to come back. To me.” He rested his hand on my hip. “I’ve missed you, you know.” His fingers trailed lower, settling in the back pocket of my jeans. He squeezed. “In a lot of ways.”

And just like that, it was an easy choice. Or rather, it wasn’t a choice. My instincts had been right when I’d told him we were done a few days earlier. It was time for me to stop being afraid. It was time for me to take charge of my life and look for the right things.

And the right people.

I removed Ben’s hand from my ass in much the same way I would’ve removed a pair of dirty underwear from my dinner plate.

“
You’re right,” I said. “I wasn’t just in the neighborhood.”

He squinted and grinned at me. “I knew it.”

“
Did you?”

He nodded. Confident. Arrogant. “Oh, yeah. I did.”

“
I do have a question,” I said.

Ben’s smile grew. “I knew it.”

“
But it’s not for you.”

The smile faded and he looked confused. And a little pissed. “What?”

I looked down the bar at Dylan. He smiled, slid me the beer he’d known I’d want and I was instantly transported to that night just two weeks earlier, the night when my entire world was falling apart.

Except this time as I sat at the bar and grabbed my beer, I was putting it back together. And it was shaping up to be better than ever.

“
I have a question for Dylan,” I said.

“
Unbelievable,” Ben sad, miffed. “Whatever. I’m outta here. Don’t ever call me again.”

“
Not a problem,” I murmured, still staring at Dylan.

Dylan came down the bar, tossed the towel on the counter behind him and looked at me. He leaned down, set his elbow on the bar and his chin in his hand. “You have a question? For me?”

He’d been right, of course.

It was time to start looking for the right things.

I smiled at him. “How good of a dancer are you?”

THE END

Marry Me
, the next in the Me Series by Liz Appel, will be available September 2012.

http://lizappel.blogspot.com