The Boy Next Door (12 page)

In all honestly, Larry isn’t a great singer. He’s got an okay voice. It isn’t painful to listen to or anything, but he’s no Peter Gabriel. But even so, I feel myself kind of melting. This may be the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me, ever.

The song comes to a close, and I have to say, I kind of have tears in my eyes. Maybe I misjudged Larry. Okay, he’s not the most interesting guy in the world. But he’s really thoughtful. Who else would get on a stage and sing Peter Gabriel to me?

“Tasha,” he says into the microphone after the music stops. “I just want to say these last six months with you have been the best time in my entire life. I . . . I love you, Tasha. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will . . . will you marry me?”

And Larry reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a blue velvet box that sure as hell doesn’t contain a stupid gold pin this time.

I look up at Jason, whose jaw is hanging open, and Melissa looks equally stunned. Jason shakes his head and I hear him quietly say the word, “No.”

Except that’s not the word I’m thinking.

The whole bar is looking on as I slowly make my way to the front of the room. I hear someone yell, “Hey, it’s the big-butt girl!” But other than that, it’s a totally romantic moment. And Larry is gazing at me like he really loves me. “I love you, Tasha,” he says again. Never mind the fact that I’ve never actually told him that I loved
 
him
. “Will you be my wife?”

Larry opens up the box and I see the ring and . . . it’s beautiful. It’s not overly extravagant, but it’s really quite tasteful and lovely. I can almost see it on my ring finger. And as for Larry being my husband, I can almost see that as well. It wouldn’t be so bad. Larry would take good care of me. I don’t think I’d be unhappy. Most of the time.

Natasha Gold. That has a ring to it.

“Okay,” I say.

The room bursts into applause as Larry slides the ring onto my finger. Everyone starts chanting, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” So we engage in a kind of sloppy kiss in front of the whole crowd.
 
I’m kissing my fiancé,
 
I think to myself. And I feel kind of happy.

When we get back to the table, Jason and Melissa are staring at us. Neither of them looks too pleased. “I can’t fucking believe that just happened,” Jason says.

“Well, why not?” Melissa retorts. “They’ve been going out for six months. For many guys, that’s plenty of time to decide to make a commitment.”

Jason’s face turns red because he knows he’s in for it. He takes a deep breath and holds out his hand for Larry to shake. “Congratulations, man,” he says. “You’ve got yourself a great girl there.”

“I know,” Larry says, beaming.

Jason holds his hand out to me next. “Congratulations, Tash,” he says. I feel his warm rough palm in mine, and I know that it’s not my imagination that he’s hanging on extra long. His gaze meets mine and I can see the disapproval in his green eyes as he shakes his head almost imperceptibly.

“Well, it’s wonderful news,” Melissa says. She’s practically turning green with envy. Honestly, it’s almost worth it just to see the look on her face.

After the next round of drinks, Jason says he’s tired and wants to go home. Larry, who’s really wired, tries to convince them to stay, but it’s no use. I’m actually kind of glad to be rid of Jason’s disapproving looks.

“Do you want to come to my place?” I hear Melissa murmur to him as they’re putting on their jackets.

“Not really,” Jason murmurs back. “I’m kind of tired.”

“How convenient,” Melissa says.

Melissa walks several feet behind Jason as he wheels toward the door. Larry, of course, is totally oblivious to any friction between the two of them. “They’re such nice people,” he says. “I’m going to ask Jason to be my best man. After all, he introduced us.”

I muse that Larry and my engagement will surely be the impetus for Melissa and Jason getting engaged too. After that showing, he pretty much has no choice. If he doesn’t propose to her, I’m pretty sure his ass is getting dumped.

“Hey,” Larry says, touching my chin. “You want to get out of here?”

He’s smiling at me, and now it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he’s planning. We’re going to have some fucking fantastic sex tonight.

I’m on the phone with my mother and she’s discussing the flower arrangement for Lydia’s wedding. The only reason I’m even tolerating this is that I know I’ve got my secret engagement. I’m dying to tell her, but I’m waiting for the exact right moment.

“Of course, you know Lydia is crazy about pink,” my mother is saying, “but I said to her that every flower can’t be pink! I mean, she’s not five-years-old.”

“Uh huh,” I say politely.

Mom hesitates. “Tasha, honey, I know this is hard for you. But I promise you, you’ll get married someday too. It’s just not as easy for some people as it is for others. It’s just taking you a little longer to find the right guy.”

Ordinarily, this patronizing talk from my mother would have made me want to slam the phone down. But not today. Thank you, Larry!

“I know,” I say casually. “Actually, I already found the right guy.”

“You . . . you did?” Mom asks. She sounds skeptical.

“Yes, his name is Larry,” I say. “And . . . he asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

There’s a long pause on the other line. Finally, my mother says, “Really?”

“Yes, really!” God, is it so hard to believe someone would want to marry me?

“I’m sorry, Tasha,” she says. “It’s just that I never heard you mention this man before. How long have you been dating?”

“Six months,” I reply.

“Oh,” she says, sounding a little gobsmacked. “And when did he ask you to marry him?”

“Just last night.”

“Tasha,” she says. “I would hate to think you’re rushing into anything because of Lydia. If you’re not ready to get married . . .”

“I’m ready,” I insist. “Larry’s a great guy. He’s an investment banker and I met him through Jason Fox.”

“You met him through Jason?” she asks, her tone changing slightly. My mother loves Jason and has made no secret of the fact that, like Nana, she thinks he and I should be more than friends.

“Yes,” I say. “Jason told me he was a great guy.”

“Well, if Jason likes him . . .” My mother is likely just about to give her tentative approval, but then I hear a beep and realize I’ve got another call on my cell. Speaking of the devil, it’s Jason’s number.

“Mom,” I say. “I’ve got another call. I’ll talk to you later.”

“But wait! What does Larry—”

I cut her off mid-sentence, not really to face a barrage of Larry-related questions. Not that it would be so bad. On paper, Larry comes off as totally amazing. I just wasn’t looking forward to introducing him to the family.

“Jason, hey,” I say. “What’s up?”

His voice is low. “Tasha, I need to talk to you.”

“Okay, what about?”

“In person.”

“Oh,” I say. “Well, when are you free?”

“Right now.”

His voice sounds weird and he’s acting weird and the only thing I can think of is that maybe he and Melissa finally got engaged. Yes, that’s probably it. And when he tells me, I’m going to act happy for him. Because I am happy. We’re both going to get married. This is great news, right?

“All right,” I agree. “Where do you want to meet?”

“The bar near your apartment,” he says. “I’m in a cab. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

I have barely enough time to grab my purse and run out the door.

My best description of how Jason looks would be “rumpled.” His hair is mussed, there are purplish circles under his eyes, and his T-shirt is wrinkled like he slept in it. Actually, now that I’m closer, I realize it’s the same T-shirt he was wearing last night, so he actually did sleep in it. Even his glasses seem a little off-kilter on his face. I’ve seen him look like this during busy times at work, but I don’t even think he went to work today. He’s shifting in his wheelchair, looking very anxious. If he were anyone else, I’d think he was on drugs.

“Jason?” I say, sliding into the seat next to him. “Are you okay?”

He’s already had time to order a drink and I see it was in a shot glass, which is not really like him. He’s usually more of a beer man. “Not exactly,” he says.

“Did something happen with Melissa?” I ask. I take a stab in the dark: “Did you guys get engaged?”

He snorts. “Not quite. We broke up.”

“Oh, Jason,” I murmur. I reach across the table and give him a hug, which he returns without enthusiasm. “What happened?”

“After Larry proposed to you, she got really worked up,” he explains, running his hand absently through his hair. “She told me that I had to make a decision. Either we moved forward, like got engaged or moved in together, or she wanted to break up. I couldn’t propose or ask her to move in, so she dumped me.”

“Oh, Jason,” I say again. “But . . . I mean, you liked Melissa. . . . Why didn’t you . . . ?”

He stares down into the shot glass. “I don’t know. She wasn’t The One, I guess.”

“How do you know?” I ask. Of course, I can’t help but think about me and Larry. Is he The One? The thing about The One is that there’s only one. Out of all the men out there in the world, is he really the only one I’m meant to spend my life with?

Then again, I already said yes to his proposal. It’s a little late to be second guessing myself.

“I just know,” he says. “I mean, she’s pretty and she’s smart, but she’s not . . .”

I frown. I’m curious what elusive quality Jason is looking for in the opposite sex that the perfect Melissa doesn’t seem to satisfy for some reason. “Not what?”

Our eyes meet for a second. Jason’s are a touch bloodshot. “Never mind,” he mumbles. “I can’t do this.”

“Do what?” I’ve never seen Jason act like this before. I guess it’s hard on him breaking up with Melissa after so long. “Come on, tell me what’s so wrong with Melissa?”

He takes a deep breath. “She’s not you.”

My heart sinks into my stomach. What is that supposed to mean?

“You know,” he says quietly. “When Melissa left, she said a lot of things that weren’t particularly nice. But some of those things were true. She told me that I was too in love with you to ever settle for any other woman.”

I study his face, trying to find signs that this is some sort of elaborate joke. “Oh come on, that’s not true.”

“It is true, Tasha,” Jason says. He’s looking at me with his intense green eyes and I realize that he means it. Or at least, he thinks he does.

“That’s totally crazy,” I say. “I mean, you’re like a brother to me.”

“I know you think that,” he says. “That’s why I never told you.”

I look down at my hands and see that they’re shaking. “Jason, I don’t . . . this is a little hard to . . . you know . . .”

“I know,” he says quietly. “Look, Tasha, I don’t expect you to leap into my arms and make passionate love to me or anything. I never expected that, even though it would obviously be, well, great.”

I stare at Jason, unable to believe that he can think of something like that. Of the two of us making love. That this is something that’s been on his mind for the last . . . God knows how long. Maybe forever. I’ve never thought of him that way. Never.

“How long have you felt this way?” I ask him.

“I don’t know,” he says. “Maybe twenty years.”

“Twenty
 
years
?”

“I never meant to tell you,” he says. “I figured eventually you’d meet some great guy, get hitched, and I could be happy knowing that at least you were with someone really wonderful. That’s what I wanted for you, Tasha.” He takes a deep breath. “But when I saw you agree to get engaged to Larry . . .”

“What’s wrong with Larry?” I ask weakly.

Jason snorts. “Are you seriously going to insult us both by forcing me to answer that? Larry’s a nice guy, but I’m not even sure you like him, much less love him. He’s the most boring person I’ve ever met, and you’d be miserable if you married him.”

“He’d never cheat on me,” I say.