The Last Boyfriend (3 page)

***

I was tired when I got out
of work and I drove home feeling depressed. I had barely made any
money and didn’t feel like going to the party anymore, but I knew
Leeza and Shannon would be disappointed if I didn’t show up. Leeza
had called me on my break to make sure I was coming. She had
sounded so excited that I was finally going to be spending an
evening out with them like we had in the past, and I had felt too
guilty to say no. I knew that I definitely had to go when
I saw an emerald green dress on my bed with a note from Leeza
saying she had bought it for me as a gift.

I sighed as I walked into
the door at the party. I was overwhelmed at the amount of people
and cars and I briefly considered leaving and going back home. The
house was packed with a lot of people I didn’t know, and a lot of
people I couldn’t afford to know. I had pulled up the driveway in
between a Rolls Royce and a Bentley, and I had felt out-of-place
before I had even gotten out of my car. I looked around to see if I
could spot Leeza and I gasped when I saw Zane Beaumont
talking animatedly to a guy who looked very familiar. I continued
to stare at them, trying to figure out who the other guy was when
Zane turned around. He must have felt my eyes boring into him
because he looked directly at me. His expression changed quickly
and ran the gamut of surprised, happy, and upset. I turned around
when I saw him frown and walked away quickly, with my heart beating
fast. What was Zane doing here? I quickly grabbed a Champagne chute
from one of the waiters’ trays and gulped the liquid down, hoping
it would give me some liquid courage for the night. I couldn’t
believe Zane was at the party. My whole body felt alive when we
made eye contact and I was glad that it was so dark that he
wouldn’t have seen my face flushing.

“Lucky?” I heard his voice
and tried not to flinch as he touched me on the
shoulder.

“Hi.” I turned around
slowly and tried to avoid his eyes as I smiled quickly.

“I thought that was you.”
He frowned, as he looked me up and down. “You look
different.”

“Yeah. I’m in a dress.” I
quipped. “And I have on makeup that hasn’t melted off
yet.”

“And your hair is down.” He
reached over and touched it. “It’s so soft and silky.”

“Thanks to Chi,” I joked,
and cursed myself inwardly. He probably didn’t even know what Chi
was. “I have naturally curly hair, so I use it to calm down the
frizz and straighten it.” I explained to him, wanting to kick
myself at how boring I was being.

“I see.” He nodded, looking
as though he had no clue as to what I was talking about.

“You should see it when
it’s curly. It’s crazy.”

“Well I can’t
tell.”

“I’m like the frizz
monster.” I giggled nervously.
Play it
cool, Lucky
. I took a deep breath and
tried again.

“You’re lucky. Your hair is
always so straight and silky naturally.” I wanted to slap myself as
soon as the words were out of my mouth. “I mean, that’s how it
looks now, not in the past. I never noticed in the
past.”

“Thanks.” He
laughed.

“Do you use any special
products?” Stop talking about hair care, Lucky.

“No. I use Head and
Shoulders shampoo and conditioner and that’s about it.”

“Aw.” I looked around the
room with a red face and waved my hands. “This is a really cool
party, huh?”

“It’s okay.” He shrugged.
“I didn’t know you knew Mike.”

“Who?”

“Mike Vegara. The guy
throwing this party.”

“Oh, I don’t.” I bit my
lip. “My friend invited me. Don’t tell anyone, but I wasn’t really
invited. I’m not really part of this crowd.”

“What crowd?”

“The rich and famous
crowd.” And then I remembered how Zane knew me. “Well, you know
that already,” I let out a weak laugh, “I wouldn’t be working at
Lou’s if I was rich and made of money.”

“Then I’m glad you’re not
rich.” He smiled, a gigantic toothy smile and I couldn’t stop
myself from grinning back at him. “Because I feel sorry for anyone
who is a part of this crowd.”

“Oh?” I looked at him in
surprise.

“It’s a long story.” He
sighed. “I don’t want to bore you.”

“I don’t think you have a
boring bone in your body.” Why was I so obvious? I wanted to pinch
myself.

“There are many girls who
would beg to differ with you there.” He laughed.

“So who’s your date
tonight?” I questioned looking around.

“No date tonight.” He
laughed, and I wiggled my eyebrows in surprised.

“That’s got to be a
first.”

“I usually reserve Fridays
for my dates.” He stared into my eyes. “I think you’ve met every
woman I’ve taken out in the last few months.”

“A different one every
week.” I laughed, trying not to let my curiosity get the better of
me. I wanted to know why he dated so many different women, but I
knew it was none of my business.

“Well, I have to get what I
need.” He cleared his throat. “More importantly, don’t ever take
Friday nights off. I’m not sure my dates would go as well if you
weren’t there.”

“I’m not sure I’m a good
luck charm. I never see you with the same girl more than once.” I
hoped he would pick up the hint and answer my unasked
question.

“What about you? You here
with your boyfriend?” His eyes bore into mine intently. Even in the
darkness of the room, his eyes sparkled a vivid blue.

“No.” For some reason, I
didn’t want to tell him that I didn’t have a boyfriend. I didn’t
want him to know that, since he had been frequenting Lou’s, he was
all I could think about.

“I’m surprised he let you
come out by yourself.” He continued, trying to fish an answer out
of me.

“I’m here with friends.” I
smiled and looked around nervously.

“So what does he do?” He
persisted and I wondered why it was so important for him to
know.

“Who?” I frowned,
pretending to be confused.

“Your
boyfriend.”

“Oh, well, I don’t exactly
have one right now.”

“Aw, you’re rocking the
single life?” He grinned and moved in closer to me.

“You could say that.” I
rolled my eyes.

“You’re a beautiful girl,
I’m sure there has to be someone you’re interested in.”

“Not really.” Just you, and
you’re a player, so no thanks, I thought to myself.

“This isn’t the sort of
party to meet a good guy though.” Zane spoke seriously. “I mean, a
lot of the guys here aren’t the sort of guys I would recommend to a
girl like you.”

“Well I will try and
remember that.” I was unsure if his comment was meant to be helpful
or disparaging.

“I’m sure you will meet a
Mr. Wonderful soon.” He paused. “I guess that’s what you women
want, right? A Mr. Wonderful to sweep you off your feet and promise
you a forever?”

“You could say that.” I
answered honestly. “Though I’m waiting patiently. I know the right
guy is out there somewhere.” I’m hoping he’ll come sooner rather
than later, but there was no way I was going to tell him
that.

“So, Lucky. What else do
you do asides from working at Lou’s.”

“I’m studying history at
UM. I know it sounds a bit boring, but I love it.”

“History, huh?” His eyes
glowed. “Know anything about the Civil Rights Era?”

“It’s my specialty
actually.” I spoke enthusiastically. “I’m actually focusing on that
period of time for my thesis.”

“I can tell that you enjoy
it.” He smiled gently and reached over and stroked my cheek softly.
“There’s something wonderful about a woman who is passionate about
something.”

“I’m a ….” My breath caught
and my cheek burned under his touch.

“Lucky, there you are.”
Leeza ran up to me and squealed. “I was so worried you weren’t
going to come.”

“I’m here.” I smiled and
did a little twirl. I saw Zane laugh at my little dance and I
smiled back at him warmly.

“I want you to meet this
guy.” She grabbed my arm enthusiastically.

“I’m actually talking to
someone.” I smiled at Zane apologetically, and he grinned back at
me.

“Oh?” Leeza turned around
and stared at Zane, her blue eyes nearly popping out as she looked
him up and down. “Hi, I’m Leeza, Lucky’s best friend. And you are?”
She flung her blonde hair over her shoulders, and it took
everything I had to smile and not roll my eyes. She was a
shameless flirt and she never met a man she didn’t want to make
fall under her spell.

“Zane.” He smiled at Leeza
briefly and then looked at me. “I’m a friend of
Lucky’s.”

“You never told me about
any Zane.” Leeza stared at me with accusatory eyes.

“Well, we’ve just been
getting to know each other recently.” I started.

“Now now, Lucky.” Zane slid
his arm around my waist. “What do you consider the last three
months? The honeymoon period?”

“Well, you know.” I was
left speechless by his little act and his hand lit a fiery trail on
my back as he moved it back and forth.

“You two are dating?” Leeza
hissed. “You have got to be joking.”

“Why?” Zane questioned her.
“Did Lucky not tell you about our marathon sessions in the bedroom?
I think we nearly broke her bed the other evening.”

“Zane.” I laughed and hit
him in the arm. “Leeza’s my roommate.”

“Well, darn it. It was
worth a try.” He grinned at me and his nose brushed mine as he
leaned in to talk to me. For the next few seconds, we just stared
at each other and all I wanted was for him to kiss me.

“It was good seeing you,
Lucky. Have a good evening.” Zane pulled away from me slowly and I
felt that sharp sting of regret that I hadn’t moved in for the
kiss. Before I could say anything, he turned around and disappeared
back into the crowd. I felt disappointed, but tried to hide my
frustration as I turned back to Leeza. It was probably better that
I didn’t spend too much time getting to know Zane better; I didn’t
want to end up as one of his Friday night dates.

“He was cute.” Leeza
grinned. “But he seems like a psycho.”

“Why does he seem like a
psycho?”

“I don’t know. Just
something about him seemed off. And his crappy joke.”

“He’s a nice—”

“Come on Lucky, let me
introduce you to Evan.” Leeza cut me off and flung her hair over
her shoulder again. She was wearing a super tight lack mini dress
and I was slightly worried that her boobs were going to pop out
each time she flung her hair.

“Who’s Evan?” I asked
disinterestedly. I looked around the room to see if I could see
where Zane had gone.

“Just come.” She grabbed my
arm and pushed through the crowds of trendy people until we got to
the stairs and then she let go. “All the cool guys are hanging out
in the music room.”

“Uh, okay?” I frowned.
“Isn’t the party at the bottom of the stairs though?”

“Don’t be a buzz kill,
Lucky. Everyone knows the best parts of a party don’t occur in the
public part of the party. All of the cool people like Evan hang out
separately.”

“I’m not cool and I don’t
want a cool guy.” I sighed.

I’m sure you will like
Evan.” Leeza pleaded.

“Leeza, I’m really not in
the mood for this.”

“He’s a hottie, and he’s
rich.”

“Leeza you know I’m not
looking for—”

“Just give him a chance,
Lucky. Your plan hasn’t exactly been working for you. I haven’t
seen you on a date in months. And I don’t even think you have a
vibrator. Just give him a chance, okay?”

I didn’t stop to correct
her comment. It wasn’t like I wanted to scream it out to the world,
“I haven’t had sex in over a year”. I knew that wouldn’t help my
case. I tried to forget about Zane as I followed Leeza up the
stairs. I wished I had a potion to stop my heart from running every
time I saw him. I could close my eyes and picture his sky blue
irises staring into mine. They always seemed so open and honest.
But I knew he was a player—a man not to be trusted. I just wished
that I could embed that information into my heart. But every week
that he came into the diner, was a week where I found myself liking
him more and more. It was funny. I was his server and we weren’t
really friends, but we had had some pretty interesting
conversations in the diner. Sometimes they happened while he waited
on a date to arrive and sometimes he stayed in the restaurant and
chatted for a bit if the girl decided to take a cab home. Getting
to know Zane these last few months had really brightened my day and
I couldn’t imagine a Friday night without him coming in.

“Come on, Lucky.” Leeza
called down the stairs as I walked up slowly to meet her. “Hurry it
up, I don’t have all night.”

“I’m coming.” I
sighed.

“Come on.” She grabbed my
arm as I reached the top of the stairs and then pulled me into a
room with her. “This is my friend Lucky, everyone.” Leeza’s tone
changed as she opened the door, and I followed her in hesitantly.
There were four guys sitting on chairs and drinking, and they all
smirked at me, as they looked me over. “Lucky, this is Evan.” She
pointed to a tall guy with jet-black hair and striking green
eyes.