Jilted Jock - Rebecca Jenshak Page 0,54
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“You say that like it surprises you.”
“I guess it does.” She rested her hip on the counter. “When was your last relationship?”
“Not long ago.”
“Ah.” She nodded slowly.
“Ah? Did I just give away something with that response?”
“Well it hopefully explains why we’ve been out together twice now, but you haven’t asked me anything about myself.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.” I winced.
She laughed. “It’s okay. I get it. I was the same way after my last relationship.”
“A self-absorbed arsehole?”
Another light chuckle left her lips. “Something like that.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Talking was easier after that. I made a point to actually get to know her and surprisingly we had a lot in common. We were both cat owners, we’d both moved to LA in the past five years, we were both only children, we even had the same birthday month – July.
We’d moved back to the living room. Olivia sat beside me on the love seat and I rested my arm behind her. We’d fallen into a sort of comfortable presence. Foster and Lauren weren’t much help in keeping the conversation flowing. Foster tried, but his girl wasn’t having it. I don’t know if she was just so into my buddy that she couldn’t see past him or if she had the self-awareness of a toddler, but all she could focus on was Foster.
Lauren had just asked if we’d ever been to Napa – she’d just gone on a girl’s trip – and before me or Olivia could answer, she’d commandeered the discussion to invite Foster on a weekend getaway.
By unspoken agreement, we stopped trying to include them in conversation after that.
“I have a confession to make,” Olivia said, legs turned toward me. She ran her finger along the rim of her drink. “I knew when your last relationship was. I’m not some crazy stalker or anything, but when I told my mom we were going out, she dug around a bit.”
I nodded, unsure what to say.
“I’m sorry to bring it up, I just wanted you to know I get it. I understand why you’re gun shy. I’ve never been left at the altar, but I have been cheated on. It took me a long time to trust again after that. It was two years ago, and I still think it trips me up sometimes.”
I really didn’t know what to say to that. I went for deflection and learning more about her.
“Have you dated much since?”
“On and off. At first people told me I needed to get back out there. They set me up with brothers and friends. Then I tried online dating, but that was mostly just casual hookups.” She stopped talking and looked up with concerned eyes. “Oh God – was that an over-share?”
I chuckled. “No, I appreciate the honesty. No judgment here. I think I probably would have fallen into the casual hookup scene too if it weren’t for—” An image of Adele flashed before me. Hands crossed at her waist and eyes fire. God, she’d been so sexy and strong – so exactly what I’d needed. “A friend looked out for me.”
“That’s good that you had someone to do that for you. Most of my friends laid low for a while. They called and tried to say and do the right things, but I was pretty unpleasant to be around.”
She was right. It’d been the same for me. If it hadn’t been for Adele, I’d probably still be drinking myself into a stupor. She’d looked out for me when I needed it. I had a feeling she did that for people a lot.
Who did it for her?
I stood, totally unsure of just about everything except one single thing. I needed to be that person for Adele. The person that looked out for her even when she maybe didn’t realize she needed it. New York was all wrong for her. I felt that down to my core, and if there was even a slight chance that she was as miserable as I was, I needed to help her.
“I’m so sorry, but I need to be somewhere.”
I’d go to New York and I’d… fuck, I didn’t know. Call her? If I saw with my own eyes that she was happy, and she had everything she ever wanted in New York then I would move on. I just needed to be sure she was okay first.
I gave a shit apology to Foster and Lauren, thanked Olivia, made excuses, and got the hell out of there. It was all hurried and chaotic and probably