I want to move on and forget about her, but I can’t unless she does first. I hate it. I hate that she has that power over me, but she does.”
He flexes his jaw and rolls up the sleeves of his fitted shirt. “What does she want from you? It’s been three years, and you haven’t fallen back into her trap yet. Apparently, she needs to see you’ve moved on or something.”
“I can’t settle down with anyone and you know it. It’s not in me anymore. If a girl I’ve known over half my life can lie to me the way she did then how in the hell am I supposed to trust a random girl I just meet?”
“I don’t know how to answer that, but you’ll never learn to trust another girl with that attitude and negative thinking.”
“Maybe I don’t want to.”
It’s quiet for a bit as I think of how to go about asking about Natalie.
“You making it this year? Jake asked about you this morning and I told him I wasn’t sure.”
He laughs as if I should already know the answer. I do, and that’s what I’m counting on. “You know I can’t take time away from work to go on a trip to the middle of nowhere. I haven’t been able to make that trip in three years.”
“What about Natalie? She hasn’t met the gang yet then?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. I’m not sure when she will either. There’s too much going on here for me to worry about that.”
“How about on Thursday?”
He gives me a dumbfounded look. “I just told you I can’t make it. How would she meet everyone?”
“What if she came with me on the trip?”
He laughs, before his face turns serious. “What, as your fake girlfriend or something?”
I lean forward and place my elbows on my knees, wanting him to see I’m dead serious about this and need it to happen. “You know more than anyone that nothing would ever happen between the two of us. She’d be the perfect one to help get me out of this situation with Alana’s crazy ass.”
“I don’t think so. No. Nope.”
“I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think it was necessary. I have no other options and you know it. Alana won’t stop until either we’re back together or I’ve dropped dead from alcohol poisoning.”
“What the hell? Don’t say that shit.” He’s quiet for a few minutes, as if he’s thinking it over. “What would she have to do if I agreed to this? And…” He shakes his head and re-rolls his sleeves. He always does this when he’s nervous. “She’d have to agree to it too. So, if she agrees… let’s say she does; then what would be involved in being your girlfriend for the trip? Give it to me straight or the answer is a big hell no.”
“I don’t know. Me wrapping my arm around her shoulder by the bonfire… dancing with me. She’d definitely have to kiss me from time to time to make it look real, but no sex if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Well, shit, Madden. You’ve put me in a tough spot.” He runs his hands over his face and stands up, looking distressed. “No groping. Definitely no tongue or I’ll kick your ass. You know I will. And the only reason I’m agreeing to this fucked up insanity is because I don’t want you getting wrapped up in Alana and getting hurt again. Also, because there’s no way in hell that Natalie would ever fall for you—she doesn’t even really like you.” He laughs, as if it’s the last thing on earth that would ever happen. And it probably is.
“I’ll take it, big brother. You know she’ll be safe in my hands. Then, later, if you decide to take the trip next year, we can just tell everyone that we broke up because I was on the road a lot and you were there to pick up the pieces. Her hero in a fancy suit.”
“Well, good luck talking Natalie into it tomorrow.” He sits back down and begins typing on the computer again, answering emails. “I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of this.”
Yeah, and knowing Natalie I’ll probably get kicked for asking…
CHAPTER THREE
Natalie
I take long, slow breaths in an attempt to keep my cool as I hop on the elevator and ride it up to the third floor for the third time in an hour.
I swear, if these jerks get locked out of their room one more time