Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 133224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
My life is complicated enough already.
I glance at my watch as I wait around the corner. Tonight I want to be strategically late. Well, at least five minutes, anyway. The last thing I want to do is watch Blake walk in with his date hand in hand.
I saw Gregory, my date, walk in about five minutes ago, and when he texted me to ask where I was, of course I lied and told him I was still in my Uber. I’ve lied already: not a great start.
Worst part about it is, I’m just about to go into a date with one man, when the other man at the table is all I can think about.
I’m going to like the other guy, even if it kills me.
Ugh . . .
What has my life turned into? It’s like a fucking soap opera.
With one last steadying breath, I drop my shoulders. You can do this.
I walk in through the restaurant and see them sitting at a table by the window. Blake is talking to his date, and Gregory looks up and sees me. He stands and smiles.
Oh, he’s cute. This is a pleasant surprise.
“Hello.” I smile. “I’m Rebecca.” I hold out my hand to shake his, and he leans in and kisses me on the cheek.
“I’m Gregory. Nice to meet you.”
Blake glances up. “Hi, Rebecca.” He smiles. “This is Kayla.”
“Hello.” I smile awkwardly as I sit down.
“Hello, so nice to meet you,” she replies. My eyes linger on her for a moment.
Oh no.
Kayla is pretty and attractive, with the girl-next-door vibe. Nothing like the supermodels that Blake normally dates.
Great.
This is it. She’s the one.
They’ve been friends for years, and he said he’s always liked her. Oh my god, how did I get myself into this situation? I feel myself begin to sweat.
Gregory moves around so that he’s closer to me. “I was worried you were going to bail on me.”
Me too.
“No, no, I’m here.” I smile awkwardly. My eyes roam over to Blake and Kayla. They’ve gone back to their conversation, and Blake is totally immersed in whatever she’s saying. He’s hardly noticed that I’ve arrived.
“What would you like to drink?” Gregory asks.
I open the drink menu and look over the choices. “What are you guys having?”
“Hmm, not sure yet,” Kayla says as she opens her drink menu.
Gregory calls over the waiter and gestures for me to go first. “What can I get you?” the waiter asks.
I feel like the awkwardness of tonight is going to make it where if I drink something that I like, I could get way too tipsy, and fast. No, stick to a drink that you don’t like.
Safer that way.
“I’ll have a glass of white wine, thank you.” I smile.
“And you, sir?” he asks Gregory.
“I’ll have a scotch on the rocks, please.” The waiter writes down our orders and turns his attention to Blake and Kayla.
“Really?” Kayla smiles all excitedly. “Oh my god,” she whispers.
“I know, I couldn’t believe it either.” Blake laughs.
What couldn’t you believe?
“I can’t wait to tell you all about it,” he says. “It’s a funny story.”
My stomach twists in jealousy. I hate that he has another girl friend. Here I was thinking that what we had was special. Now he can’t wait to tell her all about it, and I don’t even know what it is.
“What can I get you, ma’am?” the waiter asks.
“I’ll have a margarita, thanks.” Kayla smiles.
That’s my drink, bitch.
“Hmm, that sounds good.” Blake smiles all sexy-like. “Make that two.”
“So . . .” Gregory smiles over at me. “I’ve been looking forward to this night all week.”
“Me too,” I lie as I smile nervously back.
From my peripheral vision, I see Blake take Kayla’s hand and put it on his leg.
Why does he always do that?
It’s infuriating.
Here I am thinking that he’s touching me because he wants to, when that’s just his language; that’s how he speaks to all women.
“So, what do you do, Gregory?” Blake asks.
“I’m in tech.”
“What kind of tech?” Blake raises his eyebrow in interest.
“At the moment, I’m working on robots that defuse bombs.”
“Bombs?” Kayla gasps. “Who employs you to defuse bombs?”
“The United States government,” he tells us. “They’re mostly used in international deployments.”
“Wow.” I smile.
“Impressive.” Blake smiles. “How did you get into that?”
“I’m an engineer by trade, and I used to make robots for the army for testing, and they told me what they needed going forward, so I designed the technology. And I guess it went from there.”
“Where do you work from?” Blake asks.
“I have a team. Our offices are downtown.”
“A team?” Blake frowns. “How many in your team?”
“Thirty-seven.”
“Impressive, man.” He smiles.
Gregory turns his attention to me. “So . . . tell me about your class.”
“Nothing much to tell.” I smile, embarrassed. In my peripheral vision, I see that Blake and Kayla have gone back to their conversation. Her hand is still on his leg, and they are talking softly between themselves.