by Roy, Niecey
“I didn’t sleep with him.” I hung my head. “I chickened out.”
“I knew you would,” Roxanna said, rummaging through the drawer. “It’s because you like him. You weren’t supposed to like him like this. You were supposed to let him be your rebound sex.”
“Rebound sex always ends badly,” Tina said, now snipping the woman’s hair into layers.
Eddie shook his head. “No. Rebound sex is hot.”
I glared at Roxanna. “This is all your fault.”
“I just told you to sleep with him. Not fall for the guy.” Roxanna swallowed down the pills with coffee. “So if you didn’t sleep with him, what’s the big deal?”
“He walked into my guest bedroom.” I said and Roxanna’s eyes snapped up to meet mine.
“You showed him the painting of the two of you?” she asked.
My image in the mirror was pale, the frown twitching at the corners of my lips. I looked like I might cry, actually. “Why do you ask that?”
I didn’t have to ask. I knew what she was thinking—I’d been thinking the same thing ever since Matt walked out of my apartment the night before.
“Oh no.” Roxanna’s eyes were wide and as horrified as I felt.
I moaned, my stomach sick. “God, this is bad.”
Eddie fumbled with a curling iron he’d been putting away and it dropped to the ground with a crash. He bent to retrieve it. “You painted a picture of the two of you? That’s so romantic! It’s about time you found a nice guy. That Brent you dated was a…” Eddie grimaced. “Gross.”
“I never did like him,” Roxanna added. I probably should have listened to her when I introduced her to Brent and she told me she didn’t think he was right for me. My best friend would know.
“You and everyone else,” I said.
“The problem isn’t that she painted a picture of them,” Roxanna said and sucked down the rest of her coffee. “The problem is that he saw the painting, which pretty much told him you’re interested in having babies with him.”
“What?!” I gasped and shook my head. “God, do you think he thinks that?”
“Yes,” Roxanna said.
“No,” Tina said.
“He’s divorced,” Roxanna added. Eddie gasped and clutched at his chest. His muscles strained against his skin-tight t-shirt. Roxanna’s dramatics incited by Eddie’s reaction, she added, “And Gen has fallen for an emotionally unavailable man.”
In one breath, Eddie asked, “You must tell me one thing.”
We all leaned forward in anticipation as he grasped the arms of the salon chair and stared deep into my eyes. I whispered, “What?”
“Is he handsome?” He groped his vest and waited for the answer and I blinked back at him.
“Eddie, you are the only person I know who would think handsomeness is the only point that matters in this situation.” Roxanna threw up her hands. “Painting a picture of them together is like Gen writing a journal entry about her aspirations of baby-making with him, ripping the page out, and then letting him read it. The guy she wrote about read her journal entry. It’s like proclaiming her ever-lasting love.”
“It’s just art,” I said, my voice weak and tired.
“Is it?” Roxanna stared at me intently, daring me to answer.
It wasn’t just art; it was my life, my soul, everything that made me who I am. Matt had to know that. He’d taken one look at that painting and walked out.
“What did he do after he seen the painting?” Tina asked. The woman sitting at her station now had a short bob, the floor covered in her long black hair.
“He left.” Saying it out loud made me want to cry.
Eddie scowled. “The bastard.” He applied the color cream to my bangs. “Do you have a picture of this scoundrel?”
Roxanna stood and walked over to my purse I’d sat in an empty chair. She fished my phone out and flipped through the pictures. “He’s dangerous,” she said and showed Eddie the photo. Tina walked over to peer at it over her shoulder.
“Oh, my God. He looks like Ian Somerhalder but with hazel eyes,” Tina breathed. “I’m in love and I don’t even know him.”
“You can’t let this man get away,” Eddie said and leaned into the counter, as if his knees were too weak to support himself. Then his eyes lit up. “Does he have a brother?”
“Yes,” I said. “But he’s not gay.”
Crestfallen, he resumed applying color to my hair. “That’s a pity. The solution is clear.”
“It is?” Nothing was clear to me at this moment. I looked in the mirror at Eddie’s face just above the goopy blob of color-creamed hair piled on the top of my head.
“You’ve gotten more serious than he’s ready for.”
“Yeah, I got that from the way he bailed last night,” I said.
“So you need to let him come back to you. You can’t call him. He’s a man. They’re no good with surprise emotional commitment,” Eddie said and tucked my hair into a cap.
“And you can’t sleep with him. It’ll ruin everything.” Roxanna dropped my phone back into my purse.
“I can’t exactly sleep with him when he’s not talking to me, so I think none of us have to worry about that,” I said.
“You need to wait until he realizes he either likes you just as much, or…” Tina trailed off and I sighed, the unspoken words already on the tip of my tongue.
“Or he realizes he doesn’t want a relationship with me at all,” I finished. The words were heavy on my lips, and heavier on my heart.
“Hey, love, it sounds like he really likes you,” Eddie said and turned my chair around so I faced him. “Why else would he keep coming around when it’s clear your best friend is a crazy?”
“Hey,” Roxanna protested.
“And you,” Eddie said and turned to point at Roxanna. “You are not allowed to give her relationship advice.”
Roxanna crossed her arms. “Why not?”
“Because you don’t believe in love,” Eddie said.
“I do too.”
“No, you don’t,” Eddie, Tina, and I said in unison.
“I don’t believe in marriage,” Roxanna corrected. “That’s different.”
“If you believed in love you wouldn’t push away every guy who’s ever been serious about you,” Tina said as she backcombed her client’s hair.
“I’m twenty-two. Serious relationship is happiness suicide,” Roxanna said, her tone defensive.
Eddie turned to face me. “No relationship advice from the pessimist.”
“I’m just saying, she should maybe not see him for a little bit,” Roxanna insisted. “I don’t want her to get hurt.”
No one argued. Especially not me. I didn’t want to get hurt, either. And something inside of me whispered I’d definitely be hurt if I got any closer to Matt and he decided he wasn’t interested in more than…whatever it was we had now.
“Space sounds good,” I said on a heavy sigh. I didn’t want to be blindsided; I’d had enough of that in my past. I smiled a shaky smile at Eddie. “Now make me beautiful so I can be happy, Eddie.”
“You got it, love.” Eddie leaned down and kissed my cheek. “And you tell that sister of yours I am thoroughly disgusted she would make you change your hair. What’s wrong with a little color?”
“Nothing,” Roxanna said. “It’s not Lexie. It’s that future mother-in-law of hers. She’s pressing Lexie for perfection and I think she’s cracking under the pressure.”
“We’ll fix you right up after the engagement party then,” Eddie promised.
“Blue,” Tina suggested.
“Blue,” I agreed.
“How could Matt refuse a smurf?” Roxanna said, and Tina threw a comb at her. It bounced off Roxanna’s chest.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I browsed the romantic comedy section at the movie rental store. None of the titles grabbed my attention. I didn’t want to be reminded of the romance I wasn’t having, or the week that had gone by without seeing Matt.
I’m sure he was confused; I hadn’t exactly told him why I wasn’t answering his calls. Instead I’d been answering in text messages and declining every dinner invitation, every chance to see him. After four straight weeks of seeing me so much, my sudden silence probably made no sense. It’s just, I couldn’t explain to him why because then I’d have to tell him how much I cared about him. He wasn’t ready for that, and I wasn’t ready for rejection.
Damn it, why had I let my guard down? Why couldn’t I be that modern girl who was okay with going Dutch and casual sex?
No, I wasn’t in the mood for a romantic comedy. I needed a zombie movie, or another alien documentary—nothing that would remind me of how much I missed Matt. Something to take my mind off the last text message from him that had asked me if I was okay, if he had done something to upset me.
I changed direction and headed to the horror section, snagging a big tub of movie theater butter popcorn on the way. I had some in my cabinet at home already, but one could never have too much popcorn. Not on a night like this. Only high amounts of butter would soothe me. That, and the cookie dough ice cream waiting in my freezer.
A jumbo grape Laffy Taffy caught my eye, the kind with the big sugar sprinkles. I added that to the top of the popcorn tub. This would be my first zombie movie alone. I was a little worried about it. I’d definitely need munchies to distract me. And a pillow to cover my face for most of it.
My eyes were glued to the back of a zombie apocalypse-type movie when I smelled Richard’s cologne. I turned to smile at him. “Lookin’ good in the vest, Richard. Are you working out?” I asked and he puffed out his skinny chest, dwarfed in the oversized green vest.
“Yeah, a little,” he said, his arms full of DVD cases. “How’s it goin'?”
“Great,” I lied and set the zombie movie back on the rack. “How’s work?”
“Pretty good.”
“Do you like working here?” I asked. Maybe what I needed was a part time job. If I worked seventeen hours a day there’d be no time to miss Matt or to fall in love with him. Which was where I was headed.
“I love it. They even let us rent all the movies and games we want for free,” he said and returned a DVD to the rack. “I’ve just been checkin’ out the hotties; you know how it is.”
I laughed and said, “Well, that’s great.”
But he wasn’t paying attention to me now. He was focused on something behind me, his eyes wide. Without warning, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me back into an aisle, his shoulders slouched in hiding. The popcorn and Laffy Taffy ended up on the floor and I bent to pick them up.
“What the hell, Richard?”
“Ssshhh.” He waved his hand for me to shut up, his eyes wide as he peered around the shelf. “There’s a girl here I want to ask out. Man, she is so cool. She was browsing the Xbox aisle and checking out the new Warriors of World X.”
I had no idea what that game was, but it sounded interesting. I peeked around Richard to get a glimpse of her, but I barely focused on the slim woman with blond hair piled high on her head in a messy ponytail before Richard yanked me back. I grabbed my neck, jarred from the sudden movement.
“Sheesh, Richard, watch the whiplash,” I said. “She didn’t see me. She’s got her back to us.”
“I don’t need her getting the wrong idea about us,” Richard said and snuck another peek. “We’re hiding in an aisle, Gen. It’s suspicious. You’ll intimidate her.”
“You’re the one who pulled us over here like this,” I reminded him.
“Well, you’re my ex. I can’t be seen with you.”
I sighed and clutched the popcorn tub to my chest.
“Richard, I am not your ex. We ate a meal together. Once. The second meal didn’t count, remember? You took off before we could eat. And I paid for your meal.”
“Hey, I told you I’d pay you back for that. And I bought your lunch last week, remember?” he asked, sounding wounded.
Yes, I remembered. He’d made a big scene in the cafeteria about paying for my hoagie from the vending machine after Roxanna had reminded him for the umpteenth time about how he’d ditched me in Mario’s Italy. So after a few minutes of trying to convince him I was over it and that Roxanna’s opinion didn’t matter, I finally gave in and let him pay for my lunch.
“Yeah, yeah. Okay,” I said. “So what are you going to do about this girl? You can’t spy on her forever. Just ask her out.”
He straightened and turned his back to the aisle and I assumed it was in case the girl passed by. He said, “You think I should? I don’t know.” He sounded terrified. “That last girl I asked out told me she’s a lesbian.”
“Her being a lesbian has nothing to do with you,” I reasoned.
“What should I say?”
This was the tricky part. Giving advice to a guy who didn’t seem to understand anything I said was walking a dangerous line. Especially for the girl he was about to confront.
“Sometimes, Richard, you just have to go for it.” That was something he was sure to understand—he’d been consistently persistent with me, anyway. I said, “Just take a chance. This can be your shot at love, you know?”
“Yeah…okay.”
“And maybe just go up to her and ask her if she needs any help. Maybe talk about that Mega World X just to feel the situation out.”
“Warriors of World X,” Richard corrected. He did his ah-hu-ah-hu-ah-hu laugh. “You really don’t know squat about video games, huh?”
I smiled. “No, not really. Anyway, before you ask her out, just get to know her a little bit. Find out if she’s got a boyfriend first.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll do that.” He looked at the popcorn and candy in my arms. “What are you doing here by yourself? Where’s your boyfriend?”
“He’s just a friend. And I’m doing the solo thing tonight.” I flashed a smile I didn’t mean. “Therapeutic reasons.”
“Oh man, that sucks.”
“No, it doesn’t suck, it’s good.” Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I’d believe it. “Don’t worry about it. Keep your mind on that girl you like.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t date bikers anymore.”
I smiled, picturing Matt in the biker gear Richard had worn. “Maybe you’re right. I’m just going to rent a movie and get home before it starts raining.” Before I stepped out into the aisle, I asked, “Hey, any good zombie movies out? Or maybe an exorcism movie?”
Richard yanked me back behind the movie shelf and stepped out into the aisle. “You wait here. I’ve got something I think you’ll like.”
There was no point in arguing, so I hid out of the sight of his potential new girlfriend. He returned after a few minutes with a fat DVD case. I took it from him, scanning the cover. “Aliens?” I asked.
“Not just aliens, but the best alien TV show that ever was. It went three seasons and then—” he gestured wide with this hands, “—poof, the network gave it the axe. Fans protested and petitioned other networks to pick it up, but no one ever did. Something about the cost of special effects. There’s never been another show like it.”
Hmm, an alien TV show—that sounded harmless and not scary at all. I was more interested in UFO hunter shows, but I would give it a try. I opened my mouth to thank him, but he was peeking around the corner again. “Richard, you’ve got to stop that. It’s creepy.”
He straightened and adjusted his vest. “Right, yeah.”
“Hey, you still going out tonight for that work thing?” he asked, startling me.
“Oh crap, I forgot that was tonight.”
“See you there?”
I nodded. “Yeah, or Roxanna will have my head.”
Richard laughed, a-hu-a-hu-a-hu-a-hu. “Yeah, you better go.”
“Okay then, I’m headed out. Thanks for the recommendation,” I said and turned to walk in the opposite direction of the blonde he was spying on. I waved the boxed set in the air but didn’t turn around, and called out, “Remember, if you talk to that girl
, don’t ask her out yet. Just talk, that’s it. Think of it as recon or whatever you call it in those war games you play.”
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment, the sky had opened up and I could barely see out of my windshield. Should have brought an umbrella, I thought glumly. I’d be trapped in my car for a little while, at least until it slowed down. The wind whipped against my car, lashing it with sheets of rain.
My phone chimed with a message and I picked it up. It was Roxanna: Hey, it’s Britney-Palooza. She’s so excited we’re all getting drunk in her honor. Are you coming?
When I didn’t answer, she texted: You can’t mope in your apartment forever. Come out and play.
That made me smile. I’ll be there later. I’ve got some things to do first.
That was a lie, there were no “things” I needed to do. I just wasn’t in the mood to be around people, and I didn’t want to bring the group down with my sad face. Maybe if I watched the first episode of the alien TV show in my bag, I’d be in a better mood.
After being stuck in my car for fifteen minutes, I jumped out into the sprinkling rain. The sky above was dark and cloudy; another storm would blow in soon. I ran up the back stairs to my patio door and hurried to work the lock open. Inside, I flipped the light switch on and shed my jacket, leaving it to dry on the coat tree in the corner. The wind howled fiercely around the outside walls of the apartment.
Thirty minutes later, I sat in breathless anticipation as the teenage girl in the TV show learned the sexy, dark-haired boy in her science class was an alien who saved her life.
“Holy cow,” I whispered, waiting for them to kiss. It was coming…he had to kiss her!
I was so wrapped up in the show that I didn’t hear the knock at first. And then it sounded again on my patio door. “Son of a bitch,” I mumbled as I fumbled with the remote to stop the show before I missed something important. Finally, I got the show paused and stood. If it was Roxanna, I was going to shake her. It didn’t matter that it was six-thirty p.m. or that Cheer-Britney-Up Night was supposed to start in two hours; she’d interrupted my newest show obsession.