Phillip was looking much like Cooper tonight after work. He was lying across the couch with the remote control glued to his hand.
I lay across him and started doing some things he liked, usually a surefire way to get him into bed with me. All of a sudden, this annoyed him.
“I’m trying to watch this,” he told me and sort of pushed me aside.
Now, I’m sorry, but you could have a two-hour romp in bed and come back, and the golf game would be going pretty much the same. And excuse me, but isn’t this why they created highlights and DVRs?
I probably should have jumped up and down, naked. I probably should have screamed, I need some attention here!
Instead, I asked if he wanted to grab a drink with some friends.
He said, “Nah, you go. I’m tired.”
So, now, I’m headed to the bar. Talk about looking for attention in all the wrong places. I’m also wondering if Pastor John is prophetic.
Is Phillip getting sick of me already? Is he going to stop wanting me?
I’m sort of embarrassed to admit it, but this bar is like my second home. Not quite the home Kegger’s was down in Lincoln, but it’s where we all hang out here, in Omaha. It’s rare that I don’t see lots of people I know.
But tonight is different. There are a lot of guys here that I don’t recognize.
It’s like they dropped off a busload from the hot guys’ home.
I mean, seriously, Phillip is hot.
We know that.
And most guys don’t even come close in my opinion. A guy has to, like, have it all for me to even give him a second glance. I’m not into skinny guys, and if they wear skinny jeans or have a skater kind of look, they’re not for me. The only time I’ve ever really strayed from that is with the guitar player I dated this summer. He did have great guitar-playing arm muscles though, and at the time, I kinda felt like I needed to try something different. Evidently, I did not learn my lesson with the sex-video guy.
Normally, my typical guy is like a real man. He could be a mechanic or a cowboy or a linebacker, whatever, but he has to have good muscles and an adorable smile.
Oh, and good teeth.
Danny always used to tease me about how I love teeth. Like I was shopping for a horse or something.
But I do like a perfect smile.
And, tonight, it’s like someone is holding a casting call for Jadyn’s Perfect Type. ’Cause, as I’m scanning the crowd while walking back to our usual table, there are, like, four guys who literally turn my head.
Later, when I walk back to use the restroom, four guys hit on me. Even after I said I was engaged, they keep trying.
I swear, I didn’t even flirt back. I was too shocked to flirt.
When I get back from the restroom and sit down next to Joey, Katie, Lisa, and Neil, I realize a cosmic shift has occurred.
Is it because it’s the first time I’ve been here alone since we got engaged?
Does an engagement ring make a girl more attractive?
Do all the boys realize I’m serious about settling down, and so, now, I’m a more attractive mate?
Or am I more attractive to them because I’m committed, and it could just be a no-strings-attached fling?
Or has the shift changed me and how I look at guys? Like you want what you can’t have.
Do I really wanna be stuck with the same guy for the rest of my life?
Phillip is so structured, and there is security in that. But what if I want something different?
Like, I love desserts. My very favorite is chocolate cheesecake, but if I had to eat it every night, wouldn’t I get sick of it?
What’s so wrong with wanting to have, like, a piece of apple pie one night and maybe a nice pound cake with strawberries the next?
I think Barbie might have been on to something.
A really hot guy sits down next to me. He is one of the guys I turned down on the way to the restroom.
And he’s hot.
Not the Phillip sweet, dreamy kind of hot, but more the Danny Diamond, all blond and an attitude kind of hot.
Like, he’s really hot. Did I say that already?
But the more he talks, well, the more bored I get.
I guess I do like a little brain behind the brawn. If a guy can’t get my very witty and amazingly intelligent sarcasm, then he’s a dud.
I want this guy to leave, so I flash the engagement ring his way again, but I think he might be too dense to know what it means.
Normally, Joey and Neil would be all over it. Like, they’d just tell the guy to leave. That I’m taken. But Neil is busy fawning over Katie, and Joey is trying to pick up some chick. Lisa is drooling over the guy, but she’s trying to act disinterested.
I touch her arm and say, “I’m going to the bar.” I said it in a way that let her know the guy was all hers, and I would take my time coming back.
I grab the two empty pitchers off our table, say something vague about being back, and head to the bar for refills.
The bar is super busy, so I squeeze between two guys sitting there, swing the pitchers onto the counter, stick my boobs out, and flash a big grin in the bartender’s direction.
The guy sitting to my right spins his barstool around, and I find myself standing between Jason O’Connor’s legs.
Jason purrs, “Jadyn James, look at you, all gorgeous and shiny.”
Jason has always called me Jadyn James because his name is Jason James O’Connor. He thought it was cool that we, like, matched. And shiny, from anyone else, would make me think my makeup got greasy-looking, and my face needed to be powdered. But shiny is a Jason word. And shiny equals perfect to Jason. He loves shiny new toys of all kinds.
“I hear you got engaged.”
“How did you hear that?”
“My parents told me. They also told me I should’ve never let you get away. They always ask me about you, how you’re doing and stuff. They thought you were smart, funny, and down to earth.”
“Aw, that’s so nice. I liked your parents, too.”
“What about me?”
“What do you mean, what about me?”
“Did you like me?” He gives me an adorable little curve of his textbook lips and a flash of expensive and perfect teeth. “Did you love me?”
I think about how to answer that.
“At the time, I thought I was in love with you.”
“I was in love with you,” he says sweetly. “I think I’m still in love with you.”
I ignore the still in love with you part and say, “It felt like we were in love, but you never told me.”
“Remember your winter formal?”
“How could I forget that? You ruined it!”
“No, before that, before I got drunk. How did you feel about the night, about me?”
“I felt great. Had a hot date, loved my dress, loved my hair. Honestly, before you got drunk, the night felt kinda special. I mean, it seemed like it was gonna be special, you know, until it wasn’t.”
“Here’s a little secret for you, Jadyn James. I was going to tell you I loved you that night. You would’ve been the first girl I ever said it to that I felt like I really meant it. Like, when I wasn’t just saying it for sex. I was also going to give you my fraternity pin. Make it official.”
“You wanted to pin me? I would’ve passed my candle, gotten serenaded, and everything?”
“Yeah, you would have.”
“So, why didn’t you ask?”
“I was kinda nervous. I wasn’t sure how you felt. It bothered me how tight you and Phillip were. Danny, too. I’d heard rumors about you and Danny. Even asked you about them.”
“And I told you, Danny and I were never together.”
“I know, but you lived with them both. You never once invited me to stay with you. You always stayed at the frat house, and I don’t know. I was nervous, then I got drunk, and then things got all messed up. You know the rest.”
“The rest. As in I left.”
“I felt so bad the next day that I called my mom. She told me to send you the prettiest roses I could find and to send lots of them. I said I was really sorry on the card. I even signed it, Love, Jason, but it didn’t work.”
“The problem was, it seemed like it wasn’t just that one time. Like, you were always looking for a fight. I was used to being around guys who avoided fights. They didn’t need to prove their worth by fighting. I realized that wasn’t the kind of guy I wanted to be with.”
“I’m not like that anymore. I’ve grown up, graduated, gotten a good job, and I know what I want. I think it’s fate that I ran into you tonight.”
“I’m glad you’ve gotten your life together, Jason. I’m happy for you. So, what is it you want?”
“You.”
“Me? I’m engaged!”
“Yeah, but you’re only engaged. You aren’t married yet. Officially, you’re still single.”
“But I wanna marry Phillip.”
“I think you should marry me.”
“Marry you?”
“You have to admit, we had fun together. And, this summer, when we hooked up, it was good. We have amazing chemistry.”
“We were both drunk, and you never called. I wouldn’t call that amazing chemistry.”
“I got the feeling you didn’t want me to call. Like you were maybe, sorta dating someone.”
“Oh, so my maybe, sorta dating someone scared you away, but my being freaking engaged doesn’t?”
“Let me see the ring.”
I proudly show him all two gorgeous carats of it. Even in the dark bar, you can see how it catches the light. I love my ring.
Jason holds my hand and studies it. “I could do way better than that.”
I know that’s his way of slamming Phillip. Like the ring isn’t big enough or something. What he doesn’t realize is that it’s the ring of my dreams, so he totally just slammed my taste, too.
He gets off the barstool and wraps his arm around my waist. “Marry me instead.” I open my mouth to say something, but he’s like, “I’m not done. Don’t settle for marrying your friend. That’s what people do when they can’t find anyone else. Like, if we’re not married by the time we’re thirty, we marry each other.”
“It’s not like that with Phillip.”
“I think it is. I think, if you and Phillip were that amazing together, you would’ve gotten together in college. I’m serious. Marry me. We’ll call Phillip afterward and break it to him gently. Tell him the wedding’s off, that we got married. We’ll fly to Vegas tonight, get a suite at the Four Seasons, and buy you a new ring. A ring that will put this one to shame. I’m talking massive. Five or six carats, all for you. Then, we’ll find you a sexy white dress and get married.”
“Your parents would kill you.”
“Not once I told them who I had run away with. You’d have anything your heart desires. Always. That’s what I can give you, Jadyn James.”
With Phillip’s coldness tonight and my total insaneness—even if it’s happy insaneness—with the wedding planning right now, running away to Vegas does sound sorta freeing.
I look at Jason.
Jason is adorable and sexy, and I’m kinda flattered by this.
I mean, now, I have two guys who wanna marry me. I feel sort of unstoppable. This must be how Danny feels when he scores a game-winning touchdown.
“Jadyn James, I do love you. Marry me, and I promise you a great life. What do you say?”
“I say you should’ve told me you loved me and pinned me back then instead of getting drunk. I’m also saying that, after we hooked up this summer, you should’ve called. But you didn’t.”
He looks embarrassed. “I tried to tell you after.”
“What do you mean?”
“I went to your house after I sent the flowers, but you weren’t there. Phillip answered the door, told me it’d probably be best if I left you alone. Danny and two massive football players walked up behind him, all nodding, letting me know, if I didn’t leave you alone, I’d have to answer to them. Plus, you ignored my calls. I’m sorry. I should’ve tried harder. I promise, I’ll make you happy.”
Well, shoot. Now, I feel sorry for Jason. I feel bad I didn’t thank him for the flowers and that I didn’t hear what he had to say. I got mad and hurt, and I walked away. Someday, I’m gonna grow up and realize that people screw up, and you need to at least listen to what they have to say. Let them explain before you convict them of whatever you think they did. I didn’t give Jason a chance to explain, and it could’ve maybe made a difference. If I had listened back then, would I be with him now? Or would I have still ended up with Phillip?
I remember, after Phillip picked me up from the dance, I ate ice cream and whined on his shoulder. I really liked Jason, but Phillip told me I shouldn’t be with a boy who didn’t treat me with respect. He told me I deserved better. He sounded just like my dad had when he used to talk about Jake, and for the first time ever, I took Phillip’s advice concerning a boy.
“Jason, I’m sorry I didn’t thank you for the flowers.”
“It’s okay,” he says.
And, seeing a flicker of hope, he wraps me in a hug. I don’t mind the hug because it feels like one of those closing-a-chapter-of-your-life hugs.
Well, it does until Jason starts hugging my ass.
“I’m serious, Jadyn. Vegas tonight? Happily ever after?”
Happily ever after.
I can’t help it. Whenever those words cross my mind, I see Phillip’s face. I know he’s my happily ever after even if he did ignore me tonight. I sure hope I’m right about Phillip.
“I can’t. I love Phillip. I wouldn’t want to hurt him.”
Jason gets his haughty look. “He’d get over it.”
“Maybe I’m not that easy to get over, Jason,” I say in a smart-ass tone. The thought of Phillip getting over me easily makes me mad.
Jason snarls back, “Fine, but when you divorce your friend in six months because you were wrong, don’t come looking for me. This is a one-time offer.”
“Then, you don’t really love me, and I’ve definitely made the right decision. Good to see you, Jason.”
He’s like, “Whatever.”
I grab the full pitchers off the bar, yell at the bartender to put it on my tab, and hurry back to the safety of my friends.
Even though I know I did the right thing, my encounter with Jason has my mind spinning. I sip on my beer as if it were poison and finally go home.
Phillip waited up for me. “So, did ya have fun? Who all was there?”
“Katie, Lisa, Joey, Neil, and, um, Jason O’Connor.”
“I hate that guy.”
“So I heard. He told me how he came to the house to apologize and what you said to him.”
“Oh.” Phillip tilts his head and looks at me. “It was for your own good, you know.”
“Wanna know what else he told me?”
“Not really.”
“The night of formal, he was going to tell me he loved me and ask me to wear his fraternity pin. That’s what he came to tell me that day.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, I know. I liked him a lot. He came to apologize, and you had no right to interfere.”
“Danny and I were watching out for you. That guy was an ass.”
“That ass asked me to go to Vegas with him tonight and marry him.”
“He what? Did he not see the rock? Did he not know that we’re engaged?”
“Yeah, he knew. Saw the ring. Told me I deserved better—at least five or six carats.”
Phillip slowly sits back down. He kinda looks like I just punched him in the gut. “It sounds like you actually considered it.”
“I’ll be honest; there was a part of me that considered it. Before I left tonight, I tried to kiss you, and I did stuff you normally love. You practically pushed me off you. Do you even like me anymore? I don’t wanna marry someone who’s already sick of me.”
Phillip runs his hand through his hair and sighs. “Princess, I just needed a few minutes to relax and unwind. I had a busy day. I just wanted to sit, watch golf, and not think for a few minutes.”
“Well, I’m just saying, that’s not the send-off your girlfriend—”
Phillip interrupts me. “Fiancée.”
“Should get when she’s headed off to a bar full of hot temptations.”
Phillip looks irritated at me for saying that, but I usually say what’s on my mind. And my mind is a little pissed off at Phillip.
“I’m serious, Phillip. You chose TV golf over a romp on the couch with me. And then sent me to the bar.”
He considers that. “Probably not a smart move on my part, huh?”
“I’m thinking, not so much.”
Phillip grabs my ass and kisses the spot just below my ear that gets me every time. He puts his lips on my ear and whispers, “So, does that mean you’re still horny?”
I have to give him a little shit. “Actually, I already got that taken care of tonight.”
I’m probably not very convincing though since I’m running my hand under the waistband of his shorts. Phillip is just so hot. I can’t help myself.
“You’re a very naughty girl for even thinking about marrying someone else. Young lady, go to your room,” he says in a deep, you just got caught by the principal, filling the school pool with goldfish kind of way.
And, for a second, I think I might be in trouble, but then he flashes that sexy grin and herds me into the bedroom. And, um, well, you can probably figure out the rest.
