Her Dad's Friend Read Online Free PDF Page B

skipping a beat, she says, “I know you like your guys with age spots and pumped full of Cialis, but there are guys at this school who are perfectly capable of doling out orgasms.”
    I throw my crust at her. She laughs and tosses it to the pigeons stalking us. “There’s this guy, Jeremy, who was at your party and I have it on good authority that he’s really into you, and that he has Thor’s hammer hidden in his pants, if you know what I mean.”
    “If I roll my eyes any harder, they’ll fall out of my head,” I say.
    “I’m not asking you to fall in love. Just go on a double date with me and Chris. Maybe get laid and forget about Paul for a few hours.”
    I have no idea who Chris is, but getting away from the apartment does sound good. The thought of sitting on my couch alone, binging Netflix and Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, makes me want to curl up and cry. It’s so depressing. I’m young and fairly attractive—well, at least three weeks out of four, before PMS breakouts make me look like I have a case of the black death. I should be going out, having the time of my life while I’m unattached and at an age where it’s still acceptable to make terrible decisions. I should be experiencing different guys.
    “Fine, I’ll go, but I’m not promising sex with this guy, so don’t even plant the thought in his head.”
    “I would never,” she says with her hand to her chest in mock-exasperation.
    I’m already starting to regret this decision.

    * * *
    I ’ve never been on a blind date before. Jeremy is tall, wide shouldered and narrow hipped with a prominent brow and piercing eyes; a Zach Efron doppelgänger who I definitely could’ve seen myself with had Paul not returned.
    We go to dinner, a nice little authentic Italian restaurant in the valley. It’s a double date, but we sit away from Emily and her date so that we have a chance to talk and get to know each other. I learn that his dad is a veterinarian, but he would rather go into sports medicine rather than follow in his father’s footsteps. His favorite band is … I don’t remember. I’m really trying to make this date work, but I just can’t.
    I put my chin in my hands, pretending to hang onto his every word. Emily is all smiles at the other table. I feel her eyes carving out a hole into my skull to see my thoughts. When I glance over at her, she looks mighty proud of herself. She texts me under the table, bragging about her skills as a cupid. Every time I feel my phone vibrate, there’s always the hope that it’s Paul.
    After dinner Emily slips me a condom, even though I have plenty at home, before they leave. I can’t bear to tell her I’m not interested.
    Jeremy drives me home and walks me to the door. He leans against the door jam. “It was really nice seeing you again,” he says, “I wanted to talk to you at your party, but that older guy you were with never left your side long enough to give me a chance.”
    Though Jeremy looks like the kind of guy made of Hollywood magic, I hadn’t noticed him at my party. He is only familiar to me because we have a class together. I hardly notice him now, and it doesn’t help that I’m distracted by thoughts of Paul; our time in the pool together, the way he’d touched me in my kitchen, the desperate, needy way he’d kissed me.
    “Right, him,” I say, wishing he hadn’t brought up Paul because now he’s all I can think about. For a second there I was doing a fairly decent job keeping him out of the frontlines of my thoughts. “He’s a family friend and is only in town for a little while, so, you know …”
    “Yeah, no worries. I’m just happy I’m getting my chance now.”
    Sorry, Bro, but you never stood a chance, I think to myself.
    Talking about Paul only makes things worse. My self-esteem has plummeted faster than the pound on the stock market after Brexit. I feel like shit and I could really stand to have someone worship me right about now, even if it’s only for ten