The Absolutely True Story of Us Read Online Free PDF Page B

one I mesh with the best. Right? I mean, what are the odds?
    After I introduce Meg and Adrian to my parents, we say a few polite goodbyes and the power couple starts making their rounds in the room. I meet a few more authors, some I've heard of and many more I haven't, and Dean charms every single person he meets.
    I almost forgot how charismatic he could be. The first time he walked up to me in the park, I was sure it was the setup for a prank reality show. Guys like him don't go after girls like me.  
    Except, of course, when they do.
    We'd passed each other plenty of times before. I'd noticed him, of course, the way you notice handsome well-dressed men when they cross your path. But I never expected to look up and see him sitting down beside me on the bench, offering me a snack-size apple pie.
    "They gave me an extra one," he said with a grin. "Figured I might as well share it with somebody."
    I'd like to say it took me a couple of weeks of cautious, demure flirting and casual coffee dates. But he asked me out for dinner that night, and I said yes. It was wonderful. I had just enough wine to get a little giddy, and I kissed him in my front hallway until I could hardly catch my breath.
    He said he'd noticed me, too. The books I was reading on my lunch break, the way the wind ruffled my chestnut-brown hair. After Andrew, I meant to be cautious. I wasn't going to let myself fall too fast and too deep. I had to keep my wits about me.
    I invited Dean in for coffee after our third date. Never got around to making that coffee, but he did spend the night. From that moment, I never hesitated, never doubted, and never looked back.
    After two back-to-back betrayals, I really am starting to wonder what the hell is wrong with me. Not that it's my fault, per se, but I must be doing something to attract these types. What is it about me that beckons to the liars, the cheaters, the emotional vampires who feed off of my blind devotion?  
    Plenty of people would say it's my waistline, but I refuse to accept that. Maybe I'm an easy target because I still have soft curves where so many other women have sleek, tanned skin and lean muscle. But look at Meg. Sure, her boyfriend can obviously be a bit of a pill, but I saw the way he looked at her. She practically has him on a leash. As much as I'd like to bitterly predict the inevitable demise of their relationship, I can't even lie to myself.  
    So what is it about me? What vibes am I putting out into the world that say, "please, betray me! Please lie to me!" It can't just be a coincidence.
    I'm staring blankly at the picked-over offerings on the buffet table when I notice Meg and Adrian having a slightly hushed conversation in the little recessed doorway area behind it. I'm not trying to listen, but they're not trying that hard to be quiet, either.
    "It's indecent," she's saying.
    " You're indecent," he replies fervently, glancing over his shoulder before he steals a kiss. "You know what would go really well with this dress? That flush you get across your chest when I make you -"
    " Stop it," she insists. "You're not playing fair."
    "Oh, I'm the one who's not playing fair?" From the sound of his voice, I suspect he's raised an eyebrow at her. "So the push-up bra was just a coincidence."
    "Not everything is because of you. Ego-maniac. I like to dress nicely for the fans." There's a smirk in her voice. "You're so going to lose, by the way."
    "So you keep saying. And yet I remain unmoved."
    "I wouldn't say that ," Meg laughs softly. "By the way, have you noticed we're in a hotel?"
    "I might have."
    The temptation to look up in the ensuing silence is too great. She's pressing a key card into his hand, and he's standing there with slowly widening eyes.
    "If you feel like surrendering, meet me there in the next half-hour," she purrs. Then, she turns abruptly on her heel and starts walking away from him.  
    Right towards me.
    I try to adopt a casual stance, gazing somewhere into the middle distance,