The Broken Road Read Online Free PDF Page A

to meet a man first.”
    I rolled my eyes. “No dingdong. I want the connection that you guys feel for each other. Remember when you first met Matt? You knew he was the one for you from the moment you first saw him.”
    Jen sighed. “I know. I saw him in the elevator and it was instant. I had the goose bumps and butterflies. But sometimes it’s not like that. Sometimes you have to really get to know the person first. You can’t be scared to talk to someone just because you’re not one hundred percent sure of the connection. Sometimes it takes time to build up to that. And how do you know you don‘t have that spark unless you go and try to meet someone?”
         She was right and I hated it. Whenever we went out and guys would approach, I’d give off the not so subtle signal that I wasn’t interested. It’s not like the guys were rude or obnoxious, or ugly even. The connection just wasn’t there. I felt that instant attraction with both Shane and Tommy. Tommy’s compassion and dry humor drew me in. He is a genuine, wonderful man. If we didn‘t have his career issue, I‘d like to think that we might still be together. But at the same time, there’s Shane. Even though we were just friends all those years ago, we seemed to be always touching. Play fighting, tickling, back rub. All in the guise of friendship. But for me, there was more to it. When we were in the same room, a magnetic force pulled us together. I know why I’m not actively dating. I’m not cruising the bars, looking for guys. It will be very hard to top the feelings I had for Shane or Tommy.
    I sheepishly hid behind my menu. “I know. This sounds so dumb, but I hate the idea of having to go up to a guy just to see if we have a little bit of a connection. I don’t want to waste my time with a one-night stand. I want to be able to look across the room and see fireworks. I want that instant chemistry. I want the goose bumps and the butterflies and the ‘oh my god’ feeling. I want the magic spark.” I winced at the outpouring of fairytale nonsense.  “Whatever, can we please change the subject? Let’s just order,” I pleaded.
    Jen rolled her eyes and appeased me. She dropped it, although I suspected we’d get back my lack of love life sooner rather than later. We shifted gears and talked about life in general; how Matt was thinking about opening up his own practice, my mom’s latest date, Kyle’s transfer. Our food came and went, and there was still no sign of Shane and Allison.
    “I guess someone decided they were too good to join us.” I pulled on my jacket after paying the tab. Jen shrugged. She knows Shane better than most and knew only someone special could lure him away from us.
    “I don’t know. She’s very distant. Maybe she is just insecure. We’ve been tight for so long; maybe she feels like she’s intruding. We should try and include her more. If we want Shane to hang out with us, she’ll be with him. We need to get used to that. It wouldn’t kill us to be friends with her,” she said as we left Artie’s. Jen always tries to make the best of any situation and see the best in people.
    “I guess.” I hit the button to unlock the Volvo and start the engine. I was thankful that I had thought to get an automatic start installed. I’m not a fan of cold cars.
    “Well, talk to Shane about it. Maybe he has some suggestions. But I need to get home. It’s the first time I’ve had the night to myself in so long and I plan to do some serious sleeping.” I had to laugh. Lauren constantly crawled into bed with her parents, and Jen always complained of lack of sleep. We gave each other a big hug, promised to do something together again soon, and went our separate ways.
    I got into the Volvo and headed towards home. I was halfway there, singing along to Aerosmith, when my phone rang.
    “Hello?”  I checked the caller ID but didn’t recognize the number.
    “Hey big sister, what’s shaking?”
    “Hey Kyle. What’s going