Protecting Dallas

The man behind the counter shrugged apologetically. “Sort of,” he said, his voice hesitant. “He, uh…”

“Let me guess,” I offered, with a mad chuckle. “He only paid for himself?”

“Well… yeah.”

Fuck you Malcolm.

I opened my bag mechanically, paying with my last twenty-dollar bill. It should’ve been a good day. I should’ve gotten a raise, a well-deserved promotion. I should be celebrating with a handsome, loving boyfriend at some beautiful restaurant uptown. One who loved me enough to move in with me after nearly two years of dating.

Instead I was in some greasy diner, crying like a baby, paying my own bill. I’d missed the promotion, and now I didn’t even have a car anymore.

Oh yeah, and my boyfriend had just dumped me. Right before Christmas.

Fuck my life.

I went to look down into my phone’s cracked screen, to see what time it was. But when I pressed the button, all I saw was the darkness of a fully-drained battery.

Hell, fuck everything.

I pushed on the door so hard it bounced back and nearly hit me in the chin. My eyes dropped to the big PULL sign. Just as the guy behind me said the word needlessly over my shoulder.

It was just one of those days. The ones that kicked your ass, and kept on kicking you even after you were down.

At least it was almost over. At least nothing else could go wrong.

Right?

Finally opening the door, I stomped outside… into a cold, freezing rain.

Two

HOLLY

“No calls, no texts… no anything?”

I shook my head from the other side of the couch. The coffee shop was crowded for a Thursday. This close to Christmas, in New York City? I’m surprised we got a seat at all.

“Nothing,” I said proudly. “Two whole, beautiful Malcolmless weeks.”

Jocelyn pursed her lips approvingly. She took another sip of her latte.

“And you haven’t even run into him at the office?”

“Nope. Remember, he works three floors above me. And it’s not like I saw him a lot to begin with.”

That part was a flat-out lie, and Jocelyn knew it. I saw Malcolm all the time, as much at work as outside the office. She didn’t call me out on it, though. It was the mark of a good friend.

“Good for you, Holly,” she smiled, raising her mug. Very carefully, I clinked mine against it. “I’m proud of you.”

In truth I was proud of myself. I’d actually gone out of my way to avoid my ex, taking a different bank of elevators and avoiding the exit near the parking garage. Hell, it wasn’t like I had a car to park there anymore, anyway.

A sadness crept over me at that last thought. I really missed my little hatchback.

“So what do you think about Sunday?” I asked. “About Lincoln’s… invite?”

“Sure sounds like a date to me,” Jocelyn grinned.

“Really?”