The Personal Shopper

I laugh when he opens the door and Cassie is standing there. She looks him up and down. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” She turns to look at me. “You didn’t mention you were going to have eye candy over here when you invited me over.” She grins back at Parker.

I mouth the words “That’s him.” and point at his back. Cassie knows everything about Parker, incl

uding how I was in love with him back in the day and how he broke my heart.

Understanding comes over Cassie’s face and her smile drops. “Oh. You.” She narrows her eyes at him.

She quickly moves past Parker and pushes him out the door and slams it in his face.

She turns back around toward me. “Damn. That’s him? No wonder you were in love with him. That man is dreamy” She fans herself, and we both laugh. Then I add, “Don’t remind me.”

She laughs “What was he doing here?”

I just shrug. “He comes over all the time with new cost cuts he wants to make. The man is driving me crazy.”

She looks down at what I’m wearing. “Mhmm looks like you really didn’t want him to come over. Where did you even buy that? Seduce your sexy neighbor dot com?”

I laugh. “Hey, he’s not the only one who can play the drive you crazy game.”

She laughs again. “It’s definitely working. He looked like he was going to murder me when he opened the door.”

I laugh again. “I told him you were my date.”

Cassie smiles. “I’m so flattered.”

We head into the living room, and I hand Cassie a wine glass. She takes it and looks back at me. “So how are things really going? You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I mean I guess.” I shrug my shoulders. “I mean for the way he avoided me for six years, I thought things might be more awkward between us.” I pause to think. “It’s kind of weird actually. He seems more flirty now than he was back then. I mean don’t get me wrong. All we do is fight and he keeps messing with all of my projects, but it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be otherwise.”

Cassie gives me a knowing look. “Oh sweetie. You are still just as much in love with him now as you were back then.”

I huff out a breath. “No I’m not! I just told you all we do is fight.”

She just nods her head down at me and gives me a pointed look. I relent. “Okay! Okay. But I’m not in love with him! He’s just so you know?”

Cassie just laughs. “Dreamy and handsome.”

I laugh too and then sigh. “Yeah. That.”

“So, you’re telling me if he came back over and confessed his undying love for you, you’d just tell him no sorry not interested?”

I laugh. “Yes. I can change my mind about a crush I had when I was 19.” I try to sound convincing.

Cassie nods her head at me. “Mhmm...what’s this I hear about you taking Jeff to the charity gala on Friday then? I thought you weren’t going to be each other’s dates anymore to these things. Too many questions about if you were dating from the papers is what you told me last.”

I look to the side and bite my lip. Jeff and I did agree to take a break for a while so people would stop asking if we were dating, but I am not seeing anyone right now and I couldn’t just show up alone. Not when Parker is going to be in attendance. I needed a distraction.

I try to sound nonchalant. “This was different though because we were both already going. He didn’t have a date, so we just agreed to go together.”

“Uh huh. And it had nothing to do with trying to make Mr. sexy neighbor over there jealous?”

I purse my lips to the side and then smile. “I mean it wouldn't hurt. After all the time I had to spend pining after him while he dated someone else.”

Cassie suddenly gets a huge smile on her face. “Oh I have an idea!”

I laugh and nod my head for her to continue.

“I know you have your dress picked out already but didn’t you tell me your dad gave you a budget to accessorize for these events?”