“She doesn’t even know. He left without telling her.”
“Give me a background. So they broke up?”
“Not really. They were together, but not together, really.”
“Ah. I think I get it. They spent a lot of time together but were never boyfriend-girlfriend because they never talked about it. But it’s obvious they have feelings for each other. Then all of a sudden, he stops texting and calling and he’s disappeared on her. Am I getting this right so far?”
“Damn. You’re good. You’re right—you are an expert.”
He patted his chest with his fist. “Thank you. Listen, I think you already know this—”
“Not me. My friend,” I reminded him.
He gave me a knowing look. “Fine. Your friend. Tell her she deserves better than that. Every girl does.”
Aw.
“But why do you think he left?”
He sighed, leaned back in his chair. “It could be anything, really. You want me to guess?”
I nodded.
“Maybe he got scared.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe he was falling for your friend and he got scared so he left. He doesn’t want a commitment, not ready to settle, all those things an immature mind can’t comprehend. But…”
“But?”
“It could also be that he doesn’t really like your friend. Or if this guy is a complete asshole, it could be he got bored and moved on because he doesn’t see her as challenging enough. Or she’s too challenging, too difficult to deal with, and he doesn’t think it’s worth the trouble. Or…”
Ouch. That hit home.
“Or?”
He scratched his chin. “Or he thinks she’s not going to sleep with him.”
“Oh.”
“I couldn’t really tell you,” he continued. “But there’s one thing I’m sure of. Tell your friend that she shouldn’t be too mad at herself for falling for this guy. Everybody has feelings, and if these feelings are real, it’s hard to put them away. It’s difficult to get over them, but it will happen. I’m sure of it.”
He sounded like he knew what he was talking about. We exchanged numbers and promised that we’d go out for coffee soon. I was glad to have found another guy friend. I had missed Damon and his male company and his advice. It was good to get advice from a guy’s point of view.
I thought about the things he’d told me when I got home and was in the bathroom. I had thought about all those things too, but just hearing them made them even more real.
Thomas was right. I already knew that I deserved better—and that my feelings were real and it could take a while to get rid of them.
I looked up at the clock in the bathroom. I had put one there to time myself. I could spend hours in here, sitting in the tub, on the toilet, doing my makeup.
It was ten at night and I should get some sleep.
* * *
Days passed in a blur. The only thing I looked forward to was the interview I had at a construction company. Dylan said it was a friend of a friend who’d told him about the opening. And it was double what I was getting at the coffee shop, and then some.
The morning of the interview arrived. I dressed to impress with a crisp white dress shirt, deep-green blazer and slacks. The construction company office was fifteen minutes outside the city limits. I programmed my phone’s GPS so I wouldn’t get lost and followed the instructions until it told me: “You’ve arrived at your destination.”