Avoiding Decisions (Avoiding 1.5)

“Ah, you know, just hanging out with friends,” Jack said with a shrug, trying for nonchalance.

He placed the drink on the counter in front of her as she slid a purple slip of paper toward him.

“Do you see my friend over there?” she asked, nodding her head in the girl’s direction.

Jack glanced over at the girl. Her head was buried in her books like she might never look up again. She was chewing on her bottom lip and pushing a lock of hair behind her ear reflexively before it fell back into her face again.

“She’s coming to this concert tonight.” The blonde pushed the paper into his hands.

Glancing down at it, Jack saw that it was an advertisement for a show at the Theatre. He had never heard of the group, but they were described as an original DJ-rap duo. Not really his thing.

“And?” He was waiting for the kicker.

“You should be there,” the girl said, raising her eyebrows.

He folded the paper. “I’ll think about it.”

“If you’re smart, you’ll show.” She straightened abruptly and took her drink. “Thanks for the coffee.” The girl winked at him before she departed.

That hadn’t gone as expected. Jack was surprised that he had been wrong. Nonetheless, he was glad he didn’t have to turn the blonde girl down. It tended to hurt business.

Jack’s eyes fell to the purple flyer in his hand. He knew he was a sucker for even contemplating the possibility of meeting her. Really, what could he accomplish by following those big brown eyes anywhere? He had been dating Danielle for three years now, and though he kept saying he was going to break up with her, he didn’t really even believe himself.

He took one last look at the girl seated at the table across from him. When he stared her, he felt that same stirring in his body that he’d had when she had been at the counter. He didn’t know what it was. She was hot, but it was more than that. It was just something about her.

Fuck. He was going to that concert.

CHAPTER 2

THAT GIRL

“You want us to go to what?” Seth asked, leaning back in the dingy brown recliner and reaching out for his beer.

“There’s a concert at the Theatre tonight.” Jack ran his hand back through his dark hair as he waited for some smartass comment from his best friend. He knew it was coming.

“Dude, no one goes to the Theatre in the middle of the week unless they’re chasing townie pu**y. I don’t recommend it,” Seth said, wrinkling his nose.

“You’re such an ass**le.” Jack shook his head and plopped down on the couch. “You know that, right?”

“That’s why the ladies love me.” Seth raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“You’re delusional.”

Seth chugged the rest of his beer, set the empty aluminum can on the table, and belched. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled at Jack.

“Seriously, how do the girls resist you?” Jack asked sarcastically.

“Can’t keep them off me.”

Jack hated to admit how true that was. His friend had the weirdest game Jack had ever seen. It was like the less Seth tried, the more girls threw themselves at him. Since they had started college together, Jack couldn’t remember a single time when Seth didn’t have at least two or three girls around the apartment, vying for his attention.

“So, why do you really want to go to the Theatre?” Seth asked, returning his attention to the football game on the screen.

Jack was silent for a minute. It wasn’t that he couldn’t tell Seth about the hot girl he had seen at work. He had told Seth about hundreds of hot girls he’d met while working. He didn’t know why he wanted to hide it, especially after just asking Seth to go to the concert with him. It just…something about this felt different. Why was he making a big deal out of this? After all, it was just a girl, and it was just a concert.

“I was invited.” Jack took out the purple piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it before handing it to Seth.

He looked at it briefly and scoffed. “DJ-rap duo Nick and Neal? Dude, are you serious right now?”

“What the f**k else do you have better to do besides work on finishing off that case of beer?”

“Anything sounds better. I don’t have time for wannabe rappers when I have free booze sitting at home.”

“If it’s any consolation, a blonde with huge tits gave this to me,” Jack said.

Seth’s ears perked up. “Now I’m listening.”

Jack chuckled to himself and grabbed the paper. “She and her friend are going to the show, and she gave me the paper while leaning against the counter and showed me her ni**les.”

Seth walked into the kitchen and grabbed another beer. “Wait, are you into her? Because you know how I love girls who show off their ni**les in the middle of the day,” Seth called out.

“She’s all yours,” Jack offered. He hoped he sounded generous and not just like he was giving in too easily.

Seth crashed back into the recliner, tossed Jack a beer, which was caught in midair with one hand, and then he popped open his own.

“So, it’s the other girl then,” Seth said intuitively.

Damn! Seth knew him too well. Even when he tried, Jack couldn’t hide anything from Seth. That was the problem with staying friends with people Jack had known all his life. Sometimes, he thought Seth knew him better than he knew himself.

“I mean, she’s hot,” he said casually.

Seth stopped mid-drink and set his beer down. “Whoa.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, dude,” he said, staring at Jack. “First, you hesitated, which means she drew your attention. Most girls really don’t for some reason. Second, you answered me like you didn’t care, which immediately makes me think you do. So, who is this chick?”

Jack shrugged and turned away. “Just a girl who comes into the coffee house. I don’t know her name or anything.”

“Dude, you’ve got it bad.”

“Fuck off. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jack said gruffly.

“Remember when you first started dating Danielle, and I told you it was a terrible f**king idea?”

Jack slung his arm across the back of the sofa and threw his head into the cushion. He knew where this was going.

“Well, it was a terrible f**king idea. She’s a f**king doormat. I mean, I didn’t blame you for getting laid all the time in high school, but now, you can get way better ass than that, man,” Seth said. He shook his head like he couldn’t believe that Jack was still with Danielle.