Page 3 of Burn Me Down

“Incredible, truly.”

I’d never been more bored in my entire life. There was no denying that Kent was sexy, but he was also arrogant and loved to talk about how wonderful he was. I’d listened to a dozen stories already and was ready to jump up and yell, ‘For fucks sake, give this man an award,’ just to see if that would shut him up. My luck he’d want to do a speech and tell me all the same stories over again.

“Did I already tell you about Luke? No. Well, that was an interesting case, and if I hadn’t been his doctor…” He sucked in a deep breath and smiled like he was waiting for me to praise him.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I need to use the lady’s room, and then I should really be heading home. I have the early shift this week.”

“Oh, trust me, I know how those are.” It surprised me when he didn’t finish that statement with yet another heroic story. I stood from the table, laying my napkin down, when Kent reached out and put his hand on mine. “So, on first dates, I prefer we take care of our own meals. It’s more relaxed and progressive, don’t you think?”

“You did ask me out on a date, correct?” What the hell was happening to our society these days?

“I asked you on a get-to-know-you-better. Dating doesn’t really occur until the fifth outing asked by the same person.”

“Same person?” What the hell did that mean? I held my hand up as he started to speak and cut him off. “I will gladly pay for my half of the bill so that you’ll never have that to hold over me. Just like I will happily never attend a mutual outing with you again. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t have chosen this restaurant if I’d known upfront that we would be splitting the check for various reasons, including the overpriced wine you insisted we drink. Also, Kent, this is the single most boring date I’ve ever been on. You have all the personality of a wet noodle, and if you thought for one second that I’d be in awe of your medical prowess and fall at your feet to…well, you get the idea, then you were sadly mistaken.”

He looked around the room, which had become very quiet. It was like a car wreck at the races. People just couldn’t help but stare, so when they got home, they could say, “Well, at least that shit show isn’t my life.”

“That’s a relief, I didn’t want to see you again either.” He smirked. “I have a specific taste in women and….” He looked me up and down like he was analyzing my simple outfit. “You’re not it. You could also loose a couple pounds, I’m shocked you ordered dessert with those hips.”

I knew I would get in shit for this later, but right now, I really didn’t care and picked up my glass of water. Kent yelled and jumped back from the table as I dumped it on his lap.

“Bitch,” he hissed, his eyes narrowing into a livid stare.

There were gasps from the gawkers, and a few women smiled and gave me a thumbs up, but our waiter, who had the bill in his hand, looked mortified and unsure what to do.

Grabbing my purse, I tucked it under my arm. “On second thought, you did invite me here, and since you mentioned several times that you make so much more than I do for your very important job, you can take care of the bill.” I smiled at the waiter. “Sorry for the mess, but you can give that to him.”

I marched for the door with my head held high and the chorus of a dozen people clapping. Damn, that felt good. What was it with the male population? There didn’t seem to be a decent guy not already scooped up by some lucky woman or hell, man.

Not that I was jealous of Vi finding Asher, but I seriously thought I was on the path to marriage with Brian and ended up single while she was living with a hot firefighter who burns it up in the bedroom. How did that even happen? What road did I turn down that led me to a date with Kent the jerk?

Maybe I was putting too much pressure on myself. My parents were still married, and the vision of what two people in love should be, but for me, nothing seemed to stick. The ones who did were cheaters, excessive gamblers, couldn’t hold down a job to save their souls, or were already married. There was nothing like being out on a date when the wife you never knew existed attacked you. I was up to two of those. It was like the good and decent guy population had simply dried up one night, leaving nothing for the rest of us.

“Rebecca, wait up,” Kent yelled, and I couldn’t believe he had the gall to follow me. When I looked over my shoulder, he was marching down the sidewalk. Even in the poorly lit area, I saw the anger written all over his face, from his narrowed eyes and furrowed brow to his clenched fists.

Instead of stopping, I walked faster, cursing my heels. Digging around in my purse for my keys, I scolded myself for not already having them in my hand.

“I said, wait up.”

“Go home, Kent. I have nothing to say to you.”

My fingertips brushed the hard plastic, but he jerked my arm before I could get a grip.

“Let go of me,” I growled.

“I told you to wait.”

“I’m not your dog. I don’t obey you. Now let go of my arm.” I yanked on his hold, but he only gripped tighter until I winced.

“You didn’t pay for your half of the meal,” he said.

“I’m pretty sure I made it clear I wasn’t going to.”

“If you’re not going to pay with money, then you’ll pay me another way.”

I screamed as his hands wrapped around my biceps, and he slammed my back into the car. I opened my mouth to yell again as I kicked at his legs, but the hard backhand across the face snapped my jaw shut. I’d never been hit before, and the pain was more intense than I ever could’ve imagined. Tears filled my eyes, and pain felt like it was radiating across my face.

“Shut up. You owe me.”