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“How about Trent?” Caitie asked her. “Is he excited?”
“He’s over there.” Kristi gestured at the bar. “You should say hi later. He brought Damon with him.”
Against her better judgment, Caitie looked over at the bar. Trent was there, leaning on the counter, chatting to the bartender. She saw Damon right away. He was standing next to Trent, holding a bottle of beer, his hip resting against the bar. She felt her mouth go dry. Their friends had been trying to matchmake them for forever. He really was a nice guy, but he wasn’t…
…the one she wanted. Ugh.
“Oh, Damon’s here?” She tried to rearrange her features into something less awkward. Why did she agree to come out tonight?
“Don’t sound so innocent. We both know he’s got a thing for you. As soon as Trent told him we were coming to see you guys, he found an excuse to join us.”
Carrying two glasses of wine, Harper walked back to the group. “Hey, did you see Damon’s here?”
Kristi inclined her head to the bar. “Oh yes.”
“Ooh, he’s looking fine. Here’s your chance, Caitie. You need to have some fun and we all know Damon’s up for the job.” Harper wiggled her eyebrows. “If you’d ever actually give the guy a chance. Remember how you called off that date at the last minute?”
Caitie buried her face in her hands. “Oh, God, don't remind me. I felt terrible about letting him down. But I had a last minute job I couldn’t get out of.”
“Wait… What… You guys almost got together?” Kristi tipped her head to the side, scrutinizing Caitie. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
“You didn’t?” Harper frowned. “Why didn’t you tell her, Caitie?”
“I thought I did. Anyway, it was months ago, and it was nothing.”
“Which is exactly why you need to try again. No strings, just fun, am I right?” Harper said. Kristi nodded in support.
Caitie shook her head and took a sip of wine. “I’m not cut out for casual. I'm not a natural player.”
Harper burst out laughing. She was swaying her shoulders to the beat of the music, the wine in her glass moving right along with her. “Nobody expects you to be a player, you loser. Just relax and have a bit of fun. Not every date you have has to lead to something long term. I swear you read too many romance books.”
But Caitie liked romance books. Or at least she would if she had time to read them. “I'm a serial monogamist.” Caitie shrugged. “So sue me.”
“You're not a serial monogamist, you're a fantasist. You're looking for a guy who doesn't exist. Mr. Darcy was the figment of some old spinster’s fevered imagination. No real guy can measure up to that. You have to be realistic.”
Caitie drained the dregs of her wine glass. “I am realistic.”
Kristi burst out laughing. “Yeah, right.”
“Come on,” Harper said, grinning. “You still have a thing for some guy you kissed when you were fifteen. And the poor kid wasn't even awake for it.”
“What?” Kristi leaned forward. “I’ve never heard about this. Who
did you kiss when you were fifteen?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Caitie took another mouthful of wine. She really didn’t want to get into this right now.
“Oh come on. It’s kind of romantic,” Harper said, grinning. “Caitie told me all about it the first week we met. I tried to get her interested in a couple of the guys in our math class, and she refused to date any of them, and I quote ‘because they aren’t Brent.’” Harper looked at Caitie. “Or was it Brant? Whatever. It took me almost a whole bottle of wine to get the truth out of her. Apparently, she had a thing for this guy ever since she was a kid. And when she was fifteen, he was sleeping at her house over Christmas and she snuck into his bedroom and kissed him, and that kiss was the best she’d ever had from anybody – awake or asleep.” Harper laughed. “She said he’d spoiled her for every other guy.”
Thank god it was dark in the bar. Caitie could feel her cheeks heat up. Why did she ever tell Harper about that Christmas night? It was stupid and embarrassing and something she wanted to forget about.
“So why didn’t you get together with this Brant guy?” Kristi asked her.
Before she could answer, Harper jumped in. “I asked exactly the same thing, and Caitie said she hadn’t seen him since that night. He’d broken her heart and left her ruined for any other man.”
“That’s kind of sweet,” Kristi said, smiling at Caitie. “And also really weird. You need to get over this guy. Or Google him.”
“Oh god, you should totally Google him,” Harper said. “Why didn’t I think of that. What’s his last name?”
