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“Or we could just get hammered and blame it on the New Year.”
“True. There’s always that.”
I palm his forearm. “So, tell me about Sasha, the bitch. I need to know more before I hunt her down and peel back her fingernails, one by one.”
He gives me a you-are-crazy-and-I-really-hope-you’re-kidding look. “That’s really sweet of you.”
“And completely out of character. So, you’d better start talking before my sugary goodness wears off.”
A smile, a genuine one that actually shows some semblance of humor, spreads across his face. “Okay. We were high school sweethearts, and…it sounds pathetic even to say it.”
“Go on,” I encourage, hoping he gathers some momentum.
“I was supposed to go to Duke, but she didn’t get in. So, I came here with her.”
“Wait, hold the phone.” I sit up straighter, intrigued. “You gave up Duke to come here with her? Duke for this place?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t the best decision, but back then, I would have done anything for her.”
“Wow, Foster, you had it bad.”
“No kidding.” He shakes his head. “It was really kind of pathetic.”
“So, what happened?”
“About a year and a half ago, she went to England to study abroad and never came back. She met someone else, and that was that. I came to find out that she had been cheating on me for six months before she decided to tell me about him.”
I blink—a lot. “That’s awful. She really is a bitch.”
“You’re not the first one to tell me that.”
“That’s probably because it’s the truth. What she did was not cool at all.”
“I guess it happens.” He taps the steering wheel a few times with his fingertips. “I didn’t take it very well either. I even flew to England to try to convince her to come back, but she still stayed.”
“Geez,” I mutter. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“There isn’t much to say.”
“Do you still talk to her?”
“No. I talk to her brother often though. Our families are close. Parker was my roommate, but he moved out last year when he graduated.”
“Oh.” I bite my lip, registering and connecting the dots between his ex and his old roommate. “How does Fiona play into all of this?”
“Fiona was a mistake.” He shakes his head, shutting his lids. “After all of that went down with Sasha, I was a mess, but everyone encouraged me to try to get back out there.
“Fiona’s part of the science department, and we’ve all known each other for some time. She showed interest, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, we were a couple. But I wasn’t ready. She wanted more in the relationship, and when I couldn’t give it to her, she tried even harder. Eventually, it got ugly, and I said a lot of not-so-nice things, so she would get the hint. It didn’t end well. Between what I went through with Sasha and then with Fiona in the mix, our group all had a rough time. People took sides, and there was a lot of yelling. We’re all friends again now, but it wasn’t like that until recently. I was happy when Fiona moved on with James. It’s a better fit anyhow, but apparently, she still harbors some resentment.”
“Yeah, I caught on to that.”
He positions his torso toward me. “So, there you have it. That’s me. I’mthatguy—the one who had his heart broken and now sucks when it comes to relationships. What do you girls call it? Walls? Emotionally broken? Oh, wait, Fiona called it emotionally unavailable.”
I giggle. “Something like that. And you don’t suck when it comes to girls or relationships, Fozzie. You just had a bad string of luck with them.” I cover his hand resting on his thigh with my own. “When you’re ready, the right person will come along.”
“Now, you sound like you’re reciting a line from a movie.”
“Maybe it is a line, but it’s one I truly believe in.”
