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“Not if we involve feelings.” And get to know each other, I mentally add.
“Feelings are already involved. I’m not willing to be another notch on your bed,” he tells me.
I pull my hair, feeling crazy. “But you’ve just met me! You can’t possibly know that I’m what you want.”
“I know what my gut is telling me. It’s never led me astray. You and I will be together,” he says with complete certainty.
“Ugh! You’re impossible,” I say, glaring at him.
“And you’re stubborn. The quicker you accept we’re meant for each other, the sooner we can move on with our lives.”
“I don’t need a man, Coop!” I nearly yell at him. Taking a deep breath, I try again. “Look, you’re horny. I’M horny. The sooner we can get it on, I promise we will both feel so much better.”
“Alright, I’ll give you that. I’m definitely drooling for you. But I’m not giving it up without commitment.” He kisses my cheek and walks away, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.
I may not know much about him, but I do know this. The man doesn’t give up.
“Kid, can I come in?” I ask, knocking on the door gently.
“That depends, are you dressed?” she asks sarcastically.
I open the door to find Reese sitting at her desk, working on some article for her school paper.
“Sorry you had to see that. I don’t know what came over me,” I tell her.
“I know, and really, I don’t care that you were having a good time with him. Just please, avoid the communal areas. It’s common courtesy.”
Throwing myself across her bed, I prop my head on an elbow and watch her type. “Did you get what you needed from that girl?”
“What girl?” Reese asks.
“The one you didn’t want me to see.”
“Oh, that was a lie to get you to spend time with Dean.”
My head drops to the bed and I huff. “I knew it! Why’d you do that? Kid, I’m trying to get him to like me less.”
“I can see the way you are with him, Mom. You like him as much, if not more than he likes you.”
“That’s more of a reason to stay away.”
Reese sighs, closing her MacBook and spinning in her chair to face me. “You know what I mean. Besides, you’ve been alone for a long time. Don’t you think it’s time you allowed yourself something more than sex?”
“If that’s what you’re going for, then I’m afraid you picked the wrong guy for me, because all I see Dean as is sex on a stick.”
“Well, that’s a lie. Something about him gets to you. I’ve never seen you so out of sorts or… squirmy.”
“It’s called uneasy,” I say.
“It’s called, chemistry. You have it with him. Why are you so against dating him? You two could be great together.”
“Let’s see,” I sit up and start counting off on my fingers. “First there’s the fact that he’s too young. Second, I don’t like restrictions, and relationships are nothing but. Always having to prove you’re good enough, too afraid to make mistakes. And I make them, kid. Lots of them!” She rolls her eyes at me. “And the biggest reason is that he’s my competition. We’re not just talking a little game here. This is a competition for a career. Do you think he’s going to see me as anything but the woman who took away his opportunity when I win?”
“What if he wins?” she asks, making me gasp.
“Don’t even think it!”
“Ugh! You know what? Never mind, if you don’t want him, don’t have him. Period. There are plenty of women who would love to eat him up.”
“Thank you for finally seeing things my way,” I say, standing and leaving her room. But the moment I’m out of sight, I have to lean against the wall and catch my breath.
Her words have hit home. My stomach sinks even as bile rises in my throat. The thought of Dean with another woman makes me physically sick.
