AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You go out tonight and how he reacts will tell you everything you need to know.”
“Will it?”
“Sure it will. Either he comes looking for you because he’s pissed you’re not at home. That tells you he does want you, he just can’t admit it to himself. It forces him to make an outward show of commitment to you.”
“Or he goes home and never speaks to me again.”
“If he does, and I doubt he will, it means it was never meant to be. He’s too scared of committing. Trust me, a guy like that, you want nothing to do with. He’ll fuck you and fuck off, to quote Shakespeare.”
“He said that?”
She winks at me. “Yeah, Hamlet, Act Three. Polonius tells Ophelia that Hamlet’s a commitment phobe. That whole play is about one guy acting out because he refuses to settle down.”
“Really? I remember different.”
“Well, not really, but let’s pretend because it helps my point.” She smiles. “We go out tonight. Not Belucci’s bar, not after what happened last time but somewhere half-decent. Use some of the money he gave you for the cleaning job. Get a couple of drinks down us and wait. If he’s the stalker supreme he acts like, he’ll find us if he wants to. You see him walk in the door and whatever he acts like to cover it up, you’ll know he wants you. As in properly wants you.”
“And what if he doesn’t show up?”
“We know he’s an asshole and we drink to forget him. Chalk it up to a one night stand so your V card is ripped to shreds, and move on.”
“What about the money he offered for the marriage?”
“I’m guessing that’s null and void since you told me about it. Shit, he’s a criminal. I doubt he was ever going to pay you. Probably would have sent you packing at the end of the month.”
“You think?”
She shakes her head. “No. My whole point is that I think the month thing is a bluff. The money will be irrelevant because you two will be living together.”
“If he shows up tonight, right?”
“Exactly. The real question is, do you want him to?”
“To what?”
“To come looking for you. Is he the only one with a commitment issue or are you just as bad?”
“What do you mean?”
She leans back on the counter and sighs. “I mean that ever since you sent him that message saying it was over, all you’ve done is mope. He’s all you’ve talked about and you’ve been mooching around the apartment like the sky has caved in ever since. It’s clear that you like him, even if you say it’s just a crush. It’s blindingly obvious to me if not to you that you are falling for the guy. You got super excited when you saw the letter was from him.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. I saw it in your eyes.” She pokes me in the chest. “You’ve got to decide what you want, Ophelia. Do you want him or not?”
“But he said it was only for a month.”
“Because he doesn’t want you to reject him.”
“How do you know that?”
She sighs, scratching her face. “Okay, you turned him down, right?”
“Right.”
“Did he walk away or did he send you a handwritten letter by courier? No stamp on the envelope. Told you he’d be coming here tonight. Got a real won’t take no for an answer kind of vibe from that letter, didn’t you? Wants you, doesn’t he? Wants to convince you to change your mind. He’s testing you, Fee. This is your chance to test him back, see if he’s ready to commit or not.”
“You really think so?”
