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“Dinner before sounds nice. How about you pick me up at six? Does that work?” I ask him.
He nods. “Perfect. How about I get your number and you can text me your address?”
We exchange numbers, and Ian stands, grabbing his empty smoothie cup and backpack. “I’ll see you tonight.” He winks and then walks away. Now that he is standing, I see that Ian is taller than I thought. Far bigger than my five foot four. His jeans hang low on his tapered waist and hug his generous behind, which is perfectly round.
Before I get caught staring at him, I look away and focus on finishing the rest of my sandwich and fruit bowl on my tray, thinking about what I am going to wear tonight. On my date. On my date with Ian.
My stomach grows queasy thinking about it. My Friday nights before were always spent with Conrad unless I was working. We would either go out with our friends or order in some food and end up watching some of the best comedies at either of our places. Going from all my time being occupied by a guy I was hopelessly falling in love with to now another man makes me sad, but clearly, I’m not the only one trying to move on.
* * *
Back at the apartment,I walk in on Blaire and Camden, horizontal on the couch. Camden’s large body is covering my roommate’s, and before shutting my eyes, I get a glimpse of his hand down her pants.
“Ah,” I shout. “Why does this keep happening to me?” On multiple occasions, I have walked in on my best friend and her boyfriend getting freaky. The first time was completely my own fault, but in my defense, I did think she was alone in his room since it was before they started getting physical. Each time after that, though, it has been because these are two horny young adults who need to realize other people live with them.
“Em, I didn’t know you would be home this early,” Blaire says. I hear Camden make anoofsound from what I can only imagine is Blaire pushing him off.
With my hand still covering my eyes, I answer her, “Um, Blaire, it’s almost five. My class ended almost half an hour ago.”
“Shit, it’s five,” Camden says. “We’re decent, Em. You can uncover your eyes.”
Dropping my hand, I see both of them now standing. Blaire is adjusting her top and Camden is grabbing his phone.
“Do you have to go?” she asks him.
He nods. “Yeah. A few of us are going to support the freshmen tonight at some ceremony or something, not too sure. Coach just told me he thought it would be a good idea if the team captain and some of the guys were there for them.”
“Aw, okay.” Blaire pouts, but not in the annoying way some girls do it. She is genuinely sad he has plans tonight. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow? Emree and I are working the earlier night shift, so maybe you can stay over?”
“I’ll be here, Gray Eyes,” he says with a smile. Bending down, Camden kisses her hard on the lips. I look away, wanting to give them a private moment, but also sad because it is the little things like a goodbye kiss that I miss the most with Conrad.
Camden leaves, and I look at my phone, noting that I have less than an hour until Ian picks me up. I texted him my address, and he said he wasn’t far since he lives in a house nearby. An hour is plenty of time to shower, do my hair and makeup, and put together a bomb outfit.
“Guess what, bestie?” I ask Blaire as I head to the bathroom and turn the shower on to the hottest setting.
She comes down the hall and stands in the doorway. “What’s that?”
Smiling at her, I grab a fresh towel from the rack above the toilet. “I have a date tonight.”
Blaire’s jaw drops before a smile appears. “Emmy, I am so happy. Where is he taking you? What are you going to wear?”
Shrugging out of my bright-pink tank top, I toss it onto the counter. “Some event or something with his frat. He’s taking me to dinner beforehand.”
Blaire ducks her head while I remove the rest of my clothes, and I give her the okay that I am behind the shower curtain.
“You are going to have a great time, Em. Tell me about the guy.”
While shampooing and conditioning my hair, I begin telling Blaire what little I can about Ian. Mainly that he is cute and seems nice and funny. She says the way we met is an adorable story, and I would have to agree with her.
Talking more about my lunch with Ian gets me excited for our date, and it helps me put Conrad out of my mind. I am hoping the hours I spend with Ian are the beginning of my progress to moving forward.
My heart needs this more than anything. Even if nothing comes of going out with Ian tonight, knowing that I’m able to take this step shows me that I am going to be okay. My heart may be broken, and I’m not sure how long it takes for something like that to heal, but I can’t let that define my life. I allowed myself days to wallow, and now it is time to live.
13
CONRAD
The last six days have been absolute hell. First, because I miss the fuck out of Emree and not being able to talk to or see her has been torture. To top off the shitstorm that is my life, Liliana is the opposite of any woman I would want to be with, let alone marry. The moment I met her at the hotel for dinner, I knew we were not going to get along.
