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I followed her through the sea of bodies and up the staircase. I let her walk in front of me to be gentlemanly, but also because it gave me a great view of her ass, and I had to take what I could get at this point.
“Why is he up here all by himself?” I asked as we reached the top level.
She paused. “Oh, um, he just doesn’t like clubs, really.” She said it hesitantly, as if she was embarrassed.
I found myself understanding, because I don’t like clubs either. But if she was mine, I’d never send her downstairs on her own. I’d never make her dance by herself. I’d never sulk alone, knowing I had a beautiful woman who was forcing herself to have fun without me. I’d dance with her. I’d be trying to make her laugh. I’d try to give her everything she wanted in life. Even if that was musty clubs and blaring music.
She shouldn’t be embarrassed that her man wasn’t giving her that. He should. He should be embarrassed that he attained one of the most compelling women I’d ever met, and he’s not cherishing every millisecond he gets to spend with her. He’s a blind, stupid fool.
She should be downright angry.
We made our way to the back corner where Carter had been standing earlier. I noticed for the first time a red-headed man sunk into the leather couch with a phone screen brightening his features. He was completely oblivious to the world around him. I hadn’t even seen him when I walked in. He had no reaction to Macie’s reappearance until she was standing in front of him with a hand on her hip for several seconds. He typed something into his phone before finally locking it and looking up at her.
“Hey, babe,” he said in a monotone voice that was anything but affectionate.
“Hey. This is Dom, Carter’s friend. Dom, this is Jeremy.”
I reached out to shake his hand, flashing him my most charming, salesman smile. He returned it with one that was bland in comparison. I knew Macie could see it too. His grip was weak, and he didn’t move over to make room for Macie, so she was forced to crawl over his lap to the empty spot next to him.
And while I understood the urge to make that woman crawl, to have her in my lap and her body against mine, that wasn’t why Jeremy didn’t move. He just didn’t care.
It annoyed me. Everything about him annoyed me.
I asked them how they met. They’d both gone to college in Portland before landing jobs at the same school. Jeremy was from Seattle, and when I asked him about that, his face lit up slightly. Not about his girlfriend or their relationship. Not when I asked about their life together. He hardly responded. When I asked him about his own past, though, he smiled. He began talking, and didn’t seem to want to stop.
Finally, I urged the conversation back to Macie. Asking her how she was liking L.A. She gushed about the sunshine, the beaches. She talked about all the reality TV stars she wanted to find, admitting reluctantly that reality television was her guilty pleasure. She seemed to emphasize the wordguilty. She seemed surprised when I told her there was nothing to be guilty or embarrassed about. Jeremy rolled his eyes at that. I laughed when I pulled out the list of restaurants I had saved in my phone that I knew were frequented by celebrities. She was enamored by it.
I’d made that list when I first moved here because Allie loved the same shows. She was supposed to come and see me, so I planned out an itinerary that would hopefully help her catch a glimpse of a few of the people she liked most. The same thing Macie was doing now. Allie never made it out to visit, but I hadn’t had it in me to delete that list. When Macie began talking about the same things Allie loved, something tugged at me. A feeling that was familiar and warm and welcoming.
So, I took that list of restaurants and gave them to Macie instead.
As we talked, everything around us seemed to fade, except that warm and welcoming feeling. That only grew stronger as she talked about all the trips down to L.A. she would have to make once Penelope moved. All the things she wanted to do and see. We began talking about traveling, all the places we wanted to go in the world. How we’d both been bungee jumping and ziplining, but eventually wanted to try skydiving. She spoke of her favorite foods and her favorite music. Literally jumping up and down with excitement when I agreed with her that Oreos are the superior cookie.
Jeremy had grabbed her arm and told her to calm down.
Her face fell. I found myself clamping my jaw shut to avoid snapping at him.
Because when Macie jumped with excitement over something as miniscule as cookies, it reminded me that there were people out there—people like Macie—who believed in savoring even the smallest moments of joy. I didn’t know her well, but I could tell that Macie was the type of person who appreciated every breath she took, and who wanted to live as fully as she could before she took her last one. In sad moments, she’d be able to make those around her laugh. She’d always be a light in darkness. She was what this world needed more of.
And the fool next to her was trying to dim her. Snuff her out.
The more she spoke, the brighter she seemed to shine. The world blurred until she was the only light within it. The center of all my focus. All my attention. Nothing she said was boring. Even when she was talking about the fact that she bought the dress she was wearing on a discount– she spoke with so much excitement, so much animation, that I couldn’t help but feel intrigued. She was a shooting star, a flash of blinding brightness in a life that had become so dark.
She came out of nowhere, knocking the wind from me, and I knew she’d leave me with sparkles in her wake.
I decided then that I could play the long game. I decided that if fate ever did me a favor and allowed this woman to cross my path again, I’d make her mine.
Chapter 1
December
Inhindsight,theChristmastree seemed like a much better idea when we were drunk.
It started out as a lunch to celebrate Penelope finishing her last final of her first semester at UCLA, but we had no idea that the Mexican restaurant we chose had bottomless margaritas for happy hour. Penelope claimed to hate tequila, but I knew her well enough to know that as long as the margarita is watermelon or strawberry flavored, she’s a total sucker for it. In the end, the two of us gave a whole new meaning to the term “bottomless” and I was pretty sure even our waiter lost track of how many drinks each of us had.
As we stumbled back to our apartment, a Christmas tree lot caught Penny’s eye. Being the emotional drunk that she is, she found herself all misty-eyed at the thought that her boyfriend, Carter, apparently never had a real Christmas tree before. Something about spending the holiday in Hawaii his whole life and having limited options.
Penelope teared up, suggesting we buy him one as an early holiday gift and set it up in our shared apartment before he got home that night. In my own drunken stupor, I exclaimed that it was afantasticidea.
