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ZACH
I met the guys after hockey for some beers. We sat around drinking and replaying the events of the game. I'd scored twice and one goal was a real beauty, but we still lost 5-3. We had a decent offense and great defense, but our goaltending was killing us. How did you get your best friend to admit he was the worst goaltender in the history of our rec league?
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through texts. Two from Becca. I groaned. I still hadn't broken up with her and I'd been avoiding her since the cabin incident. She was still pissed at me for not driving back to pick her up. Why would I have done that? It didn't make any sense, especially when everyone else offered her a ride home.
I scrolled past her texts and was surprised to see one from Emma. It was a few hours old.
Emma: Hey, how are you? Decided not to go home. Thought I'd tell you. Have a good night.
I wrote back: That's good news. You did the right thing. Still gonna stay with asswipe or are you looking for a new place?
A few minutes passed before she replied. In the meantime, we’d ordered pizzas and the discussion had moved to football. My phone buzzed.
Emma: Not sure yet. Might stay here until the end of semester. Finding housing midyear is going to be next to impossible.
Should I offer my place again? She didn't seem keen the first time. But it wasn't like Genie used her room.
Me: Let me know if I can help. Did you make those éclairs yet? I'm dying to have one.
Emma: I'm going to do a test batch this weekend. If they work out, I'll text you.
I put down my phone and Brett was staring at me.
"Are you going to talk to us or text?" he asked.
Brett was one of the few guys on the planet who hated his phone. The guy never texted and his idea of an “app” was some spicy wings or a heaping plate of nachos. He hardly ever had his phone with him, and even when he did, it was almost never on. And if you had your cell out in his presence, watch out.
"I'm done now."
"And who is more important than us?"
"I was texting Emma to make sure she was okay."
"Who's Emma?"
"From the cabin four days ago? Remember? Jake's friend?"
Recollection washed over him. "How could I forget?" He turned to the rest of the guys and recounted the events of that day. "She was a fucking loon!" he told them. "She starts reading off these texts that make her look like a cracker jack! Poor Jake. I felt sorry for that bastard."
"Wait a second," I said, holding up my hands. "You felt sorry for Jake? The guy humiliated her."
Brett laughed. "Man, are you serious?" He turned back to the guys. "This is a chick who spent the whole day either in her room or sitting around reading a book. She didn't say a word to anyone. She's a loon all right."
My back was up. "Actually, she spent most of the time she was there cooking and cleaning up for you and your lazy date."
Brett's cheery asshole demeanor disappeared. "Excuse me?"
"If you or your flavor of the week had bothered to get to know her, you may have noticed that she was normal and interesting."
A smugness came over Brett. "Oh, I see now. You want to tap her. No accounting for taste."
"The girl was freaking out and I was the only one who offered her a ride home. She's a nice girl, so cut it out."
"Whatever."
The conversation returned to football. Our pizzas arrived, I wolfed down a few slices and made my escape. I texted Becca that I'd be stopping by. It was nearing ten on a Wednesday night, but dealing with her wouldn't take long. She was in her dorm room, leafing through a fashion magazine when her roommate let me in. Becca vaulted off her bed and kissed me.
"I'll be back in twenty," her roommate said. For the life of me I couldn't remember her name.
She left and Becca snaked her arms around my waist. "We've got some time," she said, her voice deepening.
"I can't stay long. I thought we should talk."
She took a step back, her blue eyes inspecting me. "Talk about what?"
"Us."
"Why?"
No need to beat around the bush. I wanted to get this over with. "Do you think this is working?"
Her face frosted over. "You're not dumping me, are you?" Her voice had lost all its seduction replaced by snark.
"Becca, I like you and you're a great girl, but I'm just not feeling a connection. Someday you'll meet a guy who's right for you, but that's not me."
"You are such a son of a bitch," she said, her nostrils flaring. "Is it someone else?"
Strangely, she didn't seem sad, just angry. Like I'd forgotten her birthday. I knew she'd forget about it, and me, in a few days.
"There's no one else."
"It's that girl in your Poly Sci class, isn't it?"
"There isn't anyone else. I want to be single for a while and focus on school. We can still hang out and be friends."
Her eyes narrowed, ready to shoot laser beams. This side of Becca was ugly. "Bianca warned me about you. She said you'd date me for a while and dump me. You think you're some god because your dad's a senator. My dad could buy your dad any day of the week."
I let out a sigh. Her attempts to rattle me weren't going to work. "Well, I should go. I know you're pissed, but if you want to talk about it later, we can."
"Go fuck yourself."
"I guess not, then."
I left and she slammed the door behind me. That was taken care of and not nearly as difficult as I'd expected.