Fate Interrupted

11. Sweet Talker

Ren

NOVEMBER 2009

I wake up on Sunday groggy and slightly hungover after a restless sleep. Through bleary eyes, I spy the empty wine bottle on my bedside table. Proof that I had come in after slamming Gio's car door, grabbed an open bottle of wine in the fridge, and spent the rest of the evening in my room drinking and watching more Sex in the City on my laptop.

My head hurts. I can't face my mom for breakfast feeling like this. She will see my mood written all over my face and want to talk about it, and then I will have to tell her who I actually had dinner with and why.

Nope. Not yet.

I decide to duck out of the house to go get coffee and a poppyseed muffin at the nearest coffee shop for breakfast. As I walk to the cafe and back, my brain replays every detail of my evening with Gio yesterday over and over in my head. It's making me go a bit crazy—but I can't seem to stop it, either.

Walking back through the park with my coffee, I check my phone. It's only 9:30 am, so I stop at a bench to further delay the eventual interaction with my mother. I'm mindlessly flicking through Facebook on my phone, lost in thoughts about what I did to make Gio freak out on me so badly.

Stop it. I need to get over this. I don't need Gio's level of guy drama in my life. I forcefully attempt to push him from my mind, but not even two minutes pass before I realize he's snuck back in and plopped himself center of my thoughts again. Ugh!

Sydney, I need to call her right now. I forgot to call her back after dropping that bomb on her yesterday. Pulling my cell out of my sweatshirt pocket, I dial Sydney's number. It rings twice before she picks up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Syd, it's me."

"Finally! What the hell, Ren? Were you serious?!"

"Oh yeaaah!" I drawl, smiling ear to ear as I imagine her face right now.

"AAAAAH! No freakin way! And here I thought I was coming through for you with his number, but apparently, you have it and are going on dates with him already! Ren, I can't believe you sometimes."

"Look, I don't have his number yet, actually, so thank you. And I think that one date... was it."        

"What? Why?"

"I don't really know. It was totally hot and cold with him. We had a pretty good time, and then, we were in his Corvette dropping me off, and—"

"Corvette?!"

"I know! But listen. Then, like, I told him I wanted to see him again, but he said he didn't want to start anything! So I kinda asked him why, and then he went and kissed me!"

"He kissed you!"

"Yeah, but I mean, like, really kissed me."

"How was it?"

"Syd. I can't even describe how hot his kiss was!" I sigh and close my eyes, reliving it in my mind again. Damn. I wish I could live inside that memory all day. 

"Look, absolutely nothing's changed in that department. But then he totally freaked the fuck out and told me to leave. So I did." I shrug my shoulders even though she can't see me.

"What!!"

"Yeah, exactly, Sydney! I don't know what to think."

"But he can be emotionally dramatic like that sometimes, right? If he kissed you like that, then he still wants you."