The Dating Manual

{ p r o l o g u e }

verac1ous
The Dating Manual

© 2013, verac1ous

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

- - - - -

p r o l o g u e

“Iris!” I whipped around, a grin growing on my face as I turned towards the voice. My friends all turned back and shot me a look of jealousy, as they crossed their arms around their chests - as if that would make them look big or somewhat natural. Jogging towards me, was my beautiful best friend and boyfriend, Oliver Reese. His shaggy brown hair was flopping as he got closer to us, a look of discomfort flashing across his face as he took in the girls next to me. His green eyes flashed at me, as he came to a stop, shooting us his trademark smile but it wasn’t reaching his eyes as usual.

“Hey, babe.” I wrapped an arm around his waist, giving him a tight hug. I felt his hands push me back a little, a look of confusion flitting across my face.

“Look, Rissy. We need to talk,” Oliver nervously spoke, one hand on my shoulder. He looked at me and then the girls behind me, before steering me away from them. His warm hands grabbed mine, as he led us towards an empty parking lot.

“Uhm, okay. What is it about? The girls and I are about to go sho-”

“Iris, you’re an amazing person, and I’ll love you no matter what,” Oliver started, interrupting my sentence. He put a caring hand on my shoulder, squeezing them lightly. Suddenly, my insides weren’t feeling so good. I had a slight feeling as to where this was going. “But... I think we should break up.”

“Why?” I whispered, my stomach dropping low. “What’s wrong?” I wasn’t going to grovel at his feet or anything - in fact, I had more self respect than to do such thing. I was not a clingy person.

“I know this is going to sound really cliche...” he started, before I put a hand up to stop him, looking up at him, slightly pissed.

“Let me guess, it’s not me, but it’s you?” I bitterly spat out; Oliver looked at me uncomfortably, then nodded. “Tell me now - truthfully before I punch you, Ollie - when did you stop having feelings for me?”

“A month or two ago,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head. I was fuming now, and stomped away from Oliver.

“Iris! Wait, I still need to explain!” Oliver cried out as he caught my hand and spun me around. I struggled against his hold before going limp. He brought me in for a hug, smoothing out my hair as he did for the past 17 years of my life.

“Iris. I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you. You’re my best friend. Always will be. I really did like you,” Oliver whispered and wiped a tear from my face. “I was actually really happy and relieved when you admitted to liking me... even though you were drunk. You’re really special to me, Iris. When I say, it’s me and not you, I meant it.”

“What is it then?” I asked, tears flowing down freely onto my cheeks.

“I... I’m gay.”

- - - - -

It’s been exactly a week since Oliver came out of the closet, and broke off our relationship. In other words, I’ve been holed up in my room for the past week, leaving only to pick up some food in the kitchen and swiping some movies from the den. He and I have been best friends since I could remember. I knew everything about him, and he knew everything about me. I thought we were perfect and meant for each other. Really.