Gold (BOOK 3) || PRN

X. The Second Act

He's attractive, a doctor, kind of tall, and he can cook. I'm not sure if this is an upgrade from the past but it's something! I haven't had a solid boyfriend in years and as long as I have been single, I've learned plenty of the fish in this sea are rotten. It's harder than you'd think to find someone with good conversation. A long list of casual hook-ups and one-night-stands could never compete with the real deal. I have to admit it, all of my pride aside, being single was much more fun when I was in my early twenties. These days? Not so much. I'm ready to start prepping myself for that time, the time to settle down.

"When was your last relationship?"

I flex the veins in my neck as a warning of all the craziness I've been dragged through in the past. "Probably about five years ago," I tell him, trying to leave it at exactly that. No more questions, please.

"You've been single all these years?" His disbelief is another form of flattering me, although I deem it to possibly be genuine. I can see how Jason would be flabbergasted if I told him I've only had two boyfriends since him. Both were the worst so, I'd rather not. He asks, "How do you do it?"

I blow buzzing air between my lips that creates the sound of a busted down motor. This is a new question. How do I do it? Well, if I think hard enough, I can try to tell him how. I was busy most years. Then, I sat my ass here for three years waiting for Prince. So, I guess I can see how I've gotten where I am today. In the ten years I've been separated from Jason, I'd only taken three men seriously enough to devote myself to them.

Using my fork to push around my broccoli, I try to think of an answer. "I don't really know." My eyes wander around in oblivion.

"You didn't see anybody else?"

I chuckle at how hard he's prying. "No, I did! I just didn't have a full relationship with him... It was more of a situation." A disastrous situation, at that.

Am I supposed to call my fling with Prince a relationship? We swapped mouthes monthly but there was no titles. Did he call me his girlfriend? I don't think he ever called me that to my face. I'd look stupid if I told someone he was my boyfriend and he turned around to disagree. I've been embarrassed enough in recent years.

The lights are bright in the room, a bright and comfortable vibe is going in the nicely decorated kitchen of an old friend. Dinner has felt like I'm spending time alongside a friend I've been waiting years to catch up with. Prince speaks as my conscience as he calls me naïve for taking in Jason as someone who doesn't give off the energy of a man wanting anything from me. No money, no fame, no sex, nothing. I don't feel it.

He chuckles, "I'll tell you about my last relationship."

"Oh, please do!" I shift in my seat, trying to get completely comfortable as the spotlight is taken off of me. "I want all the dirt, honey! I want all of it!"

"She was beautiful." Jason seems to be going back in time right before my eyes. The glasses he wears make him look studious, as if his thoughts are the way to cure AIDS. "Her favorite record was Stars Aligned."

Laughing, I point my fork at Jason. "I see she has good taste in music."

His chuckles ring throughout his chest. "Oh, yeah." A smile stuck on his face almost takes away from the mood killing details of his recollection. I took her to one of your concerts two years ago. "She knew we were together throughout high school and asked if could I get us backstage when you had a concert here last year. She got mad when I told her we hadn't spoken in years." I can't help but giggle on the inside. She left him because he couldn't get in the back? What kind a groupie?

After a long drag of my water, I sit back and say, "I'm sorry I ruined your relationship from the stage." He simply chuckles at my smart remark but the chuckle is somewhat uneasy. Already, I want to take it back. It feels arrogant. "Sorry, that was crazy rude."