Forget You (8 page)

“Date three, where are we going and when?”
She took a large bite of her hash brown, and eyed me.

I hesitated, because I hadn’t thought that
far ahead just yet. “It’s a surprise.”

She arched an eyebrow. “I don’t particularly
enjoy surprises, but I’ll let you have this one. I guess.”

“Good.” I took another bite of my sausage
biscuit. “Because you have no choice in the matter. All I’ll let
you know is that it’s tomorrow at seven.”

Eva smiled, and sipped her orange juice while
holding my stare. I truly had to come up with something original
for this date, because the first one had set her standards high, I
was sure. I wondered how she felt about motocross racing.

EVA

When I got off work at two, I headed straight
to Paige’s Closet without thinking of it being Sunday and the place
being closed. I was in desperate need of a new outfit, and this
place always had great stuff within my budget. Not only that, but
it was owned by one of my best friends.

Pulling up in front of the store, my eyes
skimmed the outside of the building, checking out the chic-looking
outfits in the front windows. Paige was a natural when it came to
fashion. I envied the trait. While I wasn’t some fanny pack
wearing, tight-rolled jeans fool, I wasn’t the most creative when
it came to putting outfits together either. Simple and comfortable,
that was my wardrobe.

Lights on inside the shop caught my
attention. I glanced around the parking lot and spotted both Paige
and Lauren’s cars. They must be restocking or something.

Slamming my driver side door shut, I bolted
through the cold and straight toward the glass door of Paige’s
Closet. It might be November, but these temperatures felt more like
February. People all over town were saying this would be our
coldest winter yet. When I was at Harrison’s Grocery the other day,
every old person was yapping about the blizzard from fifteen years
ago, claiming this wacky weather we’d been seeing lately was
reminiscent of that year.

I prayed they were wrong.

Snow wasn’t my thing. I liked it for all of
two seconds: That moment when you look up and see it slowly,
magically, floating toward the ground, and then, before it even
hits the ground, I’m over it. Christmas morning is the only time I
feel it’s acceptable for snow to stick.

Stepping inside the shop, warmth met my cold
skin, and music streaming from speakers tucked in the corners of
the place floated to my ears—some Justin Timberlake song.

“Hey, sorry but we’re actually closed.”
Lauren said from where she sat behind the register, messing with
the split ends of her hair.

“Get a haircut,” I said.

I hated when I saw girls splitting their
split ends. For whatever reason, I found it to be as bad as seeing
someone chew off his or her nails. I guess you could say I had an
ever-growing list of pet peeves.

“What the— Oh, hey! Are you off today?”
Lauren dropped the strands of hair she’d been mutilating, and
leaned on the desk in front of her. It was obvious she was about to
go off on me before she realized who I was.

Lauren Myers was like my sarcastic twin. She
got me and my snarky ways like no other female ever had before.
Generally, I wasn’t one to have female friends, because of that
sarcastic trait of mine, but with Lauren, that was what had brought
us together. She didn’t give a shit. She was a major flirt,
confident, and could be bold with her words when she felt the
need.

“No, I worked from ten to two.” I headed over
to the rack of long-sleeved tops, and began flipping through them.
“Are you guys here putting new stuff out?”

“Of course,” Paige, the owner of Paige’s
Closet, said as she came from the storage room. “And I know the
perfect top for you. When I put it on the rack a second ago, I told
Lauren I thought it would look great on you. Part of me was going
to keep it in the back because of that, but I didn’t.”

Paige Jacobs was a sweet girl with dark hair
and innocent-looking brown eyes. She’d been dating my best male
friend, Cameron, for a little over a year now. It still seemed odd
to me that Cam had settled down. He was one of those guys you never
envisioned doing so. Paige had been exactly what he needed though,
and I was grateful they’d found each other. She was good for
him.

Paige walked to the rack of clothes I was
flipping through, and in two seconds, found the shirt she had been
talking about. It was a long-sleeved, baggy shirt made of a sheer
white fabric. Comfortable and simple. I liked it.

“You know me so well,” I assured her.

“Pair it with some jeans, maybe a set of
heels or boots, and a sexy little camisole underneath. It will look
awesome on you.” She smiled.

“Yeah, you could totally rock that. Maybe
even add in some cool wooden earrings,” Lauren chimed in.

“Sold. Point me in the direction of the sexy
camisoles.” I took the shirt from Paige, and draped it over my
arm.

“What’s the occasion?” Lauren asked with a
knowing smile. “Do you have a hot date?”

I laughed. “I do, actually.”

Paige held up two satiny camisoles. One was a
standard white with a little lace trim along the top, and the other
was a pale turquoise color. I scrunched my nose at the second one,
thinking it might be too much color beneath the top.

“It would look cute,” she disagreed. “Try it,
please.”

I took them both from her, and sauntered
toward the fitting room in the corner. Pulling the bohemian-looking
curtain closed, I placed all three tops on a hook inside and
unbuttoned my jacket.

“Who’s the guy?” Lauren shouted over the
music.

“How did you two meet?” Paige added.

Thank goodness, I was the only customer in
the store, which was a rarity lately. Paige’s Closet was trendy,
and word had definitely gotten out about it since Cameron bought
Paige some billboard advertisement near the college.

“We met at Gareth’s Park, and his name is
Sawyer.” I didn’t give them more than that.

Hanging my jacket up, I pulled off my top,
and debated which camisole to try on beneath the sheer top
first.

“Is this date number one? Where are you guys
going?” Paige asked.

“Is the date tonight? Isn’t a Sunday night a
little awkward for a first date? You’d think he’d go for a Friday
night or something,” Lauren said.

I grinned, knowing what I was about to say
would blow their minds. Slipping the turquoise camisole on first, I
eyed my reflection. “Actually, this will technically be date number
three and it’s tomorrow night.”

“Date number three?” Paige demanded.

“What! Why have we not heard about him
before?” Lauren asked. “He must be a damn good catch if she didn’t
want to share him until now.”

“Must be,” Paige agreed.

“Obviously he doesn’t fall into one of the
categories you place guys into, but does he meet my checklist
requirements? That’s the next question,” Lauren asked.

Lauren wasn’t as overprotective as her
question might make her sound; this was just another thing we had
in common—something that made it impossible for us not to be good
friends. While I had my categories I placed guys in, Lauren had a
checklist of questions she asked to weed through potential
guys.

I pulled off the shirts I was wearing, and
changed into the white camisole next to see what it looked like
paired with the sheer white top.

“Let’s go through them,” Lauren insisted.
“One: does he have a job?”

I hesitated in answering. He had a job.
Right? He was in the National Guard, which counted as a job. I
think. “He has a job.”

“There was some hesitation there. I hope
you’re right,” Lauren scolded.

I tugged on my top, and pulled my jacket on.
Grabbing the shirts I’d tried on, I slid the curtain open.

“Car. What about a car? Does he have one?”
Lauren asked, moving through her list.

“Yes.” That I could answer right away.

“Does he still live with his parents?” Lauren
continued.

Did he? I wasn’t sure. We hadn’t made it to
the most basic questions yet. All I knew about him was his age, he
was in the National Guard, his cousin was Wes Keeton, he had a car,
and he was damn good-looking with a great sense of humor.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I guess that
will be something I need to bring up at some point.”

“Where is he taking you?” Paige took the
white camisole from me, and handed me a pair of light-colored
skinny jeans with a few holes near the front pockets. “Here, go try
these on. They’ll look great with that top.”

I didn’t argue. I’d learned early on in our
friendship that when it came to clothes, it was easier to go with
whatever Paige said. She was persistent, and generally always
right. Draping the jeans over my arm, I walked to the desk and set
down the two tops I would be buying.

“I hope I brought enough for all this,” I
said on my way toward the fitting room.

“You know you get a heavy discount,” Paige
called after me.

Tugging at the curtain, I sealed myself off
from the main store again and kicked off my shoes. Peeling off my
jeans, I thought about Lauren’s questions. My mind somehow shifted
to wondering what Sawyer’s date tomorrow night would be. I prayed
it wasn’t a movie. There was no way I would be able to get answers
to my questions if we were going to be sitting silently in front of
an oversized screen for the majority of our date. Movie dates
sucked that way. They were fine if you truly didn’t want to get to
know the person, or if you already knew them well enough not to
need to ask random questions, like whether they still lived with
their parents.

“What are you guys getting into tonight?” I
pulled on the pair of jeans Paige had handed me.

“Nothing much,” Lauren answered first. “I
think I’m just hanging out at my place tonight.”

Turning to look at myself from every angle in
the full-length mirror hung on the wall, I checked my butt out. The
jeans fit nicely. Not too tight. Not too loose. Paige had nailed it
again.

“Cameron had some guy place an order for four
original pieces, so he’s probably going to be at the studio until
late finishing up,” Paige said. “I’ll be home alone most of the
night.”

I smiled, thinking of Cameron’s art. It was
insane to me that not only had he opted to stay in Coldcreek and
remodel his parents’ old house, but he’d also settled down with
Paige, and finally opened up his own art shop, selling the
beautiful pieces he painted when inspiration struck. Inspiration
always seemed to be striking now that he had Paige in his life. She
was like his muse. It was sickeningly sweet.

“How about we do a girls’ night?” I
suggested. “We need to invite Blaire too. I’m sure she would love a
break from all of the last-minute wedding details before her
bachelorette party.”

“Oh my God, we really need to start planning
that!” Paige fretted. “Can you believe her wedding is only a few
weeks away?”

Tugging off the jeans, which would now be my
favorite pair, I folded them and set them on the seat. Blaire Hayes
was the girl that topped off our group. She was an RN at a local
nursing home, and was set to marry Jason Bryant, her fiancé for
just a little over a year, in a few short weeks. To me their
engagement seemed like the longest one ever. My thoughts on
engagements were if you truly meant the words when you asked, then
you shouldn’t have to wait around for six months to year before you
actually said the “I do’s”. While I knew Jason had truly meant it
when he’d gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him, I
just felt as though they should have completed the ritual months
ago.

Anyone could look at them and tell they were
head over heels smitten with one another. There was a story to
their love. Granted, I didn’t know all the gory details, but I did
know enough to be able to say that they had been through some
serious crap and came out of it together in the end.

“I still can’t believe they want to have it
in the middle of freaking winter.” Pulling my shoes back on, I
moved the curtain to the side and stepped out. “It’s too cold.”

“At least the reception is inside,” Lauren
said. She was still behind the desk. Her cell phone was in her
hand, and I was sure with the way her thumb kept flicking at the
screen, she was trolling Facebook.

“Still, having it in summer, or spring even,
when there’s a semblance of warmth would be ten times better. I
hate the cold.” I walked to where Lauren sat, and tossed the jeans
onto the table.

“I like it.” Paige shrugged.

Making a face at her comment, I pushed the
clothes toward Lauren. “Ring me up. I’ve got to run a few
errands.”

“Are we still all on for tonight?” Lauren
asked.

“I’m in,” Paige answered. “Whose place?”

My apartment was way too small, that was for
sure. I didn’t bother offering.

“How about yours?” Lauren suggested, pointing
to Paige. “It’s the largest.”

“I don’t know about that, but that’s fine. We
can all have some wine and take-out or something.” She smiled.

Paige was modest. Her apartment was really
the largest out of the three of ours. Blaire and she had been
roommates for a while—since their freshman year in college, I
think. When Blaire and Jason got engaged, Blaire decided a few
months after to move into Jason’s house since she was practically
living there anyway. Paige had opted to stay behind and foot the
bill for the place on her own, while turning Blaire’s old room into
an office and more storage space for her shop merchandise.

“What time?” I asked. I watched Lauren scan
and fold my new clothes before placing them into a plastic bag.

“How about six? I’ll text Blaire and see if
she’ll be off in time,” Paige said.

After paying for the clothes—which with my
fifty percent off friend discount only cost me eleven bucks—I
scooped up my bag, and headed toward the door.