The Boyfriend List (3 page)

Knowing
this, and what the conversation would lead to if she entertained the idea for
even a second, Reagan didn’t answer, but merely shook her head and smiled before
falling silent for a few seconds as the meal was delivered to their table. As
she stared down at the delicious pairing of carby, fatty goodness on her plate,
she suddenly realized that all this talk about Justin had made her lose her
appetite. The idea was horrifying. Out of sheer principle, she forced herself
to pick up one of the hot, seasoned fries and groaned as she bit down on it.

 
“Why does this keep happening to me!” She
could feel the rise of anger and resentment building up inside her. It was
stuck in her throat, just waiting to be released. And despite the looks she was
drawing from a nearby table, Reagan was finally ready to let it all out. “All I
want is someone I can connect with – really, honestly connect with - and
instead I get a string of...of
Justins
.
They’re all mindless, sex-craving clones. All of them!” She threw her hands up
in defeat and shook her head before finally taking a big bite of her burger.

“And
that’s a problem because...?” Petra had raised an eyebrow at her from across
the table.

“Because
sex is just better when you’re in love.” She said around a mouthful of bun.
Thankfully there wasn’t anyone to impress who would notice. “It feels better,
it means more, and it’s way more satisfying in the end.”

“You
do remember you’re in college, right? You’re supposed to be having fun, not
worrying about finding your lifelong Mr. Right."

The
comment merely drew an eye roll from Reagan. “That’s good.” She declared
enthusiastically, pointing to the burger, just to get under Petra’s skin.
Apparently, it worked, as Petra chomped hard on a fork full of lettuce.

"Okay,
Miss Romance Queen.” Her mouth had drawn thin, her brows furrowed. Things in
Petra’s world were about to get serious. “What qualities exactly are we talking
about here?”

“What?”
Reagan blinked twice. The idea was laughable. As though it were such a simple
thing and she could spell it all out just like that. Who needed a list? Wouldn’t
she just
know
when she finally found
him? That’s what all the movies wanted you to believe at least...

“I’m
going to help you find a boyfriend before summer.” She sounded quite pleased
with herself as she stabbed a leaf of lettuce with her fork, then after taking
the bite added, “A good one too. But I’m going to need to know exactly what it
is you’re looking for.”

Intrigued,
Reagan placated her. What was the worst that could happen?

“Hmm…”
She considered all her options. “How about Bradley Cooper’s charm, Channing
Tatum’s body, and Johnny Depp’s eyes.”

It
was Petra’s turn to roll her eyes. “Please take this seriously. I’m offering up
my superb matchmaking skills. That’s not something that I’d do for just anyone.”

“Oh,
I am taking this seriously.” Sarcasm dripped from her every word, but Petra
didn’t catch it.

“Really?
That’s your problem then.”

“What
is?”

“You
don’t want to be in love with a real guy. You want to be in love with a movie
star. And newsflash, that doesn’t work.”

“And
how would you know?” Reagan puffed her chest out in surprise.

“Oh.”
She replied matter-of-factly. “I know.” And the look in her eyes was convincing
enough to make Reagan believe her, even though Reagan was fairly confident
she’d known every person her friend had ever fallen in love with. Or even just
hooked up with for that matter. “Just think about it a little harder, okay?”

Regan
nodded that she would, and though their conversation ebbed more than flowed
over the next several moments as the girls devoured their meals, the level of
noise throughout the room did not, and little snippets of conversation popped
up all around them. Reagan was doing her best to ignore them, so immersed in
her own thoughts as she was. Until one particular voice caught her attention.

 
I don’t want that.

It
was only a second later the guy made it clear he wasn’t talking about his food,
and Reagan tuned in a little more.

She’s every man’s dream girl, bro.

Yeah, every man that wants an easy
chick. I want someone who’s decent, that I can have fun with.

Reagan
was now fully plugged in.

Man, don’t start that again. We’re in
college, have a little fun.

No, I’m serious
. An easy chuckle followed the
declaration.
It doesn’t matter how hot a
girl is if you can’t have a conversation with her.

"
That’s
what I want.” Reagan whispered
frantically, pointing behind her.

Petra
looked up in the general direction Reagan had indicated, but instead of seeing
a man, she saw a sinfully delicious looking dessert that was being delivered to
a table a few seats back from them. “Oh, I do too.” She admitted in a rare
moment of weakness. Her eyes were practically glued to the tray, and Reagan was
fairly certain she could see a glisten of drool forming in the corner of
Petra’s mouth. “I wonder how many calories is in that.”

Confused,
Reagan whipped her head back to see what her friend was talking about and began
laughing almost uncontrollably. “No!” She corrected, half whispering again.
“Are you listening to this convo? I want a man like
that
.”

“Like
what?”

“Shhh…”
Reagan hissed back at her. "Like him." Mouthing the words, she
motioned slightly over her shoulder, hoping she was being inconspicuous.

Petra
shrugged her shoulders. "You can. Go introduce yourself."

And
in Petra’s world, it would’ve been that easy. For realistic Reagan, however,
she saw the situation with a little more complexity.

“Yeah,
and what am I going to say to him? ‘
Hi. I
overheard your conversation and, well, I think I’m the girl you’re looking for
’?”
Her mocking tone had Petra trying to stifle her own laughter. “I can't do that,
I don't even know what he looks like."

“His
friend is cute enough.” Petra acknowledged, craning her head to see the duo
seated behind Reagan. “I’ll go talk to him for you.” And she’d stood to act on
her offer before she’d even finished her sentence.

“No!”
Reagan grabbed her arm from across the table and pulled her back down. “You
can’t do that.”

“Why
not?” Confusion was etched across her face. “You want to find a guy like that,
but you don’t want to meet the one that’s right there?”

“I
just found out my boyfriend cheated on me. I don’t even know if I’m ready to
meet another guy yet. I want to take it a little slower, that’s all. Okay?”

“No
way! You need to get back in the game. Like, now. I don’t want to see you
moping around the rest of the semester.” Petra thought for a minute, her large
eyes scanning the room until they landed on a large salad bar. Then suddenly,
her entire face lit up. "Go get me some salad." She commanded
decisively.

“What?”
It was Reagan’s turn to be confused, and her exasperation was quickly rising.

“Salad.”

"Okay,
first of all, when did I become your waitress? Second, stop changing the topic
so suddenly. And third, haven’t you had enough lettuce for one day? My god
woman!”

"I
love your priorities here.” Rolling her eyes, Petra elaborated. “No, listen.
Pretend you're getting something at the salad bar, then you can turn around and
see what he looks like.” Then her lips turned up teasingly at the corners. “Maybe
he’ll even make eye contact with you and come over."

It
made sense, Reagan supposed. And what harm could a little peek really do? If he
wasn’t attractive, her curiosity would be satisfied and she could move on. If
he was…well, she might have to take Petra’s advice to get out of her comfort
zone and assert herself a little. She agreed, hesitantly, and stood up with a
nod of determination. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.” She mumbled to
herself as she moved toward the center of the room.

CHAPTER THREE

The
long island of all-you-can-eat goodies had been positioned in the middle of the
room to be convenient to all the diners. And normally Reagan was a fan of the
idea, despite her preferences for the more flavorful options on the menu.
Except, that is, for today. Or more specifically, right then in that moment.
When she was in the process of scheming on how to get a quick peek at a
potentially cute guy, the last thing she wanted to do was draw unnecessary
attention to herself – something which would be completely unavoidable if
she were smack in the center of the room.

Whatever
, she thought as she released a tense
breath through her nose. How hard could this really be?

On
either side of the steel island were thick, bone colored plates. She chose the
side that would give her the better view, then casually picked up a plate merely
on principle so she’d look less suspicious. After the huge burger she’d just
devoured, there was no way she had any intention of eating another bite. Not to
mention she didn’t want to get stuck with the bill for adding the salad bar
under Petra’s grand direction.
 

In an
attempt to get her bearings, she looked around and easily spotted Petra who was
in clear view from where she stood. Cheering her on, her friend gave her an enthusiastic
thumbs-up to keep her going, and Reagan began to suspect that they weren’t
being very subtle about the whole thing. After smiling back, she huffed a
determined sigh then allowed her gaze to wander to where the duo of guys
should’ve been seated, only to find the table in question blocked by a large
group of people who had suddenly stood up to leave.

Disappointed,
she decided she could wait a few minutes – but only a few – until
they cleared away. But it was also quite possible she could lose her nerve
before they did. Oh, who was she kidding. With the kind of luck she had, this
guy would not only end up being someone she wasn’t attracted to, but someone
who definitely wasn’t attracted to her. She wasn’t the hottest girl on campus,
she was just...Reagan.

Still,
there was some fun in trying to figure it all out, and she could use a fun
distraction after the week she’d had. Biting her lip, she tried to look as
though she were considering the plethora of appetizing selections that had been
laid out, but apparently her act wasn’t good enough for the very hungry diner
who was next in line. Prodding her in the back with a long, bony finger, the
woman glared at her, as only grandmotherly types can, through round glasses
perched low on her nose.

Taking
the hint, Reagan scooted down the line a few steps, keeping her eyes on the
group the entire time. Finally, a young mother reached down to pick up her
fussing child, and she had her opportunity. The sea of people parted, the table
was in full view, and she had an excellent picture of the guys who had been
sitting behind her.

There you are
, she thought to herself,
and her eyes grew large with curiosity.

If anything was to be said about that initial staging,
it was that it had been well worth the wait. She was pleasantly surprised to
find that he was not at all unfortunate where looks were concerned, and her
pulse quickened just a little more at the finding. Though he might not be of
the European model caliber, he was definitely attractive in an ordinary sort of
way. She liked that, Reagan decided. Ordinary was comfortable. Ordinary was
safe. Ordinary would work.

Still, there was something so unique about his
appearance Reagan found it hard to want to pull away. She ran down the list as
her eyes skimmed over him: tanned complexion from an obviously beachy spring
break location, good height, muscular build, hair set in loose waves. But
ultimately she decided that while all those features were fabulous on their own
– and certainly the combination was sure to have more than a few heads
turning – that alone wasn’t quite what had drawn her attention.

She must have been standing there for a while trying
to figure it out, and had probably lost her discreet edge, she considered.
Maybe he noticed her standing there from the corner of his eye, or maybe he
just sensed someone looking intently at him. Whatever it was attributed to, his
head began to turn. In her direction. Actually, he was looking directly at her.
Their eyes locked. Reagan froze.
Not good!

Spinning around to try to avoid him, she nearly
dropped her plate in the process. She recovered it before it crashed to the
floor, but her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. Seeking refuge behind
another group who was preparing to leave, she used them as a cover to block his
view of her, and followed them until she was close to her own table. Quickly
and quietly, she slipped into her seat, her mind racing wildly with thoughts
and ideas.

She hadn’t said a word; she couldn’t, so consumed was
she by her frantic experience. Not to mention she was wrestling with the
inspiring realization that had dawned somewhere between the salad bar and
sneaking back into her seat: this guy was not only good-looking, but could
quite possibly be plugged into her inner most thoughts where relationships were
concerned. She’d never thought that was possible; it was like winning the lotto
without realizing you even had the ticket. Reagan felt dazed, like she was
walking around in a dream and would wake up at any minute now. Reaching under
the table, she pinched her leg and jumped a little at the pain. Nope, she
definitely wasn’t dreaming.