Entangled

Chapter 4

"It's not going to end like it did last time," I said. "And I know you saved me from a sham of a marriage." I'll be eternally grateful to you for that one, and I won't take your advice for granted the next time. Besides, I'm not sure whether I'll ever see this girl again. I got her number and told her I'd call her, but I'm not sure if I will."

"You should," he said, shrugging. "I rarely see you become thrilled about a girl."

"I'm not excited; I'm simply remembering the hot s*x we had." That's all." I laughed and patted him on the back. "Now go enjoy the rest of your weekend." I'm going to go home and sleep, maybe watch the Lakers game on TV or whatever."

"All right," he laughed as he climbed into the back of the car. "I'll see you later."

I nodded and watched the car drive away before getting into my own. As we drove to my house, I reflected on what John had said and was glad I opted to brush things off around him. Sure, what I was feeling was pretty intense, especially for me, but he didn't need to know. I needed to figure it out for myself first, to show him that I could judge this girl's character and that I had learned from my mistakes. He'd been my best friend and frat brother since college, and I wasn't going to disregard his advice without giving it serious attention.

/ ROSE /

I was relieved to see that Tina had the day free and could meet me for lunch when I woke up on Sunday. I'd been so focused on meeting Alfred that I'd entirely forgotten about rescheduling with her. I got ready and drove uptown to a tiny café, beaming as I walked out of my car and waved at Tina who was standing on the corner. She was so beautiful. Every guy fell in love with her because of her long blonde hair, great body, and blue eyes. When Tina announced her engagement to Jordan, the entire world wept, fantasies of thousands of men crumbling at their fingertips. Tina, the goofy chick who fell into modeling by mistake and just kind of went with it, was just Tina to me. I hope my life hoped into superstardom without me even trying.

"Hi, love," she said, as she kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry once more about Friday. It was a nightmare."

"Don't worry. "I kept myself busy." I felt my cheek blush as I held open the door

And followed her inside.

We sat down, ordered salad and coffee, and I took out my notebook. We were finally able to discuss all of the things that I had been chasing her about for months. We laughed as we went through each page, ticking off the choices she had ultimately picked. We were cutting things close, but while I was nervous, she seemed calm as a cucumber.

She sighed, "We should have just brought everyone to Tahiti and eloped."

"You should have," I said, laughing. "I could use a tan."

"Me too," she said, swallowing her bite of salad. "Have you decided whether or not to take a date?" ”

"No, most likely not," I replied. "I'll have too much on my plate as your Maid of Honor to keep an eye on a date."

"You make it sound like you're my nanny," she chuckled.

"Are you sure I'm not?

" I asked. "No, I just want to make sure everything is in order and that you have nothing to worry about." That is my responsibility as your Maid of Honor."

She continued raving over the gowns that had arrived a few weeks ago, thanking me excessively for convincing her to avoid flowery prints. My thoughts wandered as she spoke, returning to the breakfast conversation Alfred and I had. He was an awesome person to be around, and I hadn't been able to shake him off my mind since we parted ways on Saturday morning.

"Excuse me, hello?" Rose,are you in there?"

“Huh?"

"What's up?

" she asked. "You seem to be slightly distracted."

“Truthfully?"

"Duh," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I met someone," I said, realizing I had to get it out.

"Oh, my God," she leaned forward, "tell me something."

"Well," I said, "after you canceled the dinner, I went to the bar and met this incredibly attractive guy." "We ate dinner, drank, and talked a lot before going to my apartment."

"Saucy," she said, jiggling her eyebrows. "Who is he?" ”

"His name is Alfred Roberts, and he is the owner of—"

"iTech," she blurted out. "Holy cow. You had s*x with Alfred Roberts? That is insane. Jordan works for him in the IT department."

"That's who Jordan works for?"

"I told you that," she said excitedly.

"No, you told me he was the VP of technology for some big company." I was taken aback. "That's so crazy."

"Are you planning on seeing him again?"

"I'm not sure," I said, shrugging. "I mean, I think I want to."

"You think?"

"OK, I know I want to, but I gave him my number, and I have to wait for him to call," I said,looking down at my phone.

"Ugh, guys take forever to call back," she grumbled. " Jordan didn't call me for a second date for like a week." It's so exhausting."

"We both know they live in their own little world, thinking these ridiculous ideas about chasing a girl," I said. "It's as though they think that if they call the same day or the next, they will appear needy." Personally, if you call me within a couple of days, I know you're serious and not just using me as a backup plan because you have something better lined up."

“Right?"

"Of course, Jordan is an exception because we all know he fell in love with you the first time he saw you," I reminded her. "And wasn't the reason he didn't call you for a week because he was taking care of his sick grandmother?" ”

"That's right," she said, pointing at me. "I forgot about that."

"How could you have forgotten?

" I asked myself. "It's like the sweetest thing ever."

"I'm sure he'll call you shortly," she said.

"Or not at all," I replied. "I don't have high hopes. I met him at a bar and took him home that same night. "I gave up the good stuff."

"That indicates you know what you want," she added, shaking her head.

"Or I just wanted to get laid," I laughed. "I think it was a combination of the two. Anyway, if he doesn't call, that's fine. It's not the first time I've been disappointed by a man."

My phone buzzed on the table just as I finished that sentence, making me jump. When I looked down at the screen, I noticed a number that I didn't recognize. With wide eyes, I looked back at Tina with wide eyes.

"Is it him?"

" she asked.

"I don't know. Remember, I don't have his number? ”

"Answer it," she said.

“Hello?"

“Hey, gorgeous, it’s Alfred,” he said.

"Hey," I replied to Tina, shaking my head. "How are you doing?" ”

"I am fantastic. Did I catch you at a bad time? ”

"No," I answered casually. "I was just out to have lunch with my best friend."

"The one getting married?"

"Yeah, the one getting married who stood me up on Friday," I retorted, sticking my tongue out at her.

"Tell her thank you for that," he said, laughing.

My cheeks flushed instantly, and I didn't repeat what he said. I couldn’t believe that he had called so quickly. Perhaps I should have placed a bit more faith in him than I did. If he called that quickly, it meant I was on his mind, possibly as much as he was on mine. I definitely wanted to meet him again, but I wanted him to initiate the conversation.

"Why do I get the impression you're blushing right now?"

" he asked.

"Because I am," I laughed, watching Tina's face flush with surprise at the sound of my girlish chuckle.

“I don’t want to keep you from your wedding duties,” he said. “I just wanted to call and find out if I could see you again. I really had an amazing time on Friday, and then again on Saturday morning. Well, actually consecutively. I consecutively had fun that whole time, and I wanted to start that all over again on the actual date when I asked you and you accepted.”