Boyfriend Countdown

Chapter 2

December 26th

Driving a bus route that began at five in the morning was usually not a problem for me. I had always been an early riser, and the bus depot was a mere ten miles from my apartment.

All the same, my body was like lead when the alarm went off at a quarter to four. I slammed my hand on the clock, completely missing the button and sending the damn thing to the floor. The constant beep, beep, beep drove me to reach over and unplug the cord from the wall before slumping back against the warm sheets.

I had Nelson to blame for being off-kilter. He’d never said anything about a relationship before. He’d seemed happy to fool around and had never indicated anything to the contrary. We’d met at a grocery store years ago and had bonded over a deep love of feta cheese.

One thing had led to another, and I’d had him in my bed within a day. After that, I’d call, and he’d come running. I’d assumed that was fine with him, but apparently I’d been miles off the mark.

I covered my face with my hands. I had a wicked hangover, and my head was pounding. After Nelson had left last night, I’d stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed a six-pack of beer, and holed up in bed with the TV on late-night whatevers. I’d made it through four beers before I passed out, still not sure why I was on a drinking binge.

So what if Nelson wanted to change things up? I had other guys, right? I didn’t need him when I had a book full of names and nights of s*x for s*x’s sake at my fingertips. I was thirty-eight years old, and I did not need to be in a relationship. They were complicated, and they never lasted. I witnessed my parents’ divorce, my sister’s cheating husband, my younger brother’s willingness to let men and women use him and leave soon after. He still had a Disney-type hopefulness of finding “the one” that made me nauseous.

Okay, so maybe I was jaded and scared. But how could Nelson be so sure I would fit the bill? I avoided commitment like the plague. It simply wasn’t in me, as far as I was concerned.

I finally got out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I didn’t bother shaving since I’d spent way too long with my thoughts in bed and was in danger of being late for work. I took a quick shower, dressed in my uniform, and made my coffee extra strong so I could gulp down some Tylenol.

I parked in the employee lot at the depot some minutes later and punched in. The lights were almost too bright in the locker rooms, and it was all I could do not to squint. There were three other drivers present, but none of us were interested in conversation. It was just too damn early.

I grabbed the keys and headed toward the bay to get the bus I’d been assigned. I checked the outside, made sure the tire pressure was good, and the brakes were working adequately before taking a seat behind the wheel. My head was still pounding, but at least the painkillers had taken the edge off.

It was going to be a long day.