More Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories (The Flirts! Short Stories Collections) (13 page)

“How could we? You’re writing about dating disasters. How can you do that if we’re a couple? You can’t go cruising around bars anymore.”

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, until she quietly said, “Toby, I think you should take me home. It’s good that we got this out in the open now. It would just hurt more a few months down the road when things get more serious.”

“You’re right.” He paused, drumming his fingers on the seat. “Actually, you know what? No. I don’t agree. I think you should take a chance on me.”

“Toby, let’s just keep it casual for a while.”

“That won’t work. Let me know if you change your mind, Diana. I am ready to be a fantastic, fun, attentive boyfriend. No one’s ever given me the chance to be those things. I’ve got the money. I can take care of you.”

“Toby, I’ve always supported myself. If things don’t work out, then where does that leave me?”

“It’ll work out. I have a feeling.”

“I can’t stake my future on a feeling. My father left when I was two. I barely remember him. I’ve seen him maybe a dozen times after that. I’ve counseled hundreds of women who’ve given up everything for a man, only to be left with nothing but regrets. It is very important for me to be independent, Toby. I can’t count on anyone but myself. I wish you understood that my work is important to me, not just for the paycheck.”

“But
I’m
not important. Or not important enough.”

“Toby…”

“Not enough anyway.”

“I think you should take me home.”

He wouldn’t look at her. “I think you’re right.”

***

Diana went home and cried. This was perfect stuff for the book, all this heartbreak and angst. But Toby wasn’t Mr. Wrong. He was right in so many ways.
Except for wanting to come before your career
.

She thought over what that really meant. He wanted to be the most important thing to a woman. Was that so bad? Either way, her book proposal was stuck on chapter ten. She emailed her agent and told her she needed more time.

***

For two weeks, Toby tried to forget her, the woman happier with a hotdog from a street vendor than a five-course dinner at a charity ball. Maybe somebody else like her was out there. Unlikely, he thought. But he accepted his brother’s invitation to meet him out. Maybe Eric would remember something about Diana—or Dina—that could help him convince her to give this thing a chance.

At the bar, Toby did his best to describe her to Eric. “Lovely brown, wavy hair. Although it may have been straight that night.”

Eric snapped his fingers. “The chick with the cobra tattoo on her neck.”

“Uh, no. Definitely not her. You don’t remember anything about a woman you spent three hours talking with?”

“Dude, I was—”

“Drunk, I know.”

“Dad died when I was eight. No need to fill in for him now, Bro.”

A beautiful voice interrupted their conversation. “Do you remember me now, Eric?”

Toby spun around and saw Diana standing there smiling.

Eric scrunched his eyebrows. “No, I don’t.”

She frowned. “Lots of eye shadow. Shorter skirt.”

“I remember you,” said Eric’s friend Emily. “You were going to get him a barf bag during your trip overseas.”

“Oh, where did you go?” Toby asked.

Diana gave Toby a look.

“Ah. You weren’t going anywhere, were you?” Toby asked.

“What?” Eric asked.

Emily patted his cheek. “She was trying to get away from you.”

“Why?”

Diana turned up her hands. “I could never keep up with your partying.”

Eric puffed out his chest. “Damn right.”

Sliding off her barstool, Emily pulled Eric away. “She’s not interested in you. Come on, leave them alone.” He followed her to the back of the bar like a sulking toddler.

Toby faced Diana. “What are you doing here? More research for your book?”

“No. I’m meeting my brother here. We had a…” She paused. “A pretty big misunderstanding.”

“So did you and I,” Toby said.

“It wasn’t a misunderstanding. I think we both made ourselves rather clear.”

“But I was wrong. I’m sorry.” He took her hand in his. “I never should have suggested you stop writing the book for me. I think it’s great that you’ve got something you love. I just want to be sure you’d be able to love me as much, too.”

She sat down next to him and put her purse on the bar. “I’m not so sure I love writing. At least not the book on finding Mr. Wrong. I cancelled the second book deal.”

He set his hand on her knee. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me. It was consuming my life and making me do things I didn’t want to do. Like say goodbye to you.”

He reached for his drink and took a sip. “What are you going to do now? Go back to therapy?”

“I’m not sure. But I want to make sure I get my priorities right this time. My mother always insisted I be independent, so I’ve focused on my career. Even though I’ve dreamed of the family I never had growing up, I never wanted to need anyone. Other people can let you down. So instead, I spent years helping other people find love. I’ve never found it myself.”

“Me neither. Until recently.” He grinned at her.

Diana set her hand on his arm. “Is it too late for us?”

“It sounds like perfect timing. We can figure out your new life together.”

She looped her arms around his neck, teasing the hair above his collar. “I was convinced someone like you was wrong for me.”

“Then give me as long as it takes to prove otherwise.” He pulled her in for a kiss.

Eric walked back over and snorted. “And I’m the public embarrassment.”

Emily grabbed his hand and yanked him away. “Let’s go sit down. Far away, in back.” She dragged him away.

“How about we make a deal,” Toby suggested.

Diana’s eyes widened. “Nothing on paper, right?”

He laughed. “No. What kind of guy would do that?”

“The kind of guys I’ve been seeing.”

Toby leaned forward to kiss her. “Not anymore.” He was delighted with the passionate kiss he got back.

A man standing nearby interrupted them. “You never want me to have sex again, do you? No man needs to see his sister sucking face in public like that.” The guy rubbed his eyes.

Diana looked up into the man’s pale face. “Matt, you really need to grow up sometime before you hit middle age. Toby, this is my brother Matt. Matt is upset because he and I ended up going on a blind date together.”

Toby’s eyebrows shot up. “You really did go all out for that book, didn’t you?”

Matt stared off at the mermaid mural on the wall. “I thought I was well enough to come out again.” Matt closed his eyes and shook his head like a wet dog drying off. “I think I’ll be going now.” He turned and left.

Diana watched him go. “Well, I’ve got at least one potential patient if need be.”

Toby took her in his arms. “No, I’m going to keep you busy showing you how much I love you.” She nestled her head against his shoulder.

“Just promise me one thing,” she said.

He nodded. “Anything.”

“Don’t ever buy me edible panties.”

“I don’t want to know why, do I?”

“No. No, you do not. Wait, what was the deal we’re making?”

“To always put each other first,” Toby said.

Diana held out her hand. “Let’s shake on it.”

Instead, he slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him until they were lip to lip. “Let’s kiss on it, instead.”

I Know Who You Kissed Last Night

by Lisa Scott

Emily rolled over on the couch and groaned as the sunlight streamed through the window. Two cats and a dog leapt off of her when she sat up. Sleeping over at her best friend Eric’s apartment was never comfortable, but she’d been too upset over what had happened last night to make it home; and he’d been too drunk to leave alone. Again. So, she’d crashed on his couch. Sleeping in his guest room would’ve been asking for trouble. What if he wandered into the wrong room and the wrong bed after a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip? No, the couch was much safer.

With a sigh, she went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth with her finger. She really should keep her own toothbrush here, but that would seem too much like something a girlfriend would do. Boundaries were important in this relationship—mostly for her sake. She could not—would not—fall for Eric. Fortunately, she had years of practice keeping her feelings to herself.

She tiptoed into Eric’s room, which was unnecessary. He’d probably be in bed snoring for a few more hours; she could tap-dance into his room and he wouldn’t move. But surprisingly, when she pushed his door open, he sat up, smiling.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said, leaning against the doorframe. She fought the urge to make some smart-ass comment about him drinking more in a night than she had in her life. But Emily knew he hated hearing her lectures on drinking, so she’d stopped giving them. To be fair, he’d sat through quite a few without protesting because he knew about her father. So he’d nod and pretend to listen while she ranted about responsibility and disappointment and pain.

But eventually she realized it wasn’t Eric’s fault they had different views on partying, and that he shouldn’t be the object of her misguided anger. Not that her stance made any difference; Eric more than made up for her sobriety. Their friendship should have ended after his first binge, but you don’t leave a guy who’s been your best friend since kindergarten just because you think he drinks too much. If anything, he needed her even more because of it. And she needed him. He’d consoled her when her father died; she was there for him when his mother passed away a year later. And he found her lost dog, Sam, when she was seven, and she’d never forget that.

“Hey,” he croaked, stretching in bed.

“I didn’t expect you to be up so early,” she said a bit nervously. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t remember the night before. Damn, she was praying he wouldn’t remember the night before.

He rubbed his head. “I know. But I can’t stop thinking about last night.”

She couldn’t swallow. “Really?” she managed to say.

“I feel like a total ass.”

The blood drained from her face. “Why?”

“Because I kissed someone last night and can’t remember who.”

Thank god
. She blew out a breath and ran her fingers over her lips. “Really? That’s…that’s too bad.”

He swung his feet out of bed and onto the floor, but sat there, not quite ready to get up. “I know, right? Did you see who I was with?”

She nibbled on her lip. “No. No, I didn’t see you with anyone.”

“Damn. I was counting on you.”

“Sorry.” She looked down at her feet. “So, was it…was it good?”

He laughed. “Incredible. All night, I dreamed about the way her lips felt against mine. How her silky hair slid through my fingers. And the arch of her neck. Damn—it was just a kiss. We were in a bar, so nothing more than
that
happened, but it was…” He scrunched his eyebrows together, thinking. “It was incredible.”

“Incredible?” Emily’s voice sounded squeaky.

“Yeah. Because of how I felt with her. Happy. I don’t know, like whole or something.”

Emily faked a laugh. “That’s probably just your pals Jimmy Beam and Johnny Walker talking.”

“No.”

“You were probably just trying to console yourself that the cute brunette picked your brother over you.”

Eric’s smile faded and he shook his head. “No, this girl was different. All the other ones always feel, I don’t know, interchangeable? Same girl, same lines, different night. No regrets when they leave. This one felt like one to keep.”

She wrapped her arms around herself like she was cold. “All that from a kiss?”

He shrugged. “Like I said, crazy. I wonder why I didn’t bring her home?”

Emily cleared her throat and shrugged. “She must’ve run off like Cinderella. Too bad you’ll never know who she was.”

He stood up and tottered for a moment. “I’m not giving up that easy. I’m going to find her. I’ll keep going back to that bar until I do.”

Emily’s heart quickened. “Do you even know what she looks like?”

He frowned. “No. But I’ll ask around and see if anyone saw me with her.”

“What if no one did?” God, she hoped no one did.

He grinned. “Maybe I’ll just have to kiss every girl who comes along until I find those lips again; kind of like Cinderella and her shoe, but more fun. Hopefully, it’ll have the same ending.”

Like that wouldn’t be pure torture to watch. She could just confess and save him the trouble—and save herself the heartbreak watching him make out with all of Boston. But how could she explain why she’d let him kiss her? Fine. Why she’d kissed him back, too. She hadn’t been drunk. She should’ve pulled away. But it felt so good with his hand wrapped around the back of her neck, and his lips on hers like they’d been made just for Emily.

Figures. They kiss and he couldn’t even remember it was her. That said it all, didn’t it?

The night before, she’d never imagined their kiss would mean anything to him. Eric had locked lips with his share of women. She’d probably ruin their friendship if she owned up to it. She toyed with the air freshener hanging from his door. Maybe he’d give up on the idea of finding his mystery girl once he sobered up a bit. “Well, good luck finding her.”

He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks. Too bad I was so drunk.”

She pressed her lips shut.

“What?”

“I’m not saying a word.”

He sighed and kicked off the blanket he’d bought on spring break in Mexico the year before. Yep, he’d graduated from college a few years back, but he still went on spring break. “Maybe it’s time to grow up, settle down a bit.”

She froze, and then laughed. “You’re joking right?”

He didn’t crack a smile; he was serious. “Can’t be a party boy forever.”

“Uh, yes you could.” He could spend the rest of his life partying. When his mother had died four years ago, she’d surprised everyone by having amassed a fortune through careful investing. Her five kids were each left with millions. Eric would never have to work a day in his life.