The Boyfriend Bylaws (8 page)

“Definitely past tense.” I bit my lip. Past for me, but not my stepsister. Paul was going to be her future. Which meant he’d be my future, too. “Anyway, this guy cheated on her.”

He sighed. “A girl knows when her boyfriend’s strayed. Woman’s intuition and all of that. Maybe your friend didn’t want to admit it to you, but she knew.”

He said it so confidently. My mind raced for any clues that Paul had strayed. Sure, he’d worked late a lot, but successful men had to put in the hours. But it had been a clue. A clue I’d completely ignored. Had I been that desperate to be in a relationship?

My chest went hollow. Yes, I had been.

Being alone was my greatest fear. Had that made my woman’s intuition malfunction? The idea was overwhelming. How could I ever trust myself when it came to relationships again? Was I going to abide by The Boyfriend Bylaws forever? I started to hyperventilate and decided a change of subject was needed pronto. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see me about something?”

He reached beneath his desk and pulled a white plastic bag with “Zam Bam” written in snazzy red letters outlined in black. “This is your new uniform.” He handed it to me. “It’s my cousin Peter’s new clothing line and he asked if his photographer could snap some photos of the employees later this week for ads and stuff. If you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine.” The only thing I minded was ignoring the clues about Paul being faithful.

I couldn’t deny it anymore. I deserved to be at the mercy of The Boyfriend Bylaws.

“By the way…” Nick leaned forward on his elbows and looked me in the eye, “I wanted to give you a heads up. We’re changing the aerobics schedule and will only need you three days a week from now on.”

I clamped my teeth together. “You’re cutting my schedule in half?”

He nodded. “It just isn’t profitable for the business. I hope you understand.”

Oh, I understood plenty. When it came to men, I had zero intuition. The guy I was about to start dating had just nixed half my income.

I uncrossed my legs and rose from my chair, my legs wobbling as I stood. How would I make rent? “When does the new schedule come out?”

It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I’d set the whole thing in play. The least I could do was take the guy dancing. “Sure. Friday, right?”

“Great.” He bent toward desk, slid a pad to the center and scribbled down a phone number. “How about you give me a call and let me know the address of the club so I can meet you?”

“All right.” I accepted the paper, our fingers touching in the exchange, but all I felt was irritation. Matt wouldn’t have met me there. Just like Matt wouldn’t have cheated on me the way Paul had. Matt would have picked me up like the gentleman he was.

“Hi, sis! I just wanted to let you know that Dreamy Delights was able to move the cake tasting to seven-thirty Friday night. They’re staying open late just for me. I kind of had to talk them into it.”

I put a hand to my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “Okay, but just the cake tasting, Kaitlin. No dinner. I’m supposed to go dancing with—”

“Gotta run and buy a new outfit. Something that’ll match a veil. Don’t get one that’s too long. And please, no tacky penises pinned to it. I’m so excited. Thanks. Love ya.”

“Wait!” I yelled, but the perky voice had disconnected. I hit redial twice to get Kaitlin back but got sent directly to voicemail each time. No doubt Kaitlin was on the line with her sorority sisters already, telling them about the perfect bachelorette party I now had to throw. “Arrrrrgh!”

“Tough morning?”

My hand flew to my heart as I spun around. It was Yumzy…I mean, it was Matt. “You scared me.”

“Scared you?” His brows rose. “You’re the one who yelled. I’m going to see Nick. My last day’s Friday and I have to fill out some paperwork.”

“Sorry.” I told myself my heart was pounding with panic because Kaitlin’s bachelorette party loomed in my future, not because Matt was leaving. “It’s just my sister. Being her maid of honor is going to put me into cardiac arrest.”

“Sisters can be the worst, can’t they?” He nodded sympathetically. “Mine can drive me up the wall.”

“She’s my stepsister.” I wanted it on the record that we weren’t blood related. “She’s getting married in a month and now I have to throw her a bachelorette party Friday night even though I’m supposed to be going to The Oasis with Nick.”

Matt frowned. “You’re going dancing with Nick?”

His frown confused me. Could he be jealous? Wait, I’d already proven my intuition with men sucked. First Paul. Then Brad. Then Matt. Finally Nick.

Cheated on. Dumped. Bamboozled. Salary cut in half.

No, Matt wasn’t jealous, just curious.

I sighed. “Yes, that’s right. I’m going dancing with Nick. And, it seems, we’ll be accompanied by a hoard of sorority girls. Wanna come?”

After consuming way too many calories on overpriced wedding cake, I arrived at The Oasis. After spending two minutes with me, Nick strode off with the club owner, Elliott Wittle. That left me with the Bachelorette party from Hell. Despite my joking invitation to Matt, I knew he wasn’t going to be coming, but I couldn’t help wishing he would.

“I think the bride needs a shot of tequila.” A girl named Ashley shoved her face into mine, her pupils big and black underneath the strobe lights. “Maybe another round for all of us?”

Her breath smelled like tequila and my nostrils flared.

“I’m okay with my rum and cola still.” Kaitlin waved her glass in front of her friend, who then disappeared up to the bar. “I think Ash is a little wasted.”

I turned to my stepsister, who looked regal in an ankle-length white veil. Was she really going to marry Paul DeWitt, the cheater? I wanted to warn her against a life with him, but didn’t she deserve what she got for stealing him from me? “You sure you don’t want another one? It is your bachelorette party.”

“No, thanks.” She smiled and sipped through a red straw. “I’m perfect.”

As always, Kaitlin looked perfect. She positively glowed in a camel-colored silk chiffon dress that fit seductively over her new 34 DDs. And despite the small fortune I’d spent buying Kaitlin drinks, she didn’t look even slightly buzzed. The perfection drove me crazy. Especially since one of the sorority girls had splashed their red drink on my favorite pink top, leaving a noticeable stain above my left boob.

“Be right back.” Deciding I needed a drink even if Kaitlin didn’t, I snapped my purse shut and headed for the bar. Maybe Nick would be out of his meeting by the time I ordered.

“Wait!” Kim, one of the sorority sisters that had been squealing all night, grabbed my arm. “The bride needs a Blowjob.”

“Yes, a Blowjob!” A brunette named Heidi grabbed my arm and jumped up and down. Another squealer. “With lots of whipped creee-eam.”

This reminded me of college, only I was now twenty-five and sober. What a nightmare. I wriggled out of their clutches, knowing my eardrums never would’ve handled being in a sorority.

“Wait. I’ll come with you.” Kaitlin scooted up behind me and held my hips as we squeezed through the crowd and made our way to the bar.

I stiffened at the contact. Why was Kaitlin acting like we were best friends? Since the day she’d invaded my home, she’d shown me up time and time again. Now she was marrying my ex. Ten years living in Kaitlin’s shadow didn’t exactly give me the warm fuzzies toward her.

Still, when I turned and looked into her bright-eyed face, I couldn’t help thinking: What if she hadn’t known I’d been with Paul when they’d started dating? What if Paul was a loser all on his own and Kaitlin was just an innocent victim?

After all, I’d assumed Matt was a player, just like I’d assumed Kaitlin had known Paul was cheating on me when they’d hooked up. I’d been wrong about Matt. Maybe I was wrong about her. Shouldn’t I at least make an attempt to find out for sure before I let her marry him?

Ignoring my guilt, I squeezed onto the last empty barstool, leaned against the bar and waved crisp green bills. “I need Blowjobs!” Despite myself, I cringed.

“Actually, don’t tell the girls, but can you just get me a water?” Kaitlin asked, just as her headband popped off, flew back through the air, and landed in front of some guy’s feet, the end of her veil beneath his coffee brown loafers.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” The male voice sounded so familiar that I leaned back on the stool, and peered behind Kaitlin.

Warm brown eyes looked back at me, and my breath caught. Matt.

I shook my head viciously, sure that the one drink I’d had earlier was making me hallucinate. It couldn’t be Matt. I leaned back further in my seat, lost my balance, and fell backward off the stool. I landed on my side with an “oof,” then rolled onto my butt and stared up at Matt and Kaitlin, who both hovered over me.

I flinched as Kaitlin bent toward me, then felt guilty when she appeared to want to hug me, then rolled my eyes when she reached past me and retrieved her veil, dusting it off. “I’ll be right back,” she said.

I should’ve known better. The only person Kaitlin thought about was herself. It’s not like I’d wanted a hug anyway, so why did it bother me when she hurried off toward the restroom to put her veil back on—leaving me sprawled out on a barroom floor. This was Matt’s fault. I frowned at him. “What are you doing here?”

Matt reached out a hand to help me up. “I’m here with Steve and Erica. They wanted to take me out for drinks since today was my last day.”

I brushed his hand away, pushed myself to my feet, then rubbed my hip, which was sure to have a large bruise in the morning. “So you just happened to come to The Oasis after I just happened to say Nick and I would be here?”

He shrugged, not looking the least bit apologetic. “You invited me, remember? Plus, it’s a public place. You don’t own it.”

I took a step closer to Matt, who looked amazingly hot in slacks and a collared shirt. Major improvement from the sweats he wore to work at Totally Fit—well, when he used to work there. My heart sank, and I lifted my eyes from his chest to his face and squinted at him. “You didn’t tell me today was your last day. It was supposed to be next Friday.”

“Change of plans.” Matt drained his beer bottle, then reach for my hand. “Let’s dance.”

After a year of flirting, he’d spent the last week avoiding my touch as if I had an easily transmitted skin condition. Feeling his hand around mine brought tears to my eyes. “I c-can’t. I’m here on a date.”

He squeezed my hand, let go, then made a big point of looking around the club in a three-hundred and sixty degree turn. “Funny. I don’t see Nick anywhere. One dance.”

It was a fast song, so what harm could there be? Feeling nervous in every cell of my body, I followed him to the dance floor, where we pushed our way through gyrating bodies, right to the center. He turned around and faced me.

I lost my breath.

Then he smiled and started dancing.

With a range of emotions shooting through me, I decided to concentrate on what I knew best—dancing. Moving to the beat, I felt my body take over even though my mind kept slipping back to the fact that this guy moving in front of me, dancing in the sexiest way, was Matt. I swung my shoulders in time with the music while simultaneously unable to stop staring at him.

Somehow the first song slipped into the next, then the next, and soon I was lost in the world of dancing—a place where I’d always been able to escape the reality of my life. The music flowed through me, creating a safe place from pain. Somehow, right now, Matt had slipped into that world.

The music died down, then switched into a slow beat. Matt took a step toward me.

I bit my lip, but didn’t pull away when his arms went around me slowly, one and then the other. His chin rested on the side of my head and I closed my eyes as we swayed with the song.