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He fooled you, a million times

Before he finishes his sentence, I get out of the car and walk back to the steakhouse. I would do anything to avoid the discos. I open the door and the doorbell rings. I allow myself a deep, ragged breath before I look up from the floor. Several pairs of eyes blink at me, but the only pair I see are the brown ones connected to such a beautiful face. My mouth goes instantly dry and I hate myself for it. She leans against the back of her friends' table with Olivia's purse tucked neatly under her arm. His hands are shoved in the front pockets of his jeans and inwardly, I shake my head. I really need to be a man. I hate feeling so small and vulnerable in front of him, in front of a stranger. I force myself to walk towards him, reaching out my hand towards Olivia's purse. He looks down at my palm with a smile, it's more of a lip twitch.

I clear my throat.

"Can I have my friend's purse, please?"

Surprisingly, he hands it to me without a word and I take it. Quickly, I turn on my heels and head for the door, but before I do, her friend calls out to me.

"Hey, you!"

I let out a slow sigh and turn around, forcing my most polite smile. The guy with the lousy mustache smiles at me, exposing his teeth.

"Yes?"

"Tell him we'll pay him extra if he comes back and I'll give him double if those pink, pouty lips are willing to partake."

He smiles at me like I'm on the right price and I just got an amazing deal. I blink at him, repeatedly. A complete idiot.

The man in the red cap looks over his shoulder at me and shakes his head, embarrassed by his friend's behavior. I glance at Jake and his amused expression turns murderous as he turns back to his friend.

"Show respect."

He demands in a low, aggressive voice, startling me.

Mustache Face slumps a little in his seat and when his hazel eyes look back up at me, I turn my attention back to Jake.

"Thanks, but I can defend myself."

I walk out of the steakhouse and don't hear the door close behind me as I walk down the small concrete stairs. Fear creeps into my belly because I know it's behind me.

"Sandra!"

Jake calls, forcing me to slow my pace. I turn around to face him.

"I'm sorry about my friends. They tend to get a little...stupid in the presence of beautiful women."

My stomach churns and I drop my gaze to the smooth concrete for a split second. I never would have expected him to think of me as a 'beautiful woman'.

"It's not your fault. We can't control our friends' stupid things no matter how much we want to."

I say with a smile.

"See you."

Turning my back on her is hard, but I manage just fine. I make sure to keep my eyes down as I walk back to the car and toss Olivia's purse in her lap. She watches me as I back out of the parking lot and head for the freeway. I pretend not to notice her staring at me, but I do and it's freaking me out.

"Hello?"

I glance at her briefly.

"What?"

"Um, a hottie is chasing you from the rotisserie and you're not telling me anything."

I shrug.

"There's nothing to tell you. She had your purse and I retrieved it. He followed me to the parking lot to apologize for his friend's attitudes."

She covers her chest with her hand.

"How good-natured. Are you seeing him?"

I scoff and maybe push the gas pedal a little too hard.

"What, no, we met briefly at the gym this morning and..."

"Shut up!"

She squeals.

"Is he what made you forget to text me back? Did you know that? You know, what are we, twelve?"

She bursts into a fit of laughter and I feel my cheeks burning.

"No, I didn't. I'm not you."

Olivia doesn't have the shortest or cleanest sex log book and she knows it. Olivia holds up her hands, showing me her palms in defeat.

"Okay, okay, fine, but if you do, you better tell me."

I roll my eyes.

"The what?"

After the barbecue, Olivia and I stayed at my house for the rest of the day. We didn't do much. She helped me clean up and prepare dinner and then we went down to the store to buy snacks for our movie night. When we got home, I strangely couldn't stop thinking about David. I scroll down to his name on my contact list and look at it.

"Maybe I should call him..."

I say to Olivia as she puts the chicken on the portable grill.

"Call who?"

"To David."

He stops what he's doing and faces me. Without warning, his hand firmly slaps my cheek, throwing my head to the side. My skin burns and anger stings my flesh.

"What the hell, Sandra?"

She snatches my phone out of my hands and tosses it into the living room. It bounces on a fluffy blue cushion and then on my shaggy turquoise carpet.

"You can't call him. He'll use all that disguised crap he can to work his way back into your life. He cheated on you, a million times over. You deserve someone better than him."

"I know, but I should call him and see if he's okay."

She shook her head as she tied her curls into a bun on top of her head.

"He's fine. Don't convince yourself that he's sitting at home staring at the phone waiting for you to call him because he's not. He'll be somewhere flirting with girls and drinking until he passes out. To hell with him."

I turn away from her to pour Caesar sauce into the salad mix. I know I'm not the one who did the wrong thing, but am I supposed to let six years go down the drain like it doesn't mean anything? Is that how it works? Six years of your life is a long time to give to someone. I should at least clear the air between us so I can feel better about wasting so much time.

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