“You don’t mean that,” she tried to give me a hug again but I shook out of her embrace and rushed out to my car.
I knew I was being dramatic and that she really couldn’t afford to lose a week’s worth of business—she’d refinanced our house too many times to count, but I still wanted her to put me first for a change. I still wanted her to be there for me when I needed her, to finally stay true to her word.
I decided to go where I could always find someone to be there for me: my boyfriend Taylor’s house.
Taylor was the star of the university’s football team. With him as quarterback, the team had gone undefeated for two years and won back to back Sugar Bowls.
He was my first love—my middle school, high school, and college sweetheart. He was the only guy I’d ever kissed, the only guy I’d ever fallen for. He was also my voice of reason, and although he often sided with my mother’s line of thinking, I could always depend on him to be there for me.
I smoothed my hair as I approached his front door. Through the blinds, I could see my best friend Jessica talking to him and playfully rubbing his arms.
I figured she was helping him with his coursework or telling him another one of her sarcastic jokes, but just as I was about to press the doorbell, I saw her lean over and kiss him on the lips.
I didn’t see him pull away. I didn’t see him jerk back. I watched for two minutes as he pulled her into his lap and ran his fingers through her hair, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him.
I didn’t bother ringing the doorbell.
I angrily pushed the door open. “What the hell are you doing, Jessica!”
She moved away from him. “Selena—”
“Save it,” I snapped. “How long has this been going on, Taylor?”
“Selena,” he sighed.
“I’m well aware of what my name is! Thank you both very much! How long have you two, the closest people in my life, been going behind my back?”
They looked at each other.
“No one has anything to say?” I could feel the tears falling down my face. “Suddenly you’re both speechless?”
“Four months,” Jessica whispered. “I’m so sorry…”
Taylor looked at her and then at me with sympathetic eyes. He didn’t say a word.
“Jessica,” I forced a lump back down my throat, “don’t ever speak to me again. I don’t ever want you to—”
“Selena, wait!” she walked towards me. “I’m—”
“Don’t you dare touch me! You’re dead to me!” I threw my promise ring at Taylor. “I hope you break your legs before the season starts and y’all lose every game.”
I couldn’t depend on anyone to be there for me anymore.
I left for New York City three hours later and never looked back.
I sat up and tossed my phone across the bed. I wondered why I was thirsty and didn’t have a glass of water in my hand.
“Samantha! Did you forget about the Us Weekly and my water?” I walked out of my room and into the living room. “Samantha!”
She is definitely fired!
I walked into the kitchen and saw a note on the counter: “I quit! Get your own stuff, bitch! PS. My name is Jasmine!”
Chapter 4
Ethan
I needed to get away. Now.
I was sitting in another boring board meeting, pretending to listen to facts and figures, pretending to seem interested in their incessant ramblings.
I was still in shock that Jade had dumped me on my birthday. She was the first woman I’d ever felt close enough to propose to, and it took all of two years to get to that point.
I’d done all the things necessary for our relationship to end in marriage, all the things my father taught me. I took her on trips all around the world, bought her whatever her heart desired, and measured her against my “ideal woman” checklist again and again:
1. She must be sexually attractive, emotionally-baggage free, and physically fit. If she lacks any of these qualities, it’s an automatic NO and there’s no need to consider any other checklist items.
2. She must not play hard to get. If she rejects me more than once, it’s an automatic NO.
3. She must be interested in another genre of movies other than romantic comedies. If she suggests that we go see a romantic comedy within the first three dates, she’s a fairy tale chaser and can’t be trusted. Automatic NO.
4. She must suggest something other than dinner for the first few dates. If she only shows an interest in being wined and dined, she’s a freeloader and it’s an automatic NO.
5. She must be a great conversationalist and reader. If she hasn’t read a significant number of the American and British Classics—specifically Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and at least five Shakespearean works—it’s an automatic NO.