Page 4
Story: Not Pretending Anymore
That information certainly perked me up. “Really? Will and whatshername broke up?”
“Yup. Lisa in X-ray told me Dr. Cohen told her he’s staying with him. Apparently he and the wannabe actress are finito.”
“Wow.”
Emma smiled. “Yup. And fair warning, my friend… I’m allowing a ten-day grace period for him to grieve the end of a year-long relationship. But after that, I’m going to be up your butt making sure you let the man know you’re interested. He’s not going to be on the market for long, and you missed your opportunity last time he was single. You can’t keep pining for the guy.”
Of course she was right. And while I felt elated that Will was back on the market, the thought of coming clean to him about my feelings made me want to throw up. Will Daniels—or as Emma called him, Dr. Dandy, because of his last name and uncanny resemblance to a male model named David Gandy—and I had been good friends for four years now. We’d started on the very same day at the hospital and had gone through orientation together. I’d had a boyfriend back then, and he’d been seeing a girl from med school at the time, so even though I’d always thought he was insanely handsome, things didn’t bloom until two years ago. And most of the time since then, he’d been seeing one woman or another. Emma was right that the man never seemed to stay single for long.
“He’s going to be at happy hour this Friday night,” I said. “A few of the crew from CCU are meeting up over at McBride’s. I’m curious to hear what he says about the breakup.”
“Does he know you’re looking for a roommate?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, he needs a place to sleep, and you need a roomie.” Emma shrugged. “Timing is everything. Maybe it’s fate and he’ll move in and take care of two of your needs.”
“I think your imagination might be getting ahead of itself. Why don’t we start by seeing if things are really over with him and whatshername? They’ve split up a few times, but he always winds up going back.”
“Okay. But I have a good feeling about you two.”
“Could you possibly have a good feeling about me finding a roommate instead? I just had to pay for another damn ad.”
Emma shook her head. “I can’t believe you didn’t find one decent candidate.”
Remembering my last interview, I said, “Actually there was one who would’ve been perfect—great credit score, neat, cooks, leaves early in the morning, and works long days.”
“So why didn’t you take her?”
“Because she was a he.”
CHAPTER 2
* * *
Molly
Interview number fifteen took the cake.
The girl was a professional yodeler and announced that she often had to practice for competitions. She wanted to know whether the room was echoey.
Why couldn’t I find anyone quiet? There was no way I wanted to have to listen to that. So as nice as she was, I let her out of the apartment knowing I’d never see her again.
After we said goodbye, I noticed something on the ground outside my door. It was a covered Tupperware container with an envelope taped to the top.
I took it inside and ripped open the envelope.
The note read:
I noticed the room is still listed for rent. Sorry you’re not having better luck. In the meantime, enjoy these cupcakes I made. Maybe they’ll help relieve some of your stress. If there’s anything else I can do—you know, like take the room off your hands—you have my number.
Declan
(Full disclosure, though: I still have a penis.)
Covering my laugh, I opened the green lid to reveal eight large cupcakes with white frosting. A different word was written on each one. I soon figured out they were meant to create a sentence:
Do. It! Eat. One. And. Thank. Me. Later.
Frustrated, I grabbed the “one” cupcake and took a huge bite off the top. I always ate the tops off cupcakes and left the bottoms. Without the frosting, the cake was dead to me.
I had to admit, it was delicious. The frosting was buttery, and not too sweet. It was creamy, not hardened with sugar.
Did this guy really think he could win my heart—or entry into my apartment—with cupcakes, though?
I laughed to myself and grabbed another one, licking the frosting first before devouring the entire top. They were really delicious. I would’ve assumed he’d bought them from a bakery were it not for the Tupperware container, and also the fact that the shapes were somewhat imperfect.
I’d seriously lost my mind if was I considering giving this guy a chance because his cupcakes tasted so damn good.
Within ten minutes, I’d eaten the tops off all of the cupcakes except two.
I looked down at the words on top of the ones that were left.
Do. It!
Do it!
Was it a sign that I should give him a chance?
“Yup. Lisa in X-ray told me Dr. Cohen told her he’s staying with him. Apparently he and the wannabe actress are finito.”
“Wow.”
Emma smiled. “Yup. And fair warning, my friend… I’m allowing a ten-day grace period for him to grieve the end of a year-long relationship. But after that, I’m going to be up your butt making sure you let the man know you’re interested. He’s not going to be on the market for long, and you missed your opportunity last time he was single. You can’t keep pining for the guy.”
Of course she was right. And while I felt elated that Will was back on the market, the thought of coming clean to him about my feelings made me want to throw up. Will Daniels—or as Emma called him, Dr. Dandy, because of his last name and uncanny resemblance to a male model named David Gandy—and I had been good friends for four years now. We’d started on the very same day at the hospital and had gone through orientation together. I’d had a boyfriend back then, and he’d been seeing a girl from med school at the time, so even though I’d always thought he was insanely handsome, things didn’t bloom until two years ago. And most of the time since then, he’d been seeing one woman or another. Emma was right that the man never seemed to stay single for long.
“He’s going to be at happy hour this Friday night,” I said. “A few of the crew from CCU are meeting up over at McBride’s. I’m curious to hear what he says about the breakup.”
“Does he know you’re looking for a roommate?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, he needs a place to sleep, and you need a roomie.” Emma shrugged. “Timing is everything. Maybe it’s fate and he’ll move in and take care of two of your needs.”
“I think your imagination might be getting ahead of itself. Why don’t we start by seeing if things are really over with him and whatshername? They’ve split up a few times, but he always winds up going back.”
“Okay. But I have a good feeling about you two.”
“Could you possibly have a good feeling about me finding a roommate instead? I just had to pay for another damn ad.”
Emma shook her head. “I can’t believe you didn’t find one decent candidate.”
Remembering my last interview, I said, “Actually there was one who would’ve been perfect—great credit score, neat, cooks, leaves early in the morning, and works long days.”
“So why didn’t you take her?”
“Because she was a he.”
CHAPTER 2
* * *
Molly
Interview number fifteen took the cake.
The girl was a professional yodeler and announced that she often had to practice for competitions. She wanted to know whether the room was echoey.
Why couldn’t I find anyone quiet? There was no way I wanted to have to listen to that. So as nice as she was, I let her out of the apartment knowing I’d never see her again.
After we said goodbye, I noticed something on the ground outside my door. It was a covered Tupperware container with an envelope taped to the top.
I took it inside and ripped open the envelope.
The note read:
I noticed the room is still listed for rent. Sorry you’re not having better luck. In the meantime, enjoy these cupcakes I made. Maybe they’ll help relieve some of your stress. If there’s anything else I can do—you know, like take the room off your hands—you have my number.
Declan
(Full disclosure, though: I still have a penis.)
Covering my laugh, I opened the green lid to reveal eight large cupcakes with white frosting. A different word was written on each one. I soon figured out they were meant to create a sentence:
Do. It! Eat. One. And. Thank. Me. Later.
Frustrated, I grabbed the “one” cupcake and took a huge bite off the top. I always ate the tops off cupcakes and left the bottoms. Without the frosting, the cake was dead to me.
I had to admit, it was delicious. The frosting was buttery, and not too sweet. It was creamy, not hardened with sugar.
Did this guy really think he could win my heart—or entry into my apartment—with cupcakes, though?
I laughed to myself and grabbed another one, licking the frosting first before devouring the entire top. They were really delicious. I would’ve assumed he’d bought them from a bakery were it not for the Tupperware container, and also the fact that the shapes were somewhat imperfect.
I’d seriously lost my mind if was I considering giving this guy a chance because his cupcakes tasted so damn good.
Within ten minutes, I’d eaten the tops off all of the cupcakes except two.
I looked down at the words on top of the ones that were left.
Do. It!
Do it!
Was it a sign that I should give him a chance?
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101