True (True Believers #1)(33)
Author: Erin McCarthy

I wouldn’t. Without even acknowledging Jessica, I left the dance floor and went straight out the front door of the bar, ditching my coat at the coat check. I needed fresh air. I needed to not lose it completely. Knowing Tyler was usually bored at work and would answer me, I pulled my phone out of my purse and tapped out a text.

Can you pick me up at Republik when you get off work?

He was done at midnight and it couldn’t come soon enough for me.

His response came right away.

Sure. What happened to girls nite?

Disaster. Thx. C u ltr.

Jessica burst out of the club behind me.

“Rory! Rory, what? What’s wrong?”

Turning, I screamed at her. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong is that you think it’s perfectly okay to tell I guy I was not even remotely interested in that I have a f**k buddy! Which, for your information, I do not. I’m still a virgin!”

Kylie came out in time to hear this pronouncement. “What? You said you had sex with Tyler!”

“I didn’t say that. You just assumed it. Yes, we’ve messed around. No, we haven’t had actual penetration.” The doorman shot me a freaked-out look. I lowered my voice, shivering in the cold but too furious to go back into the crowded club and act like nothing was wrong. “This is more than sex. We’re spending time together.”

They gave each other a nervous look, and I knew what they were thinking. That this wasn’t the deal, and what the hell was Tyler doing?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Jessica said. “And maybe we weren’t being subtle in there, but the thing is, we’re kind of worried about you. We don’t want you to get too invested in Tyler.”

“Why, because you think he’s using me? For what?”

Kylie shook her head. “He’s just not . . . a relationship kind of guy. And you’re a relationship kind of girl.”

“How do you know that? I’ve never had one! So who is to say who is capable of a relationship and who isn’t? Or is it just that you don’t think Tyler could ever want a relationship with me?”

It hurt, because that was my fear too, the one that snuck up on me from time to time in the dark and briefly snuffed out my happiness. Tyler wasn’t calling what we had a relationship but it was something. A friendship with an attraction at the very least. I had to believe that. I did believe that. But they pricked my confidence with their words.

“That’s not it. We just want you to be careful,” Jessica said. “He has a lot of experience.”

Unfortunately, I remembered quite clearly that some of that had been with her. Was she somehow jealous? Was it different now that it wasn’t all about a quick hookup they were in control of? God, I hoped not. “You shoved me at Tyler,” I reminded them.

“We didn’t think . . .”

“That he would be interested in me for more than five minutes,” I said flatly.

My lip started to tremble and tears welled in my eyes. I couldn’t help it.

“Oh!” In horror, Kylie saw that I was fighting the urge to cry. “No! That’s not what we meant . . . Oh, shit, this is awful!” And she burst into drunken tears.

Which made me start crying.

Which in turn had Jessica struggling not to cry. She sniffed a lot as Kylie and I sobbed, my vision blurring from my tears. I wasn’t even drunk. I just felt like I was on emotional overload.

“We’re sorry, Rory, God, this isn’t how I thought this would go at all,” Jessica lamented. “I thought you would be, you know, like initiated by Tyler, then you’d feel more confident and go on and find a nice guy.”

“Tyler is a nice guy.” I sucked in a few deep breaths and tried to get a grip on myself.

Kylie wiped at her eyes, smearing mascara all over her cheeks.

“Is he?” Jessica looked dubious about that declaration. “I picture you more with a nerd. Like a guy who is going to be the next Bill Gates.”

I managed to stop the flow of tears and hugged myself to stem the shivering. “I appreciate that you guys care so much, but honestly, I want to hang out with Tyler. It’s fine, okay? I’m not stupid. But I’m having fun.”

“We just don’t want you hurt.”

“I know. But maybe you can just let me make my own choices, and if I screw it up then you can buy me ice cream and give me advice, okay? I’d really rather pick my own guys. No more attempted fix-ups.” Especially if they involved money changing hands.

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Jessica said. “I have to admit, I wouldn’t like it if you tried to fix me up with someone.”

Kylie nodded. “I just love you so much. You’re my BFF and I just want you happy.”

That made tears fill my eyes again. Which made her start crying again.

Jessica swiped at her eye. “Oh my God, stop. You’re both killing me. And I think I need a group hug.”

I did too. I didn’t object at all when they crowded me into a hug, and we all sniffled in the cold, my teeth chattering, Kylie’s bare arms covered in goose bumps.

“What the hell is going on?” Robin asked.

We split apart and saw her standing in the doorway, looking disheveled. The bouncer had actually moved another three feet away from us, and he was shoving his hands in his pockets, studiously pretending he hadn’t heard any of our drama.

“I just had a moment,” I told her.

“I thought you guys left me alone. I was freaking. I am way too drunk to be left alone.”

“We wouldn’t leave you,” Kylie assured her.

I felt a little guilty that my intention had been to leave. But I had known Kylie and Jess wouldn’t leave Robin, and I wasn’t going to feel guilty for calling them out on throwing guys at me. I went for my phone to let Tyler know that the crisis was averted, and he didn’t have to pick me up.

Only there was no phone in my purse.

“Where’s my phone?” I asked, frantically pawing through my purse. “I can’t find it!”

“Did you leave it in the room?” Jessica asked, going into her own tiny wristlet bag.

“No.”

Kylie and Robin were doing the same thing as Jessica, scrambling for their phones. It was a chain reaction of paranoia, but while they all looked up relieved a second later, mine was still missing. I glanced around the sidewalk but I didn’t see anything. “Shit!”

“Are you sure you brought it?”