The Last Guy

Footage floods the screen of me holding the lady’s purse, of the cops rushing in, of Cade with his knee on that creep’s back, with my voice-over on top. “ . . . while it was unclear if this man was the Grabber, it was clear something was amiss. We kept our eyes on him . . .”

“I love that part,” I say, hitting pause. “Hear how I did the parallel between the two clears? I just said that, right on the spot.”

“You’re a regular Christiane Amanpour.”

“Don’t make fun.”

“I’m not!” Chassy’s eyes go round, and she places a large brown hand on her chest. “That story was as thrilling and important as anything happening in Iraq. Maybe more, because I was seriously considering never going to GreenStreet mall again.”

“Yes!” I hop onto my knees. “That’s it. We helped catch this guy, and in doing that, we saved local business, tourism . . .”

“You’re a hero!”

Taking a deep breath, I rock back onto my butt. “I just know I’ll get that anchor spot now.”

Chas pats my leg. “You know you’ve got my vote.”

My phone vibrates, and I lift it as she takes the remote from me.

Hate waking up and finding you gone. It’s Cade, and his words send tingles all through me.

Sorry. Had to get ready for work. I don’t even try to hide the enormous smile breaking across my cheeks.

Can’t wait to see you again, he texts.

Me too.

“Mmm, and apparently you’ve got sexy Mr. NFL’s vote, too! Yeah, baby, look at that ass!”

I look up at the screen and see Cade talking to the cops in the background of the news report, his perfectly tight backside on glorious display. “I missed that last night.”

Large brown eyes sweep up and down my body “Don’t even try lying, Miss Walk of Shame. You got all up on that ass last night!”

“Oh,” I laugh, shaking my head. “I mean, I didn’t see it on the news last night. The TV in the bar was too small.”

“That’s a shame.” My roommate turns away, and I watch a moment, thinking about how awesome life can be when it finally stops sucking all the time. “So you’re sleeping with him.”

It’s not a question, and I can’t keep the smile from returning. I’m so damn happy. “He is so hot, Chassy. Last night . . . it happened.”

“Great big O?”

“Enormous O. Huge. Unbelievable O. Or Os . . .”

“Don’t tell me . . .” I watch as my six-foot-two roommate rises from the couch and retrieves her coffee. “This morning he got the call. NASA is sending him to Mars for three years.”

“No!” I jump up and run to the coffee machine, opening it and dropping in a pod before positioning a mug under the spout and hitting the button. “He has zero interest in space. I haven’t even had that dream since we started seeing each other.”

“So what do you think it means?”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I’m no longer a commitment-phobe?” I wait for the machine to stop gurgling and take my cup away.

“Are you ready to settle down? Quit your job? Start having babies?”

My eyebrows shoot up, and I take a sip. “That anchor spot has been the only thing on my mind for months . . .” Another sip, and I know that isn’t entirely true. “Besides Cade’s ass.”

“Yeah, girl!” Chas laughs, and we both giggle into our mugs.

LIVE with Kelly and Ryan flashes across the screen, and I jump off the couch. “I’ve got to get ready for work!” Coffee mug deposited in the sink, I scamper into my room to grab my clothes before heading to the bathroom for a shower. “I did think about having his babies after that Saturday at Deadrick,” I say as I pass Chas on the couch. “I don’t know. Should I be thinking about having babies now? I’m only twenty-eight. Do you ever think about having children?”

“Children bring head lice into the house,” Chas says.

“Among other things!” I call back, thinking of cute little chubby dark-haired babes and warm fuzzies . . .

I’m showered, dressed, made up, and giving my roommate air-kisses less than twenty minutes later. We say goodbye, and I leave her in the apartment, curled up on the couch watching Mother, May I Sleep with Danger.

“It’s a classic!” she cries in response to my snorts on the way out.

Nerves flutter in my stomach when I get to the studio, and not just because I’ll be seeing Cade again after the most amazing night of my life. It’s very possible everything I’ve been working for is about to happen. Right before I open the door leading to the newsroom, I take a moment to inhale and exhale three times slowly.

“This is it, Becks,” I whisper as I glance up, saying a little prayer of thanks for yesterday.

Making my way quickly down the hall, I hear the noise of voices. They sound happy, like a celebration is happening.

I am not prepared for what I see next.

A colorful balloon bouquet is tied to the back of a chair, and an enormous sheet cake with Congratulations in rainbow on a field of white frosting sits in the center of the room. It’s almost ten, so for a few brief moments, the entire news department is in the room. The morning show crew is headed home after arriving at two AM, and the rest of us, who will stay until after the six o’clock broadcast are arriving to pick up our assignments.

Vicky spots me, and she crosses the room quickly to where I’m standing with a half-smile on my face. My mind scrolls through all the possibilities: the mugger story was a huge success, Marv had to make a decision about the new anchor this week . . .

“Is this for me?” I ask her.

“Becks . . .” Vicky’s voice is urgent, making me more confused than ever. “I talked to Marv first thing this morning about giving you a raise, possibly rewriting your contract to include an executive news position—”

“Rebecca!” Marv calls to me over the noise of voices.

That flutter of excitement is in my stomach. This is it!

I start to go to where he’s standing, but Vicky’s hand is on my arm, holding me back. Confusion lines my brow, and I notice Cade is standing beside Marv, and his face is tight with what looks like anger.

That’s when I finally notice Savannah. She’s walking toward the cake with a gloaty expression on her face and a sparkly card in her hand.

“I was just thanking Cade for supporting my decision in the board meeting yesterday.”

“I don’t understand.” My voice is breathless.

I’m speaking more to Vicky than to Marv, and Cade is moving around the bodies making his way toward me. It’s like he’s moving in slow motion. It’s like the entire newsroom goes into slow motion and drifts away from where I’m standing. I’m left alone in a narrow tunnel of humiliation and broken dreams.

“What’s happening?”

Marv’s voice is the only loud thing. “Please join us in congratulating Savannah Winston, KHOT’s newest weekend anchor!”

Applause hits me straight in the gut like a medicine ball, knocking all the wind out of my body. My legs go weak, and I grasp for anything to hold me up.

Vicky still has my arm, but I pull it away. “Savannah?” It’s a whispery shriek. Cade supported this? He knew? All this time, he knew?

He’s still making his way toward me, but it’s too late.