Sitting on my bed with my faithful laptop in hand, I play the innocent card. “What?”
“Don’t you do it!” She all but raises the roof.
“Do what?” I offer in all innocence.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Right now, you better be fucking glad I love you.”
“Christ, Zo, you need to take a breath and calm the heck down.”
“My dear, fucked up friend.” She holds up a hand to stay my response and pushes forward. “It took me two fucking years to break down your walls.” At my look of my denial, she says, “Shut the hell up, Susanne.”
Zoey’s anger is palpable, and I know her well enough to keep my mouth shut. She is pacing our tiny room and talking to herself. This is nothing new to me, I mean, we have shared a space for years. But it’s her anger that has me sitting back and treading carefully.
“Zo.”
“No. No, Suz. This isn’t a fucking political game. Ben Anderson is everything you need. He is kind, funny, intelligent, accomplished, and loves with all his heart. Christ, Suz. He is you! Why are you fucking running?”
Looking down at my laptop, my first best friend, I shrug Zoey off. “I have to.”
“Shush you!” Zoey screams.
“Shit, Zo, calm down.”
“Calm down? Calm down? No. No. No. No, I won’t calm down. Not when your life is dangling in the wind.”
“Oh stop. You are so freaking dramatic.”
“Okay, yes, maybe I am, but you know I have your best interest at heart. I love you, Suz, as much as I love Claire, but I’m tired of watching you push people away. Ben isn’t your mother or father. He is good. He is kind. God, he is everything I ever wanted for you. If given the chance, Ben can be your salvation.”
Zoey’s words that day bounce around in my head as my father shakes Ben’s hand and offers my hand in return. It’s only as our fingers touch do I remember our first date. It was a “Taco Tuesday” and Ben cooked. He was adorable in his I taco do you? apron.
But it’s not that night that has me smiling right now. It’s our first meeting when I ran him over.
Oh wait, I didn’t I run him over. It was a nudge.
Ben Anderson, in all his commanding glory stands before me. But again, I’m a goober and oblivious. My blond hair is up in a tussled top knot, I have no makeup on, and am wearing an Oklahoma University T-shirt—because I’m snarky—there’s a stain on my yoga pants, and I’m pretty certain there is nacho sauce on my favorite Chucks. I am a hot mess. So, when Ben asks me out, I’m shocked, embarrassed, and a bit pissed off.
“What do you say, blondie? It’s the least you owe me.”
Zoey’s shock is apparent, but her “Yes” is almost screamed.
“What the fuck, Zo?”
“She’ll go out with you. You can pick her up tonight at eight,” My best friend responds.
“I…”
“Shut it, princess. You need a date and I need alone time with Derrick. It’s the least you can do. Plus, you ran the man over. A free meal is a free meal.”
“Zo…”
“I said shut it.”
Looking over at the man now towering over me, I lick my lips and realize I actually want to go out with him. Football star be damned. Ben Anderson could be a great distraction.
Zoey buffed, puffed, and powdered me. My nerd ass is in leather pants, a white French cuffed sleeved shirt, denim cropped jacket, and ankle booties. You would think I was going out for pizza and beer with Zac Efron instead of some random dude from Oklahoma. I mean really, outside of Barry Sanders, what OSU football player is going to make the NFL?
But when Ben picks me up, he is all I could ask for. Tall, dark, and handsome. And I will forever be lacking.