A game that I wasn’t invited to.
Anyway, without morning practice—and let’s face it, I’d been avoiding those like the plague—I had nothing else going on.
When I saw Jillian and Stuart locking up, and getting ready to leave, I invited myself along.
I might’ve had an ulterior motive. It bothered me to see a smart, hot, talented woman who was so goddamn miserable.
I also had to admit that I’d watched every episode of the ‘Single Girl’ reality show that Jillian had been on.
I’d loved watching her with Cash Clemens. He and I’d been friends forever. We’d played on the same team a few times, and he was the real deal.
I’d done my share of partying with him—and if there was one thing I knew for sure—Cash Clemens was a gentleman.
Seeing how interested he was in Jillian—and how interested she was in him—made me so fucking happy for the guy.
I didn’t know Jillian at all back then, but how she portrayed herself on the show was fantastic.
Needless to say, I’d been fucking beside myself to see my buddy find a great girl like Jillian.
Cash deserved a good woman.
So, when the last show aired—and Jillian chose Stuart the douche canoe, instead of Cash—oh, my God—I literally screamed.
I could not believe she’d given her rose to that idiot—leaving Cash in the dust—the guy she’d so obviously been in love with from the get-go.
It was seriously painful to see.
I’d been back home, watching with my mom. We’d both let out a loud scream when Jillian picked the wrong guy.
Actually, you could probably hear the collective, disappointed yells from half the continent at the time.
It had been in the headlines for weeks after.
How Jillian choose Stuart the knob, over Cash the hockey hero.
To this day, I couldn’t make heads nor tails out of it.
And watching them bicker in the aisle just now, only cemented the fact they did not fit.
Nothing about them did.
There was no physical chemistry between them. Well, not on Jillian’s part, at least.
He seemed like a bit of a creeper. Something about him set my hackles on edge. Which was only one more reason to go along with them on this shopping excursion.
I’d excused myself and told them I had to pick up something at one of the other stores.
Which I’d done.
Then I came back to find the unhappy couple.
I observed them for a few minutes, surprised they didn’t spot me peering at them down the aisle.
I mean, I was trying to be as invisible as possible, but nobody would say I was being a good spy.
“God, why are you always so bitchy?” Stuart the complete rod asked Jillian.
She spun around on her heel. “Gee, Stu,” she tossed the pair of socks in her hand back into the bin, “I wonder why? That’s a freaking mystery.” Her tone was so sarcastic even I cringed.