CHAPTER20
The next day,after my morning classes, I call Allie. This is going to be awkward, but I’ll leave a message if I have to. I need to talk to her.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Allie?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“Katie. Katie Quake. Look, you probably don’t know who I am, but…”
“Actually, I do.”
“You do? The guys mentioned me to you?”
“Yes, and I’m not surprised to hear from you. What can I do for you?”
“I was hoping that we could talk. Obviously. That’s why I called.” I grimace.
“Do you want to meet for lunch?”
“Sure, but, ah, do you think you could come to campus? I’ll use my food cash to buy you something.”
“I’ll bring my own lunch. Be there in a half hour.”
She hangs up, and I blow out a breath. Phone call one done. Time for phone call number two.
I call up the diner Rob took me to the other night. I can’t believe I’m doing this, especially since my shifts will have to be the later ones, which means I might have to work with her, but again, she helped me without asking personal questions, without hesitating. I can’t ask for more than that.
“Oaken Diner,” a bored-sounding woman answers.
“Hi. Yes. I saw the help wanted sign, and I was hoping—”
“You can stop by any time to fill out an application form. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No. That’s all.”
“Have an oaken day!”
Seriously. If I have to say that to customers, I might gag. That’s terrible.
I head over to the café early and grab a sandwich and a bag of chips along with a bottle of Coke. I find a table near the parking lot side of the café and wait. Not that I know what Allie looks like.
Only I spot her as soon as she walks in. Short black hair. Leather jacket just like the guys all have but not all of them bother to wear. She has a swagger about her, an air of confidence, and I feel a bit put out because I can definitely see why the guys all wanted to have a turn with her.
“You must be Katie,” she says, walking right up to me without hesitating. “I can see why they like you. You look like a walking Barbie doll.”
I snort. "Hardly. My boobs aren't that big, and wouldn't a real-life Barbie have to be eight feet tall with a giraffe neck or something like that if she were made to proportions?"
“I read that article! Yeah, something like that, and her back would be killing her from the weight of those jugs.” She grabs her boobs, and we both laugh. “I knew I would like you.”
“I’ll be honest,” I say even though I don’t know why I’m saying this. “I thought I would hate you.”
She sits down across from me and puts her bag on the table. “Look. I’ll tell it to you straight. The guys and I, we were better off as friends. All of us. Is it ideal to go through a pack of friends like that? No, but when I was, ah, doing my thing, I didn’t know what I was looking for. I didn’t know what kind of guy I wanted to be with. In part because of dating them, I have a much better idea of that, and now, I might’ve found the one. His name is Diego, and he’s… he’s perfect for me. A little dark, a little edgy… hot as fuck, amazing in bed… a good listener, funny… likes horror movies and rap music and metal… We get each other. I never even thought to look his way before, but if I had dated him before the guys, well, I don’t know. I’m not sure Diego and I would’ve done much more than just screw around a few times and gone our separate ways.”
“Why?”
“Why? In part because I wasn’t ready to settle down then, and now I am. And I didn’t just want sex, and that’s why it had been with Zac. At that point, I had been with the others, so it was kinda expected, I guess. But I don’t know. It was good. I learned from them, and we’re friends.”