Page 125 of My Rules

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that I taste blood.

“To new beginnings.” Gregory smiles. I take a sip of my wine as his eyes hold mine.

His eye contact is getting a little bit intense, so I turn my attention back to Kayla and Blake.

“So, where did you two meet?” I ask.

“Where did we meet?” Blake smiles and narrows his eyes, as if trying to remember.

“Years ago,” Kayla replies. “Funnily enough, it was on another double date. Blake was dating my roommate at the time.”

I begin to hear my heartbeat in my ears. “And you had that instant thing when he was with your roommate?” I act casual, as if the answer doesn’t matter.

“Funnily enough, I knew I liked Kayla right away, so I went home and broke up with her roommate with the intention of hopefully being able to ask her out one day.”

“You said funnily enough before.” I fake a smile.

Nothing is funnily enough here, fucker.

Blake’s eyes hold mine with a mischievous glow. Wait a minute ... Does he know that he’s annoying me?

“And then we worked together for a couple of years.” Kayla smiles.

“Where do you work, Kayla?”

“I used to work at the children’s hospital with Blake, but now I work at the children’s cancer hospital.”

“You work with children with cancer?”

“Yes.” She smiles. “It’s hard some days, but bringing happiness to the children has really been life changing for me.”

I smile sadly. Kayla is a good person.

I sip my wine and decide that I will not say anything more. If Blake likes this woman, it’s for a reason.

The night goes reasonably smooth. Gregory is kind and funny and very interested in everything I say. But I really don’t pay much attention to him at all because I am too busy eavesdropping on what Blake is saying to Kayla.

They’ve laughed and whispered, and at one stage, he even kissed her cheek. We’ve had dinner and dessert and a few more drinks, and the four-piece band is starting up. “Let’s dance.” Blake stands and holds his hand out for Kayla. “I want to spin you around the floor a little bit.”

Kayla smiles up at him as if he’s a rock god.

My heart sinks into a puddle on the floor.

He really likes her, I can tell.

“That’s a great idea,” says Gregory. “Let’s dance too.”

Really, Gregory? I am not in the mood for dancing right now.

He leads me to the dance floor regardless.

It’s a band, and they’re playing an older song. I’ve heard it before but can’t remember where or who sings it. Gregory looks down at me. “You look beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks.”

I glance over to see Blake smiling down at Kayla. She says something, and he laughs out loud.

Ouch.

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