Page 56 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“Guess who came into Blue tonight for dinner,” Jake said.
“If I missed Christian Bale, I’m going to be so upset.”
He laughed. “Close. The Crabtrees. Mrs. Crabtree asked about you, so I told her you’d finally broken down and gone out with me. She hugged me, then lectured me on being a gentleman and treating you right. She’s surprisingly scary for an older lady.”
Picturing Mrs. Crabtree and Jake having that conversation made me smile. “It’s nice to know she’s got my back.”
“Yeah, with those bar fights you get into, you need all the extra help you can get.”
And just like that, we eased into an effortless conversation that surpassed my normal three-minute mark.
…
When my phone rang Saturday morning, I fumbled around for a few minutes before finding it.Drew.
I hit the accept button and put the phone up to my ear. “You better be dying.”
“Good morning to you, too,” Drew said, his voice way too chipper. “I’m coming down. Now, get out of bed. You’re sleeping the day away.”
I squinted at my alarm clock until the red digits sharpened enough I could read them. “Eight o’ clock is not sleeping the day away.”
“I’ve been up for two hours. I’ve checked on the horses, made sure the newborn calves have sucked, and doctored a few cows. What’ve you done?”
“I’ve been coming up with a plan to power the world using smiles and laughter,” I said. “Beat that.”
“One of the calves crapped on me when I picked him up and took him to the barn, and I thought that was a good bullshit story. But I think yours is even more full of crap.”
I laughed. “I’m too tired to come up with a response to that. I’m sure I’ll think of a good one by the time you get here.”
“Okay. It’ll probably be about ten.”
“See you in a while, then.” I hung up and put a pillow over my head, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep before having to start my day.
By the time Drew made it down, I was not only ready, but also feeling ahead of the game thanks to all the work I’d done last night. As he and I settled onto the couch, I asked, “Isn’t this the second Saturday in a row you’ve spent with the redhead?”
“Her name is Lisa, and yes it is.” He kicked off his shoes and stuck his feet on my coffee table. I’d given up on asking him not to. “We actually met in Broomfield on Wednesday, too. And we’ve been talking on the phone.”
“You hate talking on the phone.”
Drew shrugged. “I usually do.” A slow smile spread across his face. “But I’ve been talking to Lisa for at least an hour every night.”
“Does Michelle know she’s already been replaced?”
“Michelle went a little crazy. She kept coming to the house and yelling at me. She told me I was a loser who still lived at home and went on and on about how stupid I was. So then I was like, ‘If I’m a loser, why do you want me?’ Then she cried and begged me to take her back.” Drew shook his head. “Finally I just had to tell her, making sure I jabbed hard enough for her to get the point, that we were over and there was no chance of ever getting back together. Then she went allFatal Attractionon me.”
“She boiled your bunny?”
“She keyed my truck.”
I shook my head. “You sure know how to pick them.”
“Lisa’s different, though.”
“Until you dump her and you learn how crazy she really is.” If there was a mentally unstable girl, Drew was drawn to her. For about two to three months.
“She won’t. In fact, she’ll probably dumpme, and I’ll be the one who calls her at all hours of the day, begging for a second chance.” Drew leaned forward, propping his forearms on his knees. “So what’s going on with you?”
“I’m kind of dating this guy. Keeping it light, that kind of thing. Oh, and I got one of Anthony’s friends punched in the face while we were at a bar.”
