Page 52 of The Boyfriend List
"No, but that’s a good idea. I wanted you to give each other a chance. I've always thought you would make a good match, and I don't know why you've always been too scared to admit your feelings for each other." Reginald's voice rises, his face reddening with frustration.
Giorgio chooses the worst possible time to return to the hospital room. One of his cheeks is redder than the other, like he's been slapped.
"Did you get rejected by the nurse?" Gloria asks.
He gingerly touches his pinkened cheek. "What can I say? I like ‘em feisty.”
"See, now Giorgio, that's a man who knows what he wants and goes for it. He doesn't waste time wondering about what-ifs or worrying about whether he'll be rejected." Reggie looks at me pointedly.
"Thanks Reg. I didn't know you felt that way about me." Giorgio's chest puffs up.
"You should be more like Giorgio."
"I should flirt with a woman and get slapped across the face?" I say in disbelief. Maybe I should change law firms. Or jobs.
"Hey, it was a love tap!" Giorgio protests, rubbing his cheek.
"You should take risks," Reggie says. "Be bold. Pursue the woman you obviously care about. If you wait too long, she might not always be around."
"Wow," Giorgio says. "That was a great speech. Super inspiring."
"This has been nice and all," Gloria says, clearly uncomfortable and not just because of the rickety hospital room chair. "But we have to go back to work…"
"Gloria, I was so moved by Reggie's speech, that it inspired me to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time," Giorgio says. He turns toward Gloria, whose expression morphs from irritation to confusion. "Will you go out with me?"
Her mouth opens. Then closes. Then opens again. She glances at me before turning back to Giorgio, but I'm frozen. Unable to stop the wreck unfolding in front of me. "Um… sure?"
Her acceptance hits me like a blow to the gut. I can practically see her running through her mental checklist. Giorgio is a successful lawyer, charming and outgoing in ways I'll never be, and bold—or reckless—enough to ask out any woman he pleases. He probably wants a family, too.
Giorgio starts rattling off the place he could take her and asking about her schedule. I just stand there mutely, frozen in horror while I avoid eye contact with Reginald.
No doubt he’s shaking his head and mouthing,you blew it.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully. I get back to my cubicle and continue work on files and case briefings. All the while, Giorgio crows about his upcoming date with Gloria like he's scored a date with Miss Universe. In my mind, Gloria could beat out any pageant queen. But what’s the use in saying that?
Giorgio may be eccentric, but he's witty and handsome and friendly. He's not a bad guy, even if he is a flirt. I know he'd do anything for a friend, and that's why I can't stand his betrayal.
He knows I like Gloria. I've never said the exact words to him, but he's always ribbed me about asking her out. And now, for him to ask her on a date—anger curls my fists. I take a deep breath and put down the document I've been reading for the past thirty minutes without understanding any of it. Taking off my glasses, I clean them as though it will change what I’m seeing.
I was right. There is no hope for me and Gloria, and it was foolish of me to ever think there could be. She'll go off, marry someone else, and be happy and have children with him. I'll be their cool uncle, if we're still friends then.
While she's pushing strollers through the park, balancing work with family, and eating dinner with her husband, I'll be at the office. Alone. Or in myfamily's house that has never felt like a home, trying to placate my mother's feelings and get my siblings to give a damn about our family's demise.
She'll be happy. She deserves that much.
And me? I'll fulfil the duties and responsibilities that have always fallen on my shoulders: holding my family together like Atlas held up the sky.
Chapter Nineteen: Gloria
Ihave no idea why I said yes to a date with Giorgio.
Except that when Reginald hinted that London should ask me out, London looked like Reginald had suggested that he should move to Antarctica and take up penguin taming instead.
Which told me everything I needed to know. London has never liked me that way. Reginald just misread the signals he was sending me. All our banter and hugs were just that—a platonic relationship. Him being nice. Caring. Because he's a good guy.
But he’s definitely never thought of me romantically. I can't let myself believe that there's any hope for us.
Not after I saw the look on his face when Reggie said he hoped we would get together. He looked like he’d sooner move to Mars than date me.
