Page 22 of Two Is Better Than One

"Oh, it was my pleasure. I’m happy your sister could come. And most of all, I’m happy you could come, Allie." Garrett smiled at her like he expected her to be blown to smithereens by his charm. He was the cheesiest ever, and he had no idea.

AJ kept a poker face, not making it obvious that he was judging Garrett. He let Allie finish her conversation with Garrett and the host, which took about five minutes and then he stood when she stood. They walked outside, and he opened the door to let her into her side of the truck. They took off together.

"Do you want to go anywhere else?" AJ asked after he sat in the driver's seat.

"No." She kept her head trained on the front windshield.

"You were talking about me being quiet, but you're not smiling, either."

"My no-smile is a result of your no-smile, AJ. I was looking forward to seeing you. I asked my sister to hire you today. I could've just come here and left with them."

Allie rolled down the passenger's window and turned, letting the sun hit her and looking out of the window like she intended on paying no attention whatsoever to AJ.

"Look, Allie. Maybe this is all just a big life lesson for me. Because usually I'm the one who's playing with girls and has no feelings involved. But I thought about you. I was being serious. I had fun with you, and I wanted to get together again. And then that dude Garrett's all over you, and then I see you with my cousin the other night, and I guess I just see how it feels. I'm feeling humbled right now, honestly. I feel played, and it's ironic."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, AJ."

She said the words so solemnly that AJ didn't bother explaining. She was still turned, looking out of the window. AJ pulled out of the parking lot slowly.

"It seems like your mad at me, Allie, and the thing is, usually I would deserve it. Usually, I would have done something that validates your disappointment. But in this case, I didn't. In this case, I'm the one getting played. In this moment, I'm honestly sad for all the times I've… never mind."

"I'm not even sure what you're saying, AJ. I took the hint when you said you had stuff to do today and only had a few hours this afternoon. You can just take me back to the hotel."

"Allie."

"It's better like this," she said. "Your baby blues are irresistible. I was hypnotized. I needed to go ahead and be rejected." Allie was indifferent when she spoke, and it caused AJ's temper to flare. He checked the street and left the restaurant. He was headed in the general direction of her hotel suite. They were quiet for a couple of minutes, and then AJ was the first to speak again.

"I think we are miscommunicating, because you're acting like I'm rejecting you when clearly you are rejecting me."

"I am not rejecting you. I hired you for the specific reason to hang out with you, AJ. I didn't even want to go to that brunch. I bought the painting because I was there that day, and I was already on the spot. I don't care about Garrett. Maybe I thought I did, but I don't."

"You don't owe me any kind of explanation. I try to tell myself that. But then I see you at Casey's apartment, and he's looking at you like—w-well, I saw how he was looking at you."

"You saw Casey looking at me?" she asked, looking clueless.

But then her face changed, and AJ knew she had been caught.

"Was I with Casey alone?" she asked.

"You know you were. And that's your business. I have no right to care. But God's teaching me a lesson, I'll tell you that. It doesn't feel good to be on the other end of someone's indifference."

"I am not indifferent," she said. "You don't know what you're talking about. Nothing happened between Casey and me. You saw us together, but you didn't see anything, did you?"

"No, I didn't," AJ said. "But I saw how he was looking at you, and my cousin doesn't look at women like that. He's got about fifty times more self-control than I do with women."

"Wow, with all this talk about what a womanizer you are, you're making yourself sound like a really great guy." She said the words sarcastically.

"I'm sorry if you're mad," he said. "Just being real. I think it's absolutely fitting that the one time I finally like a woman and have an ounce of feelings involved, she's trying to be with three guys at the same time. I deserve it. I really do."

"One, what you're saying implies that you're with three girls at any given time, which is sad. And two, AJ, I am not doing what you say. I liked you. I had fun with you. I did nothing with Casey. And I didn't even like Garrett. I came to this brunch because I knew you would be here. I asked my sister if she could get you to work today. And this is my thanks. You're just being rude and not at all the guy I talked to the other day."

"I don't know what to say. I thought you were at the apartment with Casey."

"Maybe I was," she said. "But nothing happened. We were… we… I think we went to a church, and then we obviously went by his apartment for a minute. I forgot what we were doing, but it was no big deal. It was the least of my worries. Who's the third?" she asked.

"What?"

"The third guy. You said I was trying to talk to three guys, who's the third?"

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