“Famous last words,” David joked.
“Well he was, at first. We both fell asleep shortly after we got to his house. But then I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard a weird noise and I look over, and the guy is kneeling above me on the bed, jerking himself off.”
“While you were sleeping?” David threw his head back and laughed loudly. “That’s got to be illegal somehow.”
I lowered my head, mortified.
He waved his hands in front of him like he was surrendering. “Okay, I’m starting to understand the martini pity-party.” He swam closer to me. “I went home with a girl once, after our first date. We were taking our clothes off, having a good time, and then she tells me that I don’t have to use a condom. Because she’s already pregnant.”
I was feeling better already.
“I went out with an actor once,” I said. “And I asked him what he did when he wasn’t shooting. He started running his hands over his body and said ‘well, not to be cheesy, but my job is to maintain this’.”
“Stop it.”
“That wasn’t even the bad part. The bad part was that my gorgeous classmate showed up at the same restaurant we were at, and he immediately dropped the douche act and invited her to join us. He ignored me for the rest of the dinner and stared at her fake boobs the entire time.”
“So how was the second date?”
“Funny.”
David grinned. “I went out with an actress once, too. The date was awesome, actually, until her fiancé showed up at the restaurant and punched me in the jaw.”
“You’re lying.”
He pointed to a small scar on his chin. “I don’t date actresses any more.”
Okay, I was really starting to feel better. If a hot catch like David had just as bad of a track record as I did, then maybe there wasn’t something wrong with me.
David paddled in a circle around me, then lifted me up and tossed me underwater. After I came back up and wiped my face, he pulled me towards him.
“Well, Justine, I have good news and bad news,” he announced, looking into my eyes ever-so-seriously. “The bad news is that I officially made the worst martini ever, therefore I’m not in the best shape to drive home.” His lips twitched devilishly. “The good news is that I promise to be a perfect gentleman.”
Renee had decided to start house-hunting. I think it was partially because she couldn’t stand living in a cramped condo filled with boxes, and partially because she needed a new project to work on. Renee couldn’t sit still. She loved writing, and when she wasn’t working on a freelance assignment, she was managing Dylan’s band. And when she wasn’t managing Dylan’s band, she was searching for somewhere else to direct her energy.
Today, she’d decided to focus her energy on houses. Dylan was at rehearsal and wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make it in time, so she’d elected me to be her co-conspirator for the afternoon.
I agreed to meet her at a new real-estate company in the city. Apparently they were headquartered in New York but had recently opened a Boston location. A friend of Renee’s had referred them, so she’d made an appointment to go in and meet with one of the agents. I couldn’t think of a less fun way to spend the afternoon, but Dylan had promised to meet us after his rehearsal, so I hoped I’d be off the hook soon enough.
The Keller office was bright and beautiful. Everything seemed to be made of glass or granite: a vibrant, open space. The receptionist looked up from her computer as I walked in.
“Welcome to Keller Realty,” she greeted. “Do you have an appointment with us today?”
I pointed to Renee, who was already seated in the lobby, filling out paperwork. “I’m with her,” I said. Renee smiled and waved me over.
I strolled across the office and sat down next to Renee, still admiring the surroundings.
“Nice office, huh?” Renee asked, following my gaze.
I nodded. “Have you been here long?”
“No. I’m just filling out some papers.” She looked down guiltily and picked up another clipboard from the table next to her. “But there’s another reason I picked this place.”
I eyed her suspiciously. “Why do I feel like this has to do with me?”
She bit her lip. “Well, they also specialize in rentals. So I thought maybe… you could look at apartments, too. Wouldn’t it be fun if we both looked at places together?”
I sighed. Ever since I’d started dishing the David details, Renee seemed gung-ho on helping me move my life forward. Which was sweet. I just didn’t know if I was ready for it yet.
“Renee, they’re not going to rent to someone who’s unemployed.”
“I know. But maybe if you see a place you really like, it’ll motivate you to start looking.” She pouted. “Besides, I hate that you live so far away.”
“It’s only an hour…”
“Well it’ll be longer in a few months with summer Cape traffic.” She pushed the clipboard closer to me. “Please?”
I rolled my eyes and reluctantly took the clipboard from her. “Fine, I’ll fill it out. But I don’t know if I want to live in the city. Too much traffic.”
“They have places all over the south shore.”
Of course they did. I appreciated her efforts to cheer me up, but I highly doubted that looking at apartments out of my price range was going to heal my broken heart.
“It’ll be fun,” she insisted, sensing my hesitation. “You can just look at some different places and neighborhoods. Get a feel for what you like.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, accepting defeat. “I’ll do it.”
“Ms. Evans?” The receptionist walked over to us. “Have you finished?”
Renee nodded and handed her the clipboard of papers. The receptionist looked down at Renee’s protruding stomach, beaming.
“So, how far along are you?” she asked, clasping her hands together.
“Six months,” Renee answered.
“Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
Renee shook her head. “It’s going to be a surprise. My
