Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22557 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
“Besides, I owe you one of those lattes that I didn’t get a chance to give you last night.” He smiles.
I take a deep breath and avert my eyes from him, mulling over his invitation and Marissa’s warning. I really wonder what things would have been like had he actually picked me up for prom that night.
“I never even got to wear my dress, you know?” I say, turning back to him. A crack in the charming veneer across his face begins to form. I pull my car door open and slide a leg in. “Pick me up after work. I get out around five.”
“Sounds good!” Craig calls after me as I close the door behind me and pull out of my driveway. I can see him standing there smiling, but it looks like he’s doing his best to force the expression onto his face. He waves, but I don’t wave back. I just nod and look at the road as I drive off, careful of all the ice that may have formed during the night. Ever since I got my license, I’ve been very aware of ice on the road. I guess after what happened to my dad, I’ve been scared of driving in the winter.
I’m thinking about Craig all day at work. I just cannot get him off my mind and end up accidentally hanging up on a few callers and taking a few things to the wrong offices – basically behaving like I used to behave back when I just started working. I’m still nervous as all hell about meeting up with Craig later, but I’m also so excited that I’m jittery all over. Just before lunch, Marissa sneaks up from behind me and pokes me in the ribs, nearly scaring me out of my skin.
“Hey there, girl!” she hisses in my ear.
“Oh my God!” I whisper, clasping my hands over my mouth, doing my best not to yelp and let the whole office know just what a scaredy-cat I am.
“Going out tonight with Jasmine, Tasha, and Brittany. Hitting up PJ’s. You down?”
“Um, not tonight,” I reply, doing my best not to let her see my expression. “But thanks for asking.”
I’m hiding my face, but I can practically see the look on hers as I listen to the long pause. “You’re going to meet up with him, aren’t you?”
Damn it.
That’s one thing about having a friend like Marissa; they always know you too well.
“He wants to give me an explanation,” I reply, turning to face her. “And I want one. That’s all that’s going to happen.”
“Uh-huh.” She nods. “That’s what men always say. But believe me, Daisy. They always want more. Always. Be careful.”
4
DAISY
I’ve never been more conflicted in my life about a workday being over. On one hand, I’m all nervous and anxious and excited to be going to see Craig and be given the explanation as to what happened on the night he was supposed to take me to prom and where he’s been for the last five years, but on the other hand, I’m also wondering whether or not I’m making the right decision or if it’s best to just listen to Marissa and let sleeping dogs lie.
I already felt it when I first saw him sitting out there dressed as Santa – a spark inside my chest, just like the one I felt back when he and I were dating back in high school. I had so many daddy issues back then that while I was desperate to find a boyfriend, I didn’t trust a single guy at my school because I was sure they were all going to do what my dad did and leave me.
But then I met Craig, and for some reason, he was able to convince me – simply by just being him – that he wouldn’t do that.
He was on our school’s tiny rowing team, he came from a really good family, he was a model student, and something about him just made me feel protected and cared for. We just clicked right away. He even knew better than to push me too quickly. It’s like somehow he just knew that it would push me away.
So we ended up together. And when senior prom came around, he invited me to be his date. I kind of suspected he would. I mean, we were both seniors, and I was his girlfriend at the time, but it was still exciting. I spent way too much money on a really pretty sea-green dress, got all glammed up, and waited…
But he never came.
I texted and texted. But he never came.
He never texted back. He never called.
Big day tomorrow. See ya soon :)
That was the last text I ever got from him. And the peck on the cheek he gave after he dropped me off at my house was the last time I ever saw him. Until I walked into the office Christmas party and saw him dressed up as Santa with Jasmine giggling on his lap.