Page 34 of This I Promise You
“Misread?” I mumble without moving my lips.
“—but…you didn’t have to call me a douchebag, dude.Words matterand that was fucked up.”
“What’d you think it looked like when you kept hitting on him after wetoldyou he was taken?” I say, but something about Paul’s demeanor shrinks and I actually feel bad for it.
“Y’all are clearly under-fucking-age.” His voice raises in defense. “I…I was just trying to be a nice guy and offer mylegalI.D. to help y’all, to make up for it. Like I said, I was nervous.”
“You, nervous?” I say it quietly and with a grin, trying to make sure he knows I’m not being hateful. “Didn’t take you for the type.”
Paul shrugs, but that’s all he gives me.
“Your friend is cute. And before you chop my head off,he is. I didn’t know he was taken or with anyone at the open mic night for that matter, so I tried to put myself out there. I won’t fucking apologize for that.”
When he puts it that way it does seem like nothing big, and definitely nothing bad. Suddenly he doesn’t come off as the douchebag I’d nailed him as at the open mic, and honestly my stomach drops a notch thinking how I’ve acted. So to make up for it, I do the only thing I know how. I joke.
“You reallydolike to say theF word.”
“Fuck you,” he says, but a tooth-filled grin reaches across his lips, and the flecks of brown in his seafoam-green eyes seem to glitter.
We both laugh. Which feels weird and good at the same time.
“Yeah, well, fuck you too,” I mimic him. “I don’t know. Maybe, justmaybe, I pegged you wrong.”
“Oof. Pegging. Not my thing.” Immediately Paul’s hand comes up and he throws his face in his palm. “Sorry, bad joke.Anyway…”
“That’s more my thing.” I shy away and mutter it just quietly enough. But that is a useful piece of information, it means my late-night fantasies weren’t too far off at least. “But sorry.”
“It’s cool, man. Shit happens.” He shrugs. “Guess we both made our mistakes. Truce?”
“Truce,” I repeat warily. Not because I don’t mean it, but because it seems like something I’d have done back in fifth grade with my middle school bully Ben, not in college. “I really should be going though.”
“Alright. No worries,” he says, but his shoulders slump. “Do what you gotta do. I need to pay my bill and head home too, I guess.”
“Ugh. Bills.” I slip out of the booth and get to my feet. He pays, then follows me outside, and suddenly it hits me that now I’m the douche who never thanked him for not leaving me at the party. “So, you got your shirt back. And…uh…I guess I never really said thanks for picking me up from that party. So…uh…thanks.”
He laughs, stopping in the middle of the parking lot. “I’m not a monster, dude. If only you could have heard yourself. Youdesperatelyneeded someone to rescue you.”
“Oh, so now we’re saying you rescued me?” I shake my head and allow a little laugh before waving my hands in the air in this exaggerated motion. “My knight in shining armor. Nah. But still, thanks. And of course you’re not a monster. Sorry.”
“You’re welcome,” he says. “And don’t worry about it.”
“Well, uh…bye.”
“Yeah. Bye.” And he turns around and walks off.
As I unlock my car and get in it hits hard how this isn’t how I expected tonight to go. Hell, I didn’t even expect to see him. But damn.
I turn the ignition and all I hear are clicks under the hood. Hold up now!
I try again, but it’s just more clicking.
“Oh, come on! Not this!” I look around the car and notice I left the overhead light on. Dammit! It’s not the first time, and yeah, Dad told me I need to watch it before I left a few weeks ago, but well, I didn’t. I try again, but nothing changes.
“What the hell!” I punch the stupid steering wheel as headlights blare to life a few parking spaces over against the building.
Paul! But do I really want to ask him for help? I throw my head back, but I’ve only a second to spare before he’s gone.
His car starts moving, and I make my decision. I swing my door open and jump out, waving for him to stop. Part of me expects him to just keep going, but that’s the stupid part that still hasn’t let go of Douche Paul, because he stops and rolls down his window.
