Page 58 of The Art of Almost Losing It
“Um, wait… Colette—”
The Girl Squad rolls their eyes, and Colette blinks at me, annoyed.
“Do you know where Jeremy is?”
“You and your mother baby that man. Honestly, you’re lucky we grew up together, otherwise no woman would have wanted him.” Colette twirls her hair and smiles up at Graham. “You better be careful. You might have Jeremy coming to live with you and Dani.”
Graham’s mouth screws up in a sneer. “Dani’s not living with me.”
“We love a king who sets boundaries,” Maya chirps at him.
“And who knows how to wear a suit.”
The Girl Squad titters. They smell weakness.
“Come on. Let’s get you a drink, Graham.” And just like that, Colette swoops in and steals my fake boyfriend.
“I’m just going to find Jeremy,” I say to their retreating backs.
Gosh, they look perfect together—like hashtag couples goals.
Colette deserves Graham. Maybe she’ll have him as her first affair partner when she gets married.
I stab a text message into my phone, looking up every so often and watching the Girl Squad flirt with Graham while he buys them drinks.
I hate that Graham looks so amazing there in the upscale bar, like he’s one of the pieces of expensive artwork.
Jeremy:Why are you texting me? I’m in the car.
Dani:Send me a photo.
Piper:I am in the car with him.
Dani:OMG thank you!!!
Dani:I owe you.
Piper:Great, I have a self-improvement wish list.
I look back at Colette and Graham. She’s staring up at him, and he’s looking at her intently.
I should be mad, and I should be sad, but I’m just resigned—defeated.
This is how it always goes.
Colette is always the girl that all the guys want.
I’m always the girl that guys can’t get away from fast enough.
I should go over there, hang on the periphery as the floater friend, and try to get at least a little crumb of affection from my fake boyfriend.
He looks at me when I trudge over and turns to leave the group.
Colette notices.
I want to sink into the floor.
Graham hands me a glass of wine as he passes by. “Here. You’re more tolerable when you’re drunk.”
