Lady, Make a Note of This
Andrew. I sighed at the sound of his name. My best friend in elementary school. We'd lost touch when junior high arrived and we went to different schools. Two weeks ago, I'd seen him a a party of an old mutual friend. He was freaking cute. His brown hair had grown out, almost covering those dark, dark eyes. The puppy fat had been shed and replaced by a spectacularly chiseled set of muscles. I smiled and said hello, but our conversation was stopped short by a petite brunette- Lucy, his girlfriend. My muscles had tensed, my senses had become alert. I felt the feline instinct in me rise up. That night, I vowed that I was going to have Andrew as my own.
"What's your favorite color?" he asked.
"Secret for a secret," I said, laying out the conditions of our next conversation.
"Deal," he agreed from the seat next to me.
"Blue," I stated. "But not navy blue. Just a good robin's egg blue."
"I bought my sister a shirt for her birthday that was two sizes too big and she got really mad at me." I laughed and shifted in the leather car seat. Leaning forward, I reached over to turn down the soft jazz that was playing. That was one of my favorite things about him. He liked jazz.
"I don't like cake, but I wish I did."
"I liked you in elementary school." My wry smile could not hide itself. I let the statement sit for a moment, then chose an appropriate reply.
"Try again."
"What?" he said, flustered.
"I already knew that," I announced as my smile widened.
"Oh. Uh, I actually like going to church." I removed my eyes from his face and stared straight ahead, right through the windshield, to the restaurant we had just come from.
"I liked you in elementary school, too." He said nothing. I glanced at the clock. "It's getting late. But I'll leave you with one more secret before I go." I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something on it. I handed it to him.
"Can I open it?" he asked.
"Wait until I leave the parking lot," I grinned as I shut the door of his car. I walked three spaces down to my car, started the engine, and drove home. The thought of him opening up that piece of paper to find my phone number sent shivers running down my spine. I smiled to myself, knowing that his current girlfriend didn't stand a chance. She'd be dumped within the week.
If there was one thing I knew, Emily Nickson always got what she wanted. I'd overheard him telling a friend to meet him at the local burger joint the next Tuesday- sans girlfriend. I tucked this piece of valuable information away and began making... arrangements. Admittedly, I was pushing him to cheat on Lucy. But it was all in the pursuit of me. This thought was quickly pushed aside, and before long, my theory had been proven correct. I, Emily Nickson, got exactly what I wanted.
"Are you okay with this?" Hilary asked as she looked over at Andrew. I shrugged.
"It's no big deal. They don't like each other anymore," I insisted, stirring my lemonade.
"Emily," she began hesitantly. I rolled my eyes.
"Hilary, trust me."
"I do, it's just that your boyfriend is over there talking-"
"To his ex girlfriend. As in not his current one." She sighed in defeat.
"Okay, whatever. I'm headed out." I stood up and we awkwardly hugged, both knowing that we were furious with each other. I walked over to where Andrew and Lucy were laughing. Lucy gave me an uncomfortable look as I approached.
"Hey, Luce," I grinned, slipping my arm around Andrew. He looked down at me and smiled.
"We'd better go. See you later, Lucy?"
"Sure thing. Bye, Emily!"
I hung up the phone in frustration at reaching Andrew's voicemail yet again. The clock read 11:30 and Andrew hadn't gotten home yet. I got up and went to the kitchen, poured myself a glass of water, and returned to the couch. Fifteen minutes later, I heard the door open. Andrew walked in, loosening his tie.
"You're late," I said softly, trying to hide the accusing tone in my voice. He smiled at me tiredly.
"Sorry, I had a long day. I'm going to shower and head to bed, okay?" I nodded as he enveloped me in a hug. I watched as he headed to our bedroom.
"That's not my perfume," I whispered as my eyes watered, but no tears fell. While the water ran in the bathroom, I grabbed a few things and went out to turn on the engine in my car to drive far, far away.
My old best friend- what was her name? Hannah? No, Hilary. Hilary had said something to me once. As I sat in a motel room, by myself, her words came back to me.
"If he'll do it for you, he'll do it to you," she'd said.
Shivering and sighing,
And hw vows his passion is
Infinite, undying-
Lady, make a note of this:
One of you is lying.
- Unfortunate Coincidence, by Dorothy Parker
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(c) thebrightcity
steal and die.