Again by Sharon Cullars Read Free Book Online Page B

dipped a buffalo wing in the sour cream, trying to get his appetite back. He had said what he had to, and he would just wait to see what Rick would do. Or more importantly, what Clarence would do. If Rick didn’t follow through, then he would.
    For the rest of dinner, Rick tried to lighten the mood with his usual stories about his girlfriends. Actually there were two, Melinda and Amy, both of whom David had met a couple of times. Rick rotated them in shifts. Rick scheduled Melinda for sports outings, picnics, day activities. The sultrier Amy was for evenings at upscale restaurants and parties. Rick considered himself a player, but David knew that if Melinda ever showed the slightest interest in getting serious, Rick would be down at the jewelers picking out a ring. As for Amy, Rick used her for show and as a backup in case Melinda walked.
    “Heard from Karen lately?” Rick’s question came between bites of fries.
    The question took David off guard. He didn’t want to talk about Karen. After two months, he was still sensitive about how it had ended. A picture popped in his mind, crystalline blue eyes brimming with tears. She had been especially beautiful that night, wearing the lavender dress that clung nicely to her sylphlike figure, her auburn hair elegantly swept up in a bun. She’d brought over dishes of cavatelli venezziana and tiramisu from Rosalina’s, his favorite Italian restaurant. After dessert, she smiled and pulled out a small, black velvet box. Inside was a solid gold ring. An engagement ring for him that had caught him by surprise. It would have been a lovely evening except that he’d had to admit to her—and himself—that he didn’t love her.
    The admission had taken them both by surprise. In response, she threw a plate against the dining room wall and accused him of wasting two years of her life. He let her walk out, sorry that he couldn’t give her what she wanted. But he hadn’t given more than a passing thought to settling down, although sooner or later he knew he would have to. He was already thirty-four and the years were going by fast.
    He shook his head, then signaled the waitress for the tab. He didn’t feel like talking about Karen, and the problem about Clarence was giving him a headache. He had counted on the Kershner deal coming through, particularly since the last two projects had barely covered costs. Things weren’t looking good. He had too much shit to deal with, especially on the little sleep he’d been getting.
    He looked at the check, pulled out twenty dollars to cover his half. “Gotta get on home. I got an early morning call in to Larry tomorrow about those condos being planned for Dearborn Street. You’re checking on that liability insurer tomorrow, right?”
    Rick nodded as he put down his cut and the tip on the table. The waitress came and picked up the bills, then brought back the change. They both stood and walked to the door.
    “Sorry about bringing up Karen, man. Thought she might have seen reason and called you by now.”
    “Why would she? I was the one who rejected her. Most women don’t come back for seconds of that.”
    “I guess. Though that’ll teach her to let the man do the asking.”
    David smiled at his friend’s simplistic philosophy on romance. “Anybody ever call you a Neanderthal?”
    Rick laughed. “About as often as they call you a noncommitting bastard.”
    David didn’t let Rick see the wince. That had cut too close.
    Outside, they parted and David walked to his Lexus. Noncommitting bastard . She hadn’t exactly called him that; she hadn’t needed to. Because they both knew that was exactly what he was.
    Maybe such a thing as karma did exist. He had pissed on Karen. Now life was shitting on him, robbing him of his business, even his sleep.
    He felt uneasy as he got behind the wheel and pulled off. But anticipating an evening of Ellington and Coltrane along with a glass of wine, his mood lightened a little as he turned off onto the