Jane Shoup by Desconhecido(a) Read Free Book Online

sighed. “Let me just
say one thing.”
    “Right,” Jenny replied,
rolling her eyes.
    “No, really,” Zoe said,
suddenly earnest. “It’s about Mitch. It’s about a comparison. And then I swear
to God, I’ll never mention the asswipe’s name again.”
    Jenny crossed her arms. “Go
ahead.”
    Zoe sat back. If this were
going to be the last thing she could say about Mitch Crow, she had to make it
good. “You know, I didn’t dislike Mitch at first. He reminded me of the Malibu
Ken doll I had as a kid.”
    Jenny nodded. She’d heard
the comparison before. Mitch was a tall, good-looking, well-built man with
sandy blond hair and a goatee.
    “The first thing that
bothered me about him,” Zoe continued, “was the way he looked at you. Like he
was always analyzing you, but distant, kind of cold, the way you’d look at
someone you just met if you’d heard something kind of questionable about their
character. You know what I mean?”
    Jenny nodded. “He had a
habit of cataloging my faults so he could bring them up later.”
    “You know what it was,” Zoe
said knowingly. “You were his project. He studied you, learned you.”
    Jenny had never thought
about it exactly like that, but it rang true. “And then used everything he
learned against me.”
    “Because he’s a sick ass
mother fucker,” Zoe added. “Now, compare that behavior to that fine Marlboro Man. He watches you too, every second he can get away with it.”
    Jenny was unable to stifle
a smile.
    “But it’s a whole different
thing. Ryan’s look says if there’s a puddle and you want his coat down in it so
you can walk across, cool.” Jenny shook her head and started to speak, but Zoe
rushed on. “No shit! I don’t think a guy has ever looked at me like Ryan is looking
at you. Of course, on a scale of one to ten, you’re a nine and I’m a two.”
    “That is not true,” Jenny
frowned.
    “I’m just talking looks,”
Zoe said. “But you’re right. I’m more like a four or five…and a half. Six if I
spend like an hour putting on makeup...and you view me in just the right light
at the perfect angle.”
    Jenny reached across the
table and squeezed her friend’s hand. “You’re a ten in my book.”
    “Back at ‘cha. Anyway, have
I made my point? Go out with the guy. The way he looks at you — ” Zoe shook
her head wistfully. “Not every guy is a sadistic asswipe like Mitch Crow, but
not every guy is capable of love and adoration, either. Ryan is. I can feel
it.”
    Jenny found herself nodding
in agreement, before she made herself stop. “Thanks,” she said quietly. Zoe
could be a handful, but her heart was in the right place.
    * * * *
    Jenny turned onto her back,
too restless to sleep, and stared at the ceiling. She couldn’t stop thinking about
Zoe’s comments, especially about Mitch and the way he’d studied her. She’d
focused on the money he’d taken in the end, but that wasn’t the real damage
he’d done. He’d criticized continually, compared her to other women constantly.
He’d ignored her lying next to him in bed, while drooling over porn magazines,
all the while commenting on how pretty their pussies were. He’d made her feel
small and defective. Even now her face burned with the shame he’d manufactured
and nurtured. Why had she taken it?
    Once, when they were out
with friends, he had leaned over to murmur something in her ear. He’d been
attentive and more affectionate than usual that night, so she wasn’t prepared
when, “Don’t talk so much,” came out of his mouth. She felt a familiar, painful
tingling in her face, and draped her arm over her head as the tears began
streaming. She wasn’t in mourning over the relationship being over, but in
recognition of how low she’d sunk with Mitch. Yeah, she had been his project.
It had been his project to destroy her. And, little by little, she’d let him do
it.

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    December 16
     
    Ryan pulled into an empty
spot in front of Jenny’s