Savage Lane by Jason Starr Read Free Book Online

fun joking around about it, referring to her by the name they always called her—Plastic Woman.
    Later, runner’s high kicking in, enjoying the nice cool breeze off the lake, Karen said, “Oh, so I broke up with Steven last night.”
    “Finally,” Mark said.
    “Why finally?
    “He was totally wrong for you, and that name is so annoying.”
    “Steven? What’s annoying about the name Steven?”
    “I don’t know, it’s grating,” Mark said. “Not Steve or Stevie— Steven .”
    Karen laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
    “Besides,” Mark said, “he sounded like a flakey guy. An actor ?”
    “What’s wrong with actors?”
    “If he was a real actor he’d live in Manhattan, not Dobbs Ferry.”
    “How do you know he’s from Dobbs Ferry?”
    “You told me a couple weeks ago.”
    “Oh, I’m surprised you remember that. But his acting wasn’t the problem anyway. I liked that he was an actor, that he was different. I’m tired of dating cookie cutter financial guys.”
    “Hey,” Mark said.
    “You know what I mean,” Karen said. “I’m talking about the typical guy in finance who’s still playing that stupid status game. Going to the best restaurants, wearing the best clothes, driving the best cars.”
    “Whatever,” Mark said. “It didn’t seem like you had a real connection with Steven.”
    Karen thought about it, then said, “Yeah, that’s true, I guess we didn’t.”
    They jogged for a while, not saying anything.
    Then Mark said, “Don’t you think that’s the most important thing? I mean, in a relationship. To have a real connection—to get each other, the way best friends get each other?”
    “Yeah, of course I do,” Karen said.
    “Me too,” Mark said.
    Karen was remembering her last date with Steven—dinner in Dobbs Ferry, then a DVD back at his place. The sex that night was kind of mechanical, and she remembered lying in bed afterward, him hugging her from behind, and how his arms had felt like clamps.
    “Yeah, you’re right, something was missing,” she said. “Maybe I just wasn’t attracted to him enough. Anyway, another guy’s been writing to me, so we’ll see where that goes.”
    Mark was looking straight ahead with a very serious expression. Karen didn’t think he’d heard her so she said, “I said another guy’s been writing to me so—”
    “What other guy?” Mark asked.
    “Just some new guy from Match,” Karen said. “He’s a dentist from Scarsdale.”
    “Sounds like a prick,” Mark said.
    “Why do you say that?”
    “You dated that dentist last year, right? The one who you found out was still having sex with his ex-wife?”
    “Yeah, you’re right, Carl was a prick. But just because one dentist was a prick doesn’t mean all dentists are pricks.”
    “I didn’t say that,” Mark said. “I just think this guy sounds like a prick.”
    “But you don’t know anything about him.”
    “You said he’s from Scarsdale, right? You know how stuck up they are in Scarsdale? And a dentist from Scarsdale? Jesus. What’s his name?”
    “Richard.”
    “Richard what?”
    “Gross.”
    “Richard Gross? Dick Gross? Told you—a prick.”
    Karen smiled. While it was a little annoying that Mark was being so oppositional, she knew he was just looking out for her, trying to protect her, the way a brother would try to protect his sister from bullies in a playground.
    When they got to the halfway point of Karen’s usual run, Mark, asked, “Should we turn back?”
    Thinking about the one-and-a-half pounds she’d gained, Karen said, “I think I’m gonna keep going, but you can head if you want.”
    “No, it’s okay,” Mark said. “I have another gear.”
    “Are you sure? ’Cause—”
    “Yep, let’s keep goin’,” he said.
    They continued along the lake for about another mile, then headed back. Mark wasn’t talking as much, and Karen could tell he was struggling to keep up. She knew he’d never complain, though—men and their silly egos.
    When they