Something Like This (Secrets) by Eileen Cruz Coleman Read Free Book Online

didn’t you both agree on a time when he asked you out? That’s what normal people would have done,” she said, pouring the last of the coffee into her mug.
    “Yeah, well, who says I’m normal?” I am anything but normal. Hell, I’m so abnormal that I almost come full circle, back to the normal starting point.
    Making her way back into the living room, she said, “Yep, you’re pretty much a weirdo. Okay, well, what say you and I watch the news together until Mr. Hottie calls or gets here, because if you think I’m going to miss out on meeting him...”
    I was defeated. Sinking into the couch, I said, “This should be a hell of a lot of good fun.”
    “Indeed,” she said, with a big smile.
    ***
    T he clocked ticked its way to 11:30 a.m. and still no sign of Reece. He hadn’t even called me. Maybe he had stood me up as payback for when I had done the same thing to him, except that I had at least left him a note. I guess I couldn’t blame him, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was hurt and embarrassed. Grace had quietly slipped out of the living room when the clock had gotten to 10:30. I knew she felt bad for me and didn’t want to make matters worse by hanging around. Lisa, we discovered, wasn’t even home. She had probably spent the night at her parents’ house something she did often when she had dinner with them.
    So here I was, all by myself, pathetically waiting for someone who had known all along he was not going to show up. Damn, I was dumb as all hell. I had let my guard down, forgotten about my homeless father, if only for a moment, and for what? It suddenly occurred to me that I would still have to deal with Reece at work. He was my boss’ nephew, for goodness’ sake. If I didn’t lie down, I would end up hurling or flat out dying.
    I shut and locked my bedroom door and buried my head in my pillow. I wished I could sleep for the rest of the day, but I knew my nerves would not let me. I had actually convinced myself that I could be part of the general population, that I could go out on dates with nice guys and pretend my demons were gone, that my childhood had been one filled with pony rides, cotton candy, and parents who stayed together, who loved each other, who loved me.
    I would allow myself one day of self-pity. I’d indulge in a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream. Hell, I’d even add whip cream, sprinkles, and hot fudge.
    There was a knock on my door.
    “Jadie, it’s Lisa, I heard what happened. Feel like talking?”
    Grace and her big ole mouth.
    “I’ve got some work to do, so I’m just going to hang in my room, okay?”
    “Come on, girl, open the door. We can watch Bridget Jones’s Diary and pig out.”
    Her invitation was tempting. One thing Grace, Lisa, and I had in common was our love for Bridget Jones’s Diary . I’d come home one evening to find Lisa and Grace camped out on the couch, a huge bowl of popcorn and an equally as huge bowl of chips between them, laughing and crying at the same time. When I looked at the TV, there she was, Bridget Jones in a tank top and underwear, chasing Mark down the street after he leaves her apartment to go buy her a new diary.
    Lisa and Grace had turned to smile at me. I had smiled back and then sat on the couch with them. That was the day I realized that maybe, just maybe, it was possible for me to have friends.
    Releasing a long, exaggerated breath, I dragged myself out of bed and opened the door.
    “All we have is rainbow sherbet, hope that works?” she said, clutching a container.
    I hugged her. “It’s perfect.”
    “All right, let’s do this.”
    “Wait,” I said.
    She stopped and turned to look at me.
    “Is it okay if we don’t talk about it?” I asked.
    “As you wish.” She handed me the sherbet.
    Three Bridget Jones’s Diary movies, two bottles of wine, and two pints of sherbet later, I finally got my butt off the couch. Not once had Lisa mentioned Reece. I owed her, big time.
    “This was fun, but I told