Before She Loved Me

Care To Play A Game Of Dress-Up?

Addison

"You did what?!" I shrieked, my water glass slipping from my hand and the contents spilling all over my pristine white carpeting.

Matt and I were at my house, writing essays when he had dropped the bomb that he broke up with Vanessa and I, in turn, dropped my beverage.

He shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "It's not as though I wanted to, Addie."

I closed my English textbook, far too distraught to focus on schoolwork right now. "Honestly, Matt. I could kill you. You two were so cutesy, it made me ill, but you meshed really well together. Kind of like fries and ice cream."

He arched a brow at me. "What?" I asked. "It's a delicious combination. I suggest you try it before you pass judgement on my eating preferences. I would never be so critical of your choices."

"You are though. All the time." He tossed up his hands. "You're judging me right now!"

"Only because you dumped the love of your life on a whim like some kind of a lunatic."

Sighing, he rested his head against the sofa cushion. "Again, I didn't want to, but it suddenly hit me that this whole long-distance relationship thing was only making her depressed. It seemed the right thing to do."

Frowning, I got up from my place on the carpet and joined him. "I guess that makes sense, but you know until she gets over you, she's still going to be suffering." I reached out to pat his arm. "So, how are you handling this?"

He dragged his hands down his face, staring up the ceiling. The second hand could be heard ticking as we sat there in silence.

"Okay. Good talk then," I piped up, breaking the quiet and patting him on the back.

He exhaled loudly. "How do you think I'm doing, Addie? Fucking terrible."

Because I'm me, I punched him on the shoulder. "You know what will cheer you up? A party."

He groaned. "That is the exact opposite of the thing that will make me feel better. When have you ever heard me say, 'I could really use a night out of forced small talk with people I don't know but somehow seem to know me and despise my guts?' I'll tell you when. Never."

I gave him a nudge in the ribs. "Then how about a jaunt to get some fries?"

A small grin lifted the corners of Matt's mouth. "That sounds more like something that would put you in a good mood."

Giggling, I stood up and tugged on his hands. "Fine. We can take our fries to the spot to catch a beautiful winter sunset. I know how into nature you are. You can orgasm at the streaky pink sky instead tonight, since you seem to have willingly thrown away any chance you had at a sex life."

He rolled his eyes, pulling himself into a standing position. "You know, for the life of me, I just can't seem to figure out why it is that you don't have a boyfriend. You're an absolute gem," he added sarcastically.

I threw my head back, letting out a bellowing laugh. "Addison Miller would rather lead a life of fry celibacy than ever commit herself to a man."

As we sat atop the hood of Matt's Jetta, gazing out at the sky tinged with hues of orange and soft purples, I happily munched on my pile of salty starch. I thumped Matt on the back before leaning against the glass of the vehicle's windshield, the material chilling my spine. "Did you finish yet? It's starting to get a bit nippy out here."

Shifting, he furrowed his brows. "Yea, I polished off my burger a while ago." He nodded at the carton of food clutched between my fingers. "You're the one that's still eating."