How You Get 'Em

Prologue

I’m not a boyfriend stealer. I promise.

You’re probably thinking, ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s something a boyfriend stealer would say,’ but I swear I’m not. It’s not like I went out of my way to flirt with the guy and forced him to like me. It just happened. He wasn’t even my type, for crying out loud!

That didn’t matter, though. What mattered was the lemon meringue pie that was five seconds away from smashing into my face, and the high-pitched, psychotic scream from the girl who held it. Did I mention she was my cousin?

And in the small fraction of time before the creamy dessert and I became formally acquainted, I thought about all the ridiculous idioms and sayings my mother used to tell me as a little girl.

If you keep crossing your eyes like that, they’ll eventually get stuck.

Smile or you’ll get frown lines.

Always keep single women away from your man.

And most importantly; be careful how you get ‘em, ‘cause that might just be how you lose ‘em.

Suddenly, my mother didn’t seem so exaggerative after all. I was careful, but my cousin hadn’t been careful enough. It wasn’t my fault that her boyfriend – sorry, I meant to say fiancé – dodged a bullet from a crazy person. If I were him, I would’ve done it a long time a—

Splat!

Instinctively, my eyes closed as I welcomed the whipped treat, my head jerking back in what felt like slow motion as it hit my skin. At least the fluffy topping softened the blow. I mean, the crust and aluminum tin could’ve done some serious damage!

My hands slowly reached my face, fingers cupping either eye and scooping the filling from my lids. It plopped down to my feet, a few drops sticking to my toes through my open sandals, which also happened to be my favorite pair, and I wasn’t even a shoe fanatic!

Oh, it is so on.

I licked my lips as my lashes flew open, savoring the tangy taste of the pie before I gave the bitch in front of me a taste of her own medicine. Baked ziti was the closest thing to me, and I was sure she would’ve loved to have some in her hair. Tomato stains were easy to remove, so it was no biggie, right?

Just as I turned toward the casserole, that’s when I heard it – his voice. It was deep and rough, growling through the air, igniting an inferno that blazed throughout my entire body.

I was paralyzed, my hands hovering above the dish as we made eye contact from all the way across the room, but that’s what would happen between us. He was always able to find me, no matter where I was.

“Enough.”

He spoke one simple word, but it did the trick, making everyone in the reception hall come to a halt. Complete silence took over the room as his broad frame parted through the crowd, people moving out his way on their own accord.

Enough? …Enough?!

No, we were far from being done. He was the reason behind this whole mess, so someone else should’ve been the judge of when it ended. The only way that the war between me and Demon Barbie would’ve been over was if one of us walked away. There was also one thing that was clear.

It was not going to be me.

A/N: This story will be updated every week. Please vote and comment and thank you for reading!