What He Loves
About Her
by Rebecca
Roland
Candice
dropped her purse on the mahogany table as she
slid into the booth. Laurie pushed a martini
towards her, and Candice downed half of it before
settling back. The hum of dozens of happy hour
conversations washed over Candice and, combined
with the martini warmth spreading through her,
eased some of the tension in her shoulders.
Laurie sat
forward, arms resting on the table, dark hair
pulled back in a careless look that had probably
taken her an hour to achieve. "Rough day?"
"Rough
date last night."
"You met
Internet Guy! Finally." Laurie frowned.
"But everything seemed perfect the last
couple of months. What happened?" She
sat back. "He's not married, is he?"
A girl at the
bar let out a baying laugh. Candice jumped
at the sound, causing the liquid to slosh in her
glass. She forced herself to take a few deep
breaths.
Words of
explanation caught in her throat. She managed to
shake her head in response to Laurie's question.
Candice washed down the tight ball with the rest
of her martini then raised a finger towards the
waitress for another.
"Does he
still live with his mother?"
Candice
drummed her fingertips on the table. "How
long does it take to get a drink around here?"
She ignored the glares nearby patrons threw her
way.
The waitress
hurried to set a new drink in front of Candice.
"We're short-handed for the next hour."
"Sorry,"
Candice mumbled. "Oh, and I'll need another
one in a minute."
The waitress
pursed her lips but merely nodded. Candice
considered the speared olives, grimaced, then set
them on a napkin. She took a long sip.
"He's got his own place."
Laurie scooted
closer. "He had a belated epiphany and just
realized he's gay."
Candice let
out a snort of mirthless laughter. "No.
I wish it were that easy."
Laurie shook
her head. "I don't get it. He
seemed nice. He was funny. He even told you
that he was falling in love with you for your
mind!"
"He loved
me for my mind, all right." Candice
emptied the glass. "He's a zombie."
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