Read Man of My Dreams for Free Online

“Oh, so now you do what he tells you to do?”
    “No, crazy. It’s not like that at all. I think I love him, Grace. He very well might be THE ONE. And I know it seems fast, and sudden, and we’re still so young, but I’m not messing this up. This is what I want.” And it is what I want. I never thought I’d be saying these words at twenty years old. I wanted to ‘see the world,’ study abroad, even kiss a lot of frogs, but Declan changed all of that and I’m fine with it. I’m more than fine with it—I’m sure that he walked into that library because destiny picked him to be the man of my dreams.
    “Like I said, loser… loo-sa-er .”
    I snort at her Dumb and Dumber reference and hope that she’ll stop bugging me now. “That’s a lovely accent you have there. New Jersey?” It’s her turn to laugh at my quote from the same movie. When she does, I know the spring break issue is dropped.
    “So, Mr. Wonderful doesn’t get here until tomorrow. Are you free to be my best friend tonight?” Grace mindlessly helps me unpack my suitcase, sorting out the dirty from the clean.
    “Yes. Tonight I’m all yours. What do you want to do?”
    Uh, oh. I know that look. I’m not sure I’m ready for her suggestion. “Think Friday night, two years ago.”
    I know she can’t be talking about laser tag, so she can only mean The Room, the place where every high school junior or senior went on a Friday night. The Room looked like an old comfortable basement. Cushy couches, ping pong and pool tables, and even a bunch of televisions set up with different gaming consoles. Back then we all thought it was an ingenious idea, but now it seems kind of…childish. Truth is we’re stuck right in the middle of too old and too young. Too old for Nintendo and Sega , but too young for alcohol and clubbing.
    “Really, Grace? The Room? Don’t you think we’re too old for that now?”
    Grace lowers her chin to her chest, pouting. “I thought it would be fun. Who knows who we’ll run into. That is if the whole entire teenage population isn’t away like we should be. But maybe you’re right. You have any better suggestions?”
    I feel bad for knocking down her idea. I know she misses me. I miss her too and it wouldn’t kill me to spend a nostalgic night with my best friend to make her happy and secure in our friendship. Tomorrow she’ll meet Declan for the first time and then she’ll be playing third wheel. She needs this time with me.
    “The Room it is,” I wink, grabbing a dirty t-shirt from her hand. “I have kind of missed that place.”
    Grace’s eyes light up and she pulls me in for a tight squeeze. When she releases me, she plops back down on the bed, smoothing her hand over the vinyl lettering on my university sweatshirt. “You know, Mia, I never imagined it this way. I just thought the two of us would go off to London or Greece, study a little, party a lot and meet some gorgeous Europeans with sexy accents who would sweep us off our feet and out of this small town for good. But I’m stuck here at community college and you’re off, spreading your wings, two hours away. I’m so happy you love school and that you’ve found Declan, but…I miss my best friend.”
    I pull my sweatshirt out of her discerning grip and toss it in the hamper. She doesn’t need the reminder of our distance in her face. “I miss you too, Grace. But nothing or no one is ever going to come between us. I’m not going anywhere. In fact, Declan didn’t grow up far from here. If we do wind up together our lives will be here and everything will go back to normal. I promise, chicky. Best friends for life.”
    Grace smiles, erasing any earlier doubts. “You’re the bomb diggity bomb, Mia. And I like you…I like you a lot .” Goddamn Dumb and Dumber. Isn’t it supposed to be a guy’s favorite movie, not my girly best friend’s?
     

     
    The Room is exactly the way we left it. The woodsy smell of brick oven pizza, the musty basement air,