Read That Girl is Mine - Part One for Free Online Page A

through the silence.
    I frown. “Who did?”
    “Josh. He and I used to be the bad boys in high school – a new chick every weekend.”
    My face burns, and I feel my stomach start to turn (Josh is only the second man I’ve been with, the first being my prom date and a colossal error in judgment).
    “I didn’t know that,” I reply, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
    “You haven’t had that talk yet?”
    I shake my head, not understanding what he means. But he elaborates. “You know? The one where you ask him how many and he asks you. He’ll get you to go first so he can adjust his number so it isn’t much bigger than yours?”
    “Why would he lie about it?”
    “Because he probably doesn’t remember exactly how many.”
    Suddenly feeling very defensive, I shake my head and stand from the table quickly, tipping my chair over in the process. I lean down to pick it up as I fight the tears that are burning behind my eyes. “Why are you being like this?”
    He leans forward again and studies me with those assessing eyes of his, looking right through me like he’s searching for something. “Because I don’t get it. Why would a guy like Josh, give up a life like mine for you? I mean, that guy could pull chicks better than I ever could, and now he’s a doctor as well, he could have them lining up out the door. But instead, the only girl he looks at is you – what’s so special about you?”
    My veins pulse in the side of my head as my emotions threaten to spill over at any moment, but I suck it up, and I stare back at him, trying to figure him out – what is his problem? I thought we were beginning to get along – why is he being like this when I’ve done nothing but be nice to him?
    Then finally, I swallow the lump in my throat and I shake my head. “There’s nothing,” I say in a small voice. “There’s nothing special about me at all.”

Chapter 7
     
     
     

Dylan
    “So, how’s life with the new roommates?” Roxy asks, when I walk into work early that morning. My first client isn’t until nine, but I have a crap ton of paperwork to go over. I hand her the take away coffee I picked up for her on my way here, and she accepts it with a thanks.
    “I’ve barely been home to see them. But it’s OK, came home to breakfast this morning so that’s a bonus.” I smile and wink as I take a sip of my coffee. I need at least two cups before I can focus for the day. I run on caffeine.
    “Little miss a bit of a homely one, is she?”
    “Yeah, she’s like a little wifey. They’re playing house, it’s sickeningly cute. I felt like I was watching some awful ABC family show when Josh left for work this morning. They’re like, picture perfect together.”
    “Must be confronting for the commitment-phobe inside you.”
    I roll my shoulders and reach a hand up to scratch my back. “Yeah, I think they gave me hives.”
    She laughs and gets back to the lightbox where she was working on a design.
    “I may have been a bit of a jerk to her though,” I admit after a moment of reflection.
    “Why were you a jerk, did she do something?”
    Running over the events of this morning in my mind, I think about how much I want to tell her. The truth is, I don’t know why I did it. I just got really uncomfortable watching them together. They’re so obscenely happy together that it made me…jealous? No. How could I be jealous of them? I’ve never been jealous of anything in all my life. It can’t be that. Then why did I do it? Was it just to get a rise out of her? Did I want to piss her off? I keep asking myself questions as I open the drawers at reception and pull out the receipt folder. But I don’t have an answer, so I settle for a generic response instead.
    “No. She didn’t do anything. I guess I just snapped for no reason. Maybe I’m just tired or something, and I’m reacting to having new people in my house.”
    “Could just be teething problems – you have been living on your own for