Best Dating Rules, Tamie Dearen [literature books to read txt] 📗

So he decided to wait for her. He’d wait as long as it took—all night if he needed to. And so, he paced.

He heard her voice before he saw her face. Her laughter rolled through the lobby. His heart lifted at the sound.

“Emily!” He turned toward the door with a longing smile. But the smile melted from his face when he saw whom she was with. “Josh.”

“I can explain,” she cried, rushing to him. “Josh was teaching me to play racquetball.”

“It’s okay. You’re free to date him if that’s what you want.” He didn’t mean those words, but he was so angry he could barely control himself.

“This wasn’t a date.” Tears spilled from her eyes.

“Look Spencer. I promise I wasn’t trying to make a move on Emily.” Josh reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

“You know what? It’s been a long night, and I’m going home. We can talk tomorrow.” To his intense embarrassment, he felt tears building in his eyes. He wanted to say something more. To clear the air. To hold her and kiss her and somehow make up. To begin again. But instead, struggling to hide his wet face, he hurried to the lobby exit and slipped into the warm night air.*****

“Emily, I’m so sorry. I should’ve known. I would’ve been just as jealous. I was so bent on hearing about Charlie I didn’t think about what might happen.”

“It’s not your fault. I knew he was upset the last time we were together. I should have asked Steven to teach me, instead.”

“He’ll be okay tomorrow. We didn’t do anything wrong. Deep down, he knows that. He’s only being a guy, you know.”

“I know. It’s just so stupid—and all for nothing. I was terrible at racquetball.”

“Uhmm, yes. You were pretty bad.” He bit his lips trying not to laugh. “I’m sorry, I really am. Look, I’m going to text him and explain the whole thing.”

“That’s not your responsibility.”

“Of course it is. What if he says something to Charlie? I can’t afford a single black mark in her book, even a false accusation could mean the difference between a slim chance and none at all.”

“Okay. I’m going to try to call him. But Josh, thanks for trying, anyway.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Eventually. After we talk.”

Josh departed while Emily rode the elevator up to her apartment. Before she’d managed to fumble her way into the apartment with her gym bag, her phone beeped with a message. She ripped her phone from her purse, anxious for a word from Spencer. But the message was from an unknown caller. Curious at who might be texting her, she opened the message and was immediately confronted with a picture.

The image made her stomach contract, and she felt bile rising in her throat. Spencer, with his eyes closed, embracing a girl in a sexy black dress. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and they were kissing. Unable to tear her eyes away, she enlarged the photograph. It was unmistakable. The girl was Becca. And the picture was taken tonight. Spencer had been wearing the same clothes in the lobby.

Her heart broke cleanly into a million tiny pieces.

Chapter Eighteen

Spencer didn’t get far. He walked for about twenty minutes, trying to clear his head. Why was it always Josh? Maybe it really was an innocent thing—she’d said something crazy about learning to play racquetball. But he really didn’t trust Josh. He seemed to be really in love with Charlie, but what if he gave up and decided to go after Emily again? How could he ever compete with Josh, the handsome, athletic doctor?

Then he got a text. He pulled out his phone, hoping it was from Emily. But the text was from Josh.

Spencer, Emily wanted to learn a sport so she could play with you. She said you play basketball every night. She thought if she could play racquetball, you would spend more time with her. She said it was Charlie’s idea. I was only trying to teach her. That’s all. Josh P.S. If you stay mad at her over this, you deserve to lose her.

What was he doing? He loved Emily. He didn’t want to lose her. He had to swallow his pride and go back to her apartment to talk to her. He had to tell her he loved her. Clearly. In no uncertain terms. He could tell her he was giving up basketball. He’d saved enough money he didn’t need to park cars any more, and he wasn’t going back to dance lessons after tonight. He could make do with the lessons he’d already taken.

It was only nine o’clock. They had plenty of time to talk it out. They might even have a nice kissing make-up session. He allowed himself a little smile at this thought. Why did love have to be so hard? A few minutes earlier, he’d felt like his life was over. He couldn’t think rationally where Emily was concerned. She made him happier than he’d ever been. But she also made him crazier than he’d ever been.

Once he made the decision, he couldn’t get there fast enough. He found himself jogging down the street toward her complex. He rushed into the lobby and onto the elevator, pushing the button multiple times in an effort to hurry it along. He exited on her floor and almost knocked someone down in his hurry to reach her apartment. Then, with his heart still racing, he knocked on the door.*****

Emily stared in shock at the picture as a sob escaped her throat. She felt a blackness closing in on her. The image swam before her eyes as her tears shimmered and fell onto her shirt. She had to go. She couldn’t stay here, but she had nowhere to go. If she were home in Texas, she would get in her car and drive until her head cleared. But she wasn’t home. She was in New York