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

“I was at a dance class. Okay? A stupid ballroom dance class, because I wanted to surprise Emily. And I didn’t even know Becca was going to be there.”

“So, let me get this straight. You were trying to learn to dance for Emily while she was trying to learn to play racquetball for you? And you got mad at her and walked out. And then she got mad, and she’ll never forgive you?”

A small voice behind him said, “Okay, let him inside.”

Josh moved out of the way and made a grandiose gesture for him to enter. He walked through the door, frantically searching for the source of the voice. Then his eyes focused on her. She was sitting alone on a stool, clad in oversized scrubs, with her hair splayed around her face in loose flowing curls, emphasizing her huge eyes—her huge angry eyes.

Emily observed from her perch on the barstool as Spencer entered the room, blinking his eyes as they adjusted from the bright sunlight. The moment his eyes met hers, he started her direction.

“No. Don’t come any closer. You can sit over there on the couch.”

His face revealed his hurt, but he obediently moved over to sit on the edge of the couch. From this position, she looked down on him. It felt powerful, and she liked it. She was strong. He’d hurt her, and he’d lied to her. But he’d never do it again.

“Can we talk alone?” he begged her, glancing at Josh.

“No. We can’t.”

Josh grinned and picked up his cereal bowl and spooned a mouthful, munching with noisy abandon.

“Look Emily. I wasn’t with Becca. I didn’t kiss her. I really was taking ballroom dance lessons, so I could dance with you at Sam and Tanner’s wedding.”

Josh laughed out loud, and Spencer shot him a furious look.

“I can prove it. There are pictures of the class on Facebook by now. You can see, it really was a dance class.”

“Spencer,” she said, blinking tears back. “Even if it wasn’t true this time, it’ll be true another time. I’ll always be waiting for it to happen. I thought I could settle for a year or however long you’d give me, but it just hurts too badly. I can’t go through that again.”

He blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I mean, when we talked about getting married, didn’t you know I meant—”

“Getting married? We never talked about getting married.”

“Of course we did. How could you forget? We were sitting on the glider on the porch—”

“We didn’t talk about getting married—we talked about breaking up. You said you only wanted to date for a year.”

“Yes, because I wanted to get married as soon as possible.”

“You didn’t say that!”

“Yes, I did!”

“Spencer,” Josh interrupted with obvious amusement. “When you’re arguing with a woman about what was said, she will always be correct. Women have little digital recorders in their minds. They remember every minute detail. She will remember the exact words, the inflection of your voice, and what you were wearing at the time.”

“Can he leave us alone now?” asked Spencer, clenching his teeth.

“No.”

Josh’s mouth stretched in a broad smile as he poured another bowl of cereal.

“The point is,” Spencer squeezed out the words, “I do want to marry you. I love you and I think I told you that.”

Emily frowned and shook her head.

He sighed. “Okay, well I meant to tell you. But I thought I was showing you. That’s why I was taking dance lessons.”

“Even if you think you love me, Spencer, I think you might be fooling yourself. You could get tired of me at any time. You’re used to excitement and variety.”

He groaned. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Just then, Brad came out of the shower and proceeded to pour a bowl of cereal and sit down to observe.

“Please, Emily. Can’t we talk alone for just a minute?”

“She doesn’t want to be manipulated by her emotions,” explained Josh with a grin. “So you’ll just have to talk with an audience.”

“This is great,” said Brad between mouthfuls. “What did I miss?”

“Let’s see,” said Josh. “He was taking ballroom dance lessons when someone snapped the picture with Becca. And he thought he’d asked her to marry him, but he’d really asked her to break up in a year. And he didn’t tell her he loved her when he thought he did. But he took dance lessons instead.”

Brad laughed so hard he almost spit out his cereal, and Emily struggled to suppress a grin. Now was not the time to forget her anger. She had to be firm and make a clean break.

She added, “And I’ve just explained it’s not just about the picture. Even if it turns out to be faked, it only shows how vulnerable I am. I don’t want to be in a relationship with someone where I’m constantly waiting for him to move on to the next girl. Or go back to the last one.”

Spencer covered his eyes and muttered crossly. “There is no other girl. There never will be another girl. There never was another girl.”

“Of course there were others,” said Emily. “I’m not that naïve, you know. I know what you were like before we started dating.”

“There were no others.” His voice was flat, like a computer was talking.

“What are you saying?” she asked.

Brad chuckled. “You were the first, Emily. He’s saying you were the first one.”

She blushed painfully to her roots. “We didn’t ever... I mean... We haven’t ever done that.”

Josh grinned. “Then neither has he.”

Spencer moaned and buried his face in his hands.

Emily was flabbergasted. “I don’t believe it. You’re lying. You’re just saying that to make me believe—”

Brad’s laughter cut her off. “Oh no, Emily. There’s no way he’s saying that in front of us unless it’s the truth. He’s really and truly a virgin. Pretty remarkable these days.”

Josh bit back his smile. “Seriously, Spencer. I know you may not believe this, but I’d give anything