Gazing up at her friends, who were looking at her with sympathy, she blurted a little too loudly, “I mean, my boobs are on point tonight. My hair actually did what I wanted for once and I squeezed my ass into these jeans. And he didn’t even blink.”
“You said he was eyeballing your boobs,” Ann said sympathetically.
“He was!” Gillian exclaimed. “But obviously he wasn’t fazed.” Her emotions had been swinging from indignation to sorrow all night, and suddenly she was exhausted. Putting her head on her forearm on the table, she said softly, “I thought he was the one.”
“Oh, Gilly,” Clarissa said sympathetically.
That was all it took for the tears Gillian had held at bay all night to spill over. She lifted her head and impatiently wiped them away. She looked at her best friends. “I love you guys. Clarissa, your husband is amazing. I remember that time you were sick when you were dating, and he took two days off work to be with you. When you didn’t make it to the bathroom and puked everywhere, he cleaned it up without even making any kind of gagging sounds.”
Clarissa chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s the best example of how great Johnathan is.”
“It is,” Gillian insisted. “And you, Ann. You’re my age and you already have two kids! The two most beautifulist and smart kids on the planet. They’re polite and kind and that’s because of you and Tom, and how you’ve raised them.”
“They’re pains in the asses sometimes, Gillian. They’re not always polite and kind.”
Gillian ignored her. “And Wendy…” Her eyes filled with tears again, and she closed them to try to control herself. “You and Wyatt are perfect together. Every time he looks at you it’s obvious you mean the world to him. Remember that time we were all at that festival in downtown Austin, and that guy started heckling us? We were ignoring him but he wouldn’t shut up. Wyatt went right over and told him if he didn’t shut the hell up, he was going to find his nuts shoved so far up inside his abdomen it would take a crowbar to find them again. That was so romantic!” The last word came out as a wail, but Gillian couldn’t help it.
“Gilly, that guy would’ve pounded Wyatt. He was half a foot taller and way stronger. Wyatt was being an idiot; it wasn’t romantic. We’re lucky the other guy thought it was funny and wasn’t offended,” Wendy reminded her.
Gillian shook her head. “But he did it anyway. Because he loves you,” she said softly. “You don’t get it. He’d do anything for you. Anything.”
“I think she’s had enough margaritas,” Clarissa said dryly, trying to pry the glass out of Gillian’s hand.
“No! I know exactly what I’m saying,” Gillian protested, keeping hold of her glass. “I’m not you, so I don’t know what you felt when you saw your men for the first time, but you’ve all told me something deep inside felt…right. The first time I heard Walker’s voice, I knew.”
“Knew what, Gilly?” Ann asked.
“That he was mine,” she said simply.
Shaking her head at the skepticism she saw on her friends’ faces, Gillian tried to explain. “I know it sounds insane. Crazy. Stupid. But I can’t deny it. I thought we clicked,” she said sadly. “I thought he felt it too. He gave me a nickname. He even told me he would show up on my doorstep.”
“He didn’t say that exactly, though,” Wendy said.
Gillian waved her hand in the air. “Just about. It was more about the underlying meaning of his words. Every day since then, I hoped today would be the day. I hoped he’d show up and tell me that he missed me so much and couldn’t stay away anymore. And then there he was! Beautiful. And he smelled sooooo good. But he wasn’t there for me. Wasn’t there to tell me he couldn’t live without me. He only came by because he felt obligated.”
“You deserve the world,” Clarissa said softly. “You deserve a man who will move mountains to be by your side. You’re successful, and pretty, and so damn smart.”
“If I’m that pretty, smart, and irresistible, then why am I sitting here alone and lonely?” Gillian said sadly.
She hated bringing the group down. Hated that her bad mood had ruined the night for everyone. Taking a deep breath, she took a long swallow of her drink before wiping the last of the tears from her cheeks. “You know what? Fuck him. It doesn’t matter. He’s probably an asshole anyway. Sure, he’s probably really good in bed and we might’ve had amazing chemistry between the sheets, but he probably has no idea how to be a good boyfriend.”
“Gillian—” Ann said, but Gillian spoke over her.
“Like, he’d probably insist we split the bill when we went out to eat, and would make me walk on the outside of the sidewalk so I’d get run over by a car first.”
“Gillian, you should—”
It was Wendy who tried to interrupt that time, but Gillian was on a roll. “And he probably has a small dick anyway. That bulge I saw in his pants was probably a sock or something. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he wanted blowjobs but refused to recip…resurp…suck on me in return.”
“Gillian!” Clarissa hissed sharply.
“What?” Gillian asked.
“Was your Walker wearing a blue shirt, jeans, and combat boots when you saw him earlier tonight?”
Gillian’s eyes widened. “How did you know? Except his shirt wasn’t blue exactly. It was dark blue, kind of a royal blue, and it kinda shone in the light. I don’t know what kind of material it was made out of, but it looked silky. I wish I could’ve touched him…”
“He’s standing behind you,” Clarissa said with a small grin.
Gillian rolled her eyes. “No, he’s not. He’s on his way back to his Army fort. He fulfilled his duty by telling me about the hijacker and now he’s gone.”
Clarissa and Ann both sat back on their side of the booth and smiled. Wendy turned at the waist and looked behind her. “Holy shit,” she said softly. “If I wasn’t dating Wyatt, you might have a fight on your hands, Gilly.”
Gillian froze. She glanced over at Wendy on her left, who was still staring behind them. “Tell me you’re kidding,” she stage whispered.
“Nope,” Wendy said with a grin.
“How long has he been standing there?” she asked Clarissa, thinking she was being quiet during her rant, when in fact, the tables closest to them could probably easily hear her thoughts.
“You’re sitting there single and beautiful because you hadn’t met me yet,” a voice Gillian had dreamed about for weeks said from behind her. “When we go out, you’ll never pay, and no way in hell will you walk next to the street—or sleep on the side of the bed by the door, for that matter. And just for the record, I don’t have a sock in my pants, and I can pretty much guarantee that after I get a taste, one of my favorite things will be going down on you as often as you’ll let me.”
“Holy shit,” Ann said, fanning herself with her hand.
Clarissa merely blushed, but her huge smile said she approved.
And Wendy could only stare with her mouth open.
If she hadn’t been drunk, Gillian probably wouldn’t have done what she did, but because she was feeling no pain and her inhibitions were down, she turned around and glared at Walker. “What are you doing here?” she blurted defensively. “Are you stalking me?”