Read Online A Year Straight by Elena Azzoni - Free Book Online Page A

fed up with the whole scene, when I spotted a fresh face. He stood out from the other guys in the crowd because there was nothing ironic about his outfit. He was wearing boot-legged jeans with none other than ... boots. The rest of his ensemble suggested that he had gotten up that morning, thrown on his plaid button-down shirt, and grabbed his patterned Nordic wool sweater because that’s what happened to be hanging over his chair. It all clashed in just the right way. As I’d discovered, if I wanted to talk to a guy, it was pretty simple. I just had to stand near him. This used to bother me when I went out with my girlfriends. Guys seemed to assume since we were two women together, we were two women alone, and they would often approach one of us to talk. Under the new circumstances, I used this to my advantage.
    My newest target didn’t seem to be meeting any girlfriend at the party, so I made my way over to where he was standing. My friend Ben, the birthday boy, approached him. Bingo. I slithered over to where they were chatting and made
up an excuse to join in. Ben, not privy to my recent antics, would never suspect my motives.
    â€œHey Ben,” I said, smiling at him and making the “I’m sorry to interrupt” expression at his friend. “Do you have any Advil or anything? I have a really bad headache.”
    â€œYeah, I’m sure my roommate has some. Let me go check.” Ben walked off toward the bathroom.
    â€œI’ve got some,” the handsome Nordic sweater man said. “I’m in real estate, and I’ve been preparing for a closing,” he said, sounding important and proud. “I’ve been working late all week, trying to finish up by Friday so I can get out of town. Advil is a night owl’s best friend.”
    â€œWhere are you headed?” I asked, preemptively ordering myself to turn down any offer to join him.
    â€œI have a house in the Hamptons, and I need to complete a project before it gets too cold to work outside,” he boasted. In the past, I would have rolled my eyes at his attempt to impress me, but this time I smiled and nodded. Why was it that rich people always referred to “projects” when they talked about working on their homes? Why can’t they just say, “I have to fix the toilet?”
    Over the course of the night, I learned he owned the house in the Hamptons, three buildings in the city, and not one but two Land Rovers. I was a green girl at heart, but mine couldn’t help but flutter a little. I would have loved a ride to the Hamptons in a big SUV. It would be so Samantha from
Sex and the City. “Elena, no,” I reprimanded myself. I had to stay on task, and the task at hand was a one-night stand.
    â€œHow’s your head?” he asked. I stepped back. Could he see me thinking too hard ? “Your headache ? The Advil worked?”
    â€œOh, yes, magically! Let ’s go up to the roof. I hear the view is amazing,” I said, pumping myself a beer from the tap and then one for my suitor. We climbed the ladder to the roof, handing our beers back and forth to get them up there without spilling. Once on the roof, we interrupted a few other couples with the same idea and then found a corner all to ourselves. The view was indeed amazing. We could even see some stars.
    â€œHow sad it is in the city,” I reflected, “that I’m excited when I can see two stars.” The handsome real estate guy pulled me close to him.
    â€œThat just makes you appreciate them that much more,” he whispered. And then he kissed me. Sheesh, he sure didn’t wait very long. We couldn’t have named a few constellations first ? After a while, we ignored the drinks we had worked so hard to get up there and decided to abandon the party altogether, dashing down the ladder to leave. On the way out we ran into Ben. He looked puzzled to see me leaving with one of his friends.
    â€œHappy