Read Online Here and Now by E. L. Todd - Free Book Online Page B

would have known how much it was if he paid attention,” Monnique jabbed.
    “Oh no,” Mike said. “Now the last couple is about to fight.” He turned to Laura. “We should get the hell out while we can.”
    She downed her whiskey then grabbed her purse. “Let’s bounce.”
    They left the booth, Monnique glaring at Cortland, and Sean glaring at me.
    This was going to be a long night…

6
    Mike
    In a really weird way, seeing all the couples fight made me miss Cassandra. Our relationship was so perfect that we hardly ever argued. The bad times in our relationship weren’t even that bad. We didn’t argue and scream at each other. We talked like mature adults. Our relationship was so stable and perfect. Honestly, we were a better fit than any other couple I knew. If anyone was meant to be together, it was she and I.
    But that didn’t matter. It’d been six weeks and I hadn’t heard from her. She didn’t love me. She didn’t want me.
    “Crisis averted,” Laura said as we walked down the sidewalk.
    I was snapped back to reality. “It’ll be World War III very soon.”
    “I just hope my sister still gets married. That tattoo on her finger would look really ridiculous if she didn’t.”
    “It still looks ridiculous,” I teased.
    She smiled at me. “You want to get a drink?”
    Uh… She and I hadn’t really talked since we hooked up, like, a year ago, but I didn’t have a problem with her. I didn’t particularly want to spend time with her, but since we’d be seeing a lot of each other during the wedding, if there was still going to be one, I may as well make an effort to be her friend. “Sure.”
    “Cool.”
    We walked into a crowded bar then grabbed our drinks. I paid for them because I was used to being a gentleman. Some things never change.
    Laura tapped her glass against mine then took a drink. “Cheers.”
    “Cheers.” I switched to beer because I didn’t want to be drunk off my ass. I had a feeling Sean would call me later to bitch about his wife. Then Scarlet would call me later to bitch about my brother. Seriously, nothing was a secret among us.
    “You looking forward to this wedding?” she asked.
    I looked at her like she was crazy.
    She laughed. “Me neither.”
    “I thought girls were supposed to be into that shit.”
    “I’d like to get married, but planning a wedding doesn’t sound like fun at all.”
    “Definitely not.”
    She felt the rim of her glass with her finger. “How’s your life been?”
    I shrugged. “Whatever.”
    “It’s whatever?” she asked with a smile.
    “I’ve taken over my dad’s company. That’s alright.”
    “Alright?” she asked incredulously. “It sounds like a good gig.”
    “I can’t complain. What are you doing? Weren’t you going to school or something?” It was pretty sad how little I knew about her. I just knew her measurements and how her pussy felt through a latex condom.
    “I was but I dropped out.”
    “What do you do now?”
    “I’m a stripper.” She said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
    I almost spit out my beer. “A stripper? Since when?”
    “A few months ago. I really needed the money after I got into a car accident. I couldn’t pay off my medical bills. Then I kept doing it because t he money was so good.”
    “Does your sister know about this?” I think I already knew the answer.
    “No. And you won’t tell her.”
    “What makes you think that?”
    “Because I just asked you not to.”
    I didn’t like sticking my nose in other people’s business. “Okay.”
    “Good. Because she’d tell my parents and they would disown me.”
    I didn’t particular ly give a shit about Laura, but she was Janice’s sister and I really liked both Janice and Ryan. Actually, I loved both of them. So that did make me give a shit. “It’s not forever, right?”
    “No,” she said immediately. “I just need to find a better job.”
    “I can give you one.” I blurted that out so quickly, I didn’t even