Chronicles of a Serial Dater - Book 4: A New Adult Romantic Comedy Read Online Free Page B

to the rest of us? Did it ever once occur to you this might not end well?” Anette snapped.
    “Of course it did,” I half-lied. To be honest, my need for male companionship had clouded my judgment to the point I’m not sure if I’d even considered the downsides. But I wasn’t about to admit that to her right now.
    She slammed her hands on her hips and turned away, looking more like a disappointed mother than my friend. “I can’t believe Zach would be stupid enough to do this.”
    “Oh, but you can believe I would be? What the hell? I can’t do anything right, can I?” I snapped.
    “It’s not that,” she said. She rubbed her temples and sighed.  “It’s that he… nevermind. This whole conversation is a waste of time.”
    I was completely fired up again. “And for once you’re right.”
    Anette rounded on me and I instantly regretted not dropping the fight when I had the chance. “This is how things will play out, just so you know. One of you is going to get too attached. Feelings are gonna get hurt. You might think you have it all figured out, but you’re playing with fire here.”
    “We have rules.” It was supposed to sound reassuring but came out petulant.
    “Uh-huh. So did the millions of other friends who thought they could have it all. But sooner or later those rules won’t mean shit and you know who’s gonna be caught in the middle? Moi.”
    “We’re both seeing other people,” I scoffed. “It’s not like we’re mutually exclusive or something. I’m still on Tinder, he’s still doing… whatever Zach does.”
    “Oh yeah, Mr. Magic Tongue working his charms all over town,” she sneered.
    I blushed at the nickname but pressed on. “I find it very hard to believe that’s the reason you’re upset.”
    “You’re right. That isn’t the only reason I’m pissed off. I’m upset because you kept things from me, you didn’t trust me, you did things behind my back and lied by omission.”
    “Then maybe it’s a good idea if we just don’t talk for a while.”
    “Great idea.”
    “Great.”
    “Works for me!”
    “Perfect.”

I’m gonna say up front that this date shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Anette pissed me off. I only agreed to meet up with him because I felt like I had something to prove, both to her and to myself. Messing around with Zach wasn’t a mistake, our feelings weren’t going to get involved, and I could date other people at the same time. Screw her and whatever the hell she thought of me.
    Like most guys online, Jay seemed like a normal, funny guy. I could tell from the way our conversations leaned he was mostly playing polite to get into my pants. After a few weeks of dealing with the seedy underbelly of dating, it’s amazing how far that amount of effort went with me. That’s fine. I wasn’t getting a real relationship vibe from him anyway. Plus, he was pretty cute.
    After furiously texting him in the privacy of my room, I threw on a fresh outfit and stormed into the living room. I made a point of walking in front of the TV, making sure Anette knew I was going out on a date without telling her. As I knelt to put on my shoes, Pluto trotted over and stuck his cold nose in my face.
    “Hey little guy. Don’t wait up for me,” I said loud enough for Anette to hear.
    I rage-walked the ten blocks to a bar near his apartment. No nerves, no trepidation at meeting a guy for the first time, nothing but a rolling, seething anger in my gut.
    I spotted him in the bar, ordered a drink, and started with the small talk. He looked like I’d pulled him out of bed, which might’ve been the case this time of night. But he continued the polite charade if only because he thought it might get him something. His blondish hair was closely cropped and though his photos had hidden it, he had a crooked nose that made me think he might be into boxing.
    Consciously or not, I’d already decided if he seemed like a half-way decent human being, I was gonna have my first