“Crocodile Dundee.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. “I love this movie! Is it the first one?”
I paused for a moment, waiting until she looked my way before responding. “Yeah, would you like to stay and finish watching it with me?”
Her smile slowly took over her face, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “I’d love to.”
I pressed the play button on the remote, but I didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the film. I couldn’t concentrate on it, too busy pondering how this woman next to me could’ve gone from such a hateful individual to someone so likable in only one month.
It was apparent that there was more to her than meets the eye.
5
Tasha
It’d felt like a hundred years since I last saw Dave.
It’d only been a week, but that wasn’t the point. The point was, I’d missed him dearly…until he came to stay with me. It took one day for me to remember just how ridiculous he could be.
“I’m not going anywhere, Dave. Give it a rest.”
He stood in front of me with his arms crossed, completely blocking my view of the TV behind him. This was his go-to move when he wanted to get his way. Heaven forbid I ever stood in front of the TV while he was playing a video game. That’d be the end of our friendship.
“Dave! Come on!” I was two seconds away from throwing the remote at him.
“Do you really expect me to hang out in your sister’s house for an entire week?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” I was an idiot if I thought I’d be able to get out of this without an actual conversation. “I’m supposed to be Tiffany. What do you want me to do? Do you honestly think I’ll be able to walk around town with you and not raise any red flags?”
He crossed his arms, proving my point and forcing me to toss the controller to the side. “Then at least introduce me to Mr. Hot Bod from next door. Anything to get me out of this hellhole. Every time I turn around, I’m reminded of your evil sister. I’m having serious flashbacks from The Shining.”
“You’re here for a week…I have to spend at least two months in this ‘hellhole.’ So I don’t want to hear you complain. And no, I’m not introducing you to Jacoby. The last thing I want to do is scare off the only good thing about being here.” I shooed him out of the way and reclaimed the controller.
“Whatever, Tosh,” he mumbled as he exited the room. Where he was off to, I had no clue. All I cared about was that he was no longer blocking the screen, which meant I could continue to play in peace.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.
Ten or so minutes later, Dave came strolling in through the French doors that led out to the patio. Which was odd, considering he hadn’t left that way. In fact, he hadn’t even gone outside as far as I was aware. So basically, he’d snuck out the front.
“Hey, Tiff…” His voice was much too high; something was up. “You’ll never guess who I ran into while I was outside.”
Just then, Jacoby strolled in behind my soon-to-be ex-best friend.
“How crazy is that? Say, Dave…what were ya doin’ outside?” If he could speak in a highly suspicious tone, then so could I.
We both blinked at each other for a moment before he said, “Oh, you know, doing outdoorsy things.”
I pushed my glasses higher on my nose. “Like what?” We both knew he’d never done anything outdoorsy in his entire life.
His blinking slowed and became more dramatic, as if trying to warn me without anyone else knowing. “Stuff,” he muttered and then quickly mouthed, “Stop it.” Dave turned to the side and sweetly smiled at my neighbor.
I could tell that Jacoby wasn’t fooled, not for a second. He seemed to be on the verge of losing his grip, milliseconds away from hysterical laughter. I, on the other hand, didn’t find the same humor he did. “Hey, Dave…mind if I have a word with you in the kitchen?”
“It’s okay, Tiffany,” Jacoby said with humor flooding his tone. “I can go.”
“That’s not necessary.” I stood and held out my hand toward the couch to gesture for Jacoby to take a seat. “It’ll only be a second, I promise. While I’m there, though, would you like something to drink?”
“Uh, sure. Surprise me.”
I shoved Dave toward the kitchen. If he thought he’d get away with this unscathed, he was a moron. “What in the crap is wrong with you?” I whisper-shouted once we were out of earshot.
“If you don’t want him, then the least you could do is let me have a chance.”
“You think you’re his type?”
“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?”
I found myself questioning my own sanity for being friends with him in the first place. “You know as well as I do that he’s not interested in you. And you’re not interested in him. So what gives, Dave? Why did you drag him over here?”
He dropped his head back and huffed. “Fine…I saw him outside and thought that maybe he’d want to go grab a drink or something in town. I’ve never been here, so I just wanted to be a tourist for a day. And since you can’t leave the house, I thought I’d take my chances with the swoon-worthy Brad Pitt in there.”
I couldn’t do anything other than roll my eyes and shake my head while my best friend grabbed three cold cans of beer from the fridge. I didn’t even have the wherewithal to protest his choice of beverage. “That doesn’t explain why he’s here.”
“Oh, yeah…I guess he assumed I was inviting him over for a drink, and I was too much of a coward to correct him. Have you seen his eyes? If not, I suggest you avoid making eye contact when speaking to him. They’ll
