Chronicles of a Serial Dater - Book 3: A New Adult Romantic Comedy (7 page)

He screwed up his face and stood, hunting for a clean-ish shirt using the sniff test. “Yeah, totally. I’m going on lots of dates, actually. Not a big deal at all.”

I just couldn’t let it go. I felt guilty for some reason and wanted to fix it. “Is it like me talking about Kevin? You don’t want to hear about when I’m going on dates and stuff?”

“No, it’s… I don’t know.” His laugh was more of an exhale. When he finally met my eye, I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this conversation. Friend Zach was firmly back in place. “It’s nothing. I hope you have a good time.”

I rolled my eyes and stood, smoothing my clothes. “He’ll probably turn out to be a freak like all the others.”

“You definitely deserve better than those creeps,” he breathed.

“You’re sweet,” I replied, standing on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve gotta get back and shower or Anette’s going to smell you on me.”

It was the calm before the storm. I’d finally made peace with the heat in the apartment by moving as little as possible. Positioned in front of the fan with the TV on, I’d sunk so far into the sofa I was afraid a rescue team might have to be dispatched to pry me out. It was late and I was feeling so lazy I started an internal debate about whether I should even bother going to my room to go to bed.

I heard muffled voices outside just before a key slipped into the lock. Pluto trotted to the door as Anette came in whispering.

“Hey little guy. This is my dog, Pluto,” she said.

Obviously not alone. Brought another guy home from the bar,
I thought.

“He’s adorable,” a woman cooed.

My drowsiness disappeared as I tried to place the voice. Pretending to just be waking up with a long stretch, I yawned and sat up. “Oh, hey. Thought I heard you come in.”

Anette’s expression sank as she shut the door. She was clearly trying to sneak in. “This is my roommate, Talia. You remember Amie?”

You know, I didn’t share Anette’s preferences, but I totally understood her obsession with this girl. Tall, leggy, almond-shaped eyes. She carried herself with a quiet confidence that could never be mistaken for bitchy or stuck-up. I couldn’t tell if I was attracted to her or just wanted to look like her.

She smiled warmly and stuck out her hand. “I think we met at the bar once or twice before.”

“I think we did,” I replied. To her credit, she wasn’t at all uncomfortable in what would otherwise be an awkward situation. The way Rob had nervously twitched while waiting almost in the same spot couldn’t have been any more different.

Anette shifted forward and put her hand on Amie’s shoulder. “My room is just down there, the one with the door closed. I’ll meet you in a minute, okay?”

I waited until I heard the door open and click shut before gushing. “Look at you!”

“Yup. And look at you.” I couldn’t read her expression, which was odd. Anette is practically incapable of hiding her true emotions, probably part of the reason she’s so blunt.

“Aren’t you excited?”

“You could drown a kitten in my panties right now,” she replied flatly.

“Okay.” I couldn’t figure out what was happening. Shouldn’t she be bouncing off the walls? “You’ve been talking about her for months now. I just thought…”

Every time I spoke, she cut me off, her tone getting more and more clipped. “I’m going to bed.”

Pushing away my irritation, I leaned over the back of the sofa and grabbed her wrist as she turned. “Are you sure this is what you want to do? It might turn into a one-night-stand and your chances of…”

She let out a single bark of laughter as she wrenched her hand away. “Oh, listen to you giving me relationship advice. That’s rich!”

“I know I’m not exactly the poster child of mature relationships, but that doesn’t mean…” I frowned.

Anette held a hand up and shook her head. “You know what? I’m not doing this right now. I have one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever met waiting for me in that room and I’m not standing here wasting any more time with you.”

“What the hell, Anette? Doing what exactly? I’m just talking to you.”

She wheeled on me aggressively enough I flinched. “No. Nuh-uh. You don’t get to act all innocent when you’ve been fucking Zach behind my back.”

I balked but tried to control my reaction. “Zach? What are you talking about?”

Anette rolled her eyes so hard her head moved with them. “Seriously? So we’re gonna stick with the lie? Ok, that’s cool. Maybe I should leave a comment on your
blog
instead. Will I get a reply then?”

I scowled, knowing she’d pinned me to the spot. Even cornered, I didn’t give in, hoping against hope she was bluffing.

“And really, Talia, the name is terribad. Chronicles of a Serial Dater? Are you kidding me? I thought you writer types were supposed to creative. Just garbage.”

Nope. Not a bluff. She knew everything.
Shit.

I hope you enjoyed the third installment of the
Chronicles of a Serial Dater
series! If you have a second, it’d be awesome
if you could leave a review!
And while you’re there, make sure to check out the next installments!

To make sure you don’t miss a thing, sign up to the
Adele Huxley mailing list
and get a steamy short story for free! I give away free books, novellas, send postcards to readers whenever I travel, play pick-the-plot… we have a good time!

As always, I love talking with readers. Feel free to
Facebook message
or
email me
! Seriously, I’ll chat about pretty much anything.

Thank you for reading,

Adele & Savan x

Book 2 - July 27th

Book 3 - August 3rd

Book 4 - August 10th

Book 5 - August 17th

Book 6 - August 24th

Book 7 - August 31st