by J. S. Cooper
Gayle had me going to the gym every day again. It was sort of nice to get back into the routine, and it was especially nice when Perky Tina came up to me and asked me if I wanted to be included in the makeover stories section on the gym’s website. I turned them down of course (who wants to be immortalized as a fat-ass?) but it was nice to have been asked.
The marathon was coming up in a month, and I was nowhere close to being able to run 26 miles. But I was able to do a solid 5K and possibly even a 10K.
“I think I’m going to switch my race to a 5K,” I told Gayle as we walked to our cars the day I was going to have lunch with Bridget. “I just think it’s more feasible.” I glanced over at Gayle’s face, surprised to see that she was smiling and not frowning.
“I hope you aren’t disappointed with me.”
“Of course not, Mags!” Gayle laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I have been waiting for this day for ages, Mags. I signed us up for a 5K, not a marathon. I can’t even run a marathon.”
“What? What? Of course you can run a marathon. You are in great shape,” I said while pointedly staring at her taut body.
“I may be in shape, Mags, but I certainly can’t run a marathon.”
“But, but you always go on about running.”
“Mags, I don’t know if you ever really listened to me properly. You were always so defensive, but when I was telling you about running, I was talking about running a mile.”
“A mile?”
“Yeah, Mags, a mile. I can barely run 4 miles without stopping now.”
“What?” I burst out laughing. What a fool I had been. “Oh, Gayle, I’m sorry. I’ve been a right idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot, Maggie.”
“Maybe not an idiot, but I’ve been so self-absorbed.” I thought about everything I had missed that was going on with Gayle. “I’m really sorry, Gayle. Really.” I grabbed her hands. “I’ve been a bad friend, so caught up in my own life, my own daydreams.”
“It’s okay, Mags. We’ve all been there. And you’ve really changed in the last few months. Ever since Blake came back into your life, you’ve seemed to grow up a lot.”
“Yeah, he’s been a good influence in my life. I forgot how important he was to me. When he moved, I missed him so much. You know, Chad never really had much time for me and, well, Blake really made me feel special when I was a child. And he pushed me. You know. I’ve thought about him a lot recently.”
“He really cares about you, Mags.”
“Yeah, as a sister.”
“That’s not such a bad thing.” Gayle’s voice was gentle.
“Yeah. Oh, Gayle. I’m crazy. I’m horrible. I want Blake for myself, but here I am going to lunch with his girlfriend, or should I say ‘partner.’ And I’ve got a boyfriend who’s as dumb as rocks, as pretentious as a reality star, and annoys the bejesus out of me. What am I doing?”
“It’ll work out, Maggie. I promise.”
“I hope so.”
“It will.”
“Let’s hope it works out before I find myself married to Stephen, doing exposés on McDonald’s versus Burger King’s fries.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t ask.” I laughed. “I’d better get going. I’m sure Bridget is waiting on me.”
“Tell her I said hi.”
“Will do.”
And with that, I drove off to meet Bridget at Just Salads. No wonder she was in perfect shape. I might have lost weight and started exercising more, but I still enjoyed eating as many French fries as I could with as many meals as I could.
“Maggie, so good to see you. It’s been too long.” Bridget beamed at me. A twinge of guilt ran through me. I truly was a bad person.
“Bridget, good to see you too. You look wonderful.” And it was true. She looked great. How could Blake not love her? She was perfect, it seemed.
“As do you.”
We grabbed our salads and sat near the window. I was impressed by the wide array of vegetables that were available to me and tried to get excited by the broccoli and beets that were sitting alongside my spinach.
“So, Blake tells me you are seeing Stephen Evan, the producer?”
“Yes, yes. Kinda.” Blake was worse than a girl!
“I have to say I was surprised to hear that.”
“Really? Why?”
Did Bridget also not think I was good enough for a Hollywood big-wig like Stephen? Okay, who was I kidding? He was a Hollywood big-wig as much as I was a big TV star.
“Oh, I just didn’t think you would be interested in Stephen, and well, you know.”
“No, what?” I said irritated.
“I thought that you and Blake had a thing.”
“What?!”
Omg, did she know I had a thing for her boyfriend?
“I thought you and Blake had a thing for each other. And well he is a much better guy than Stephen, no offense,” she rushed the last bit out.
My head was spinning. Why would she think Blake and I had a thing for each other? Was this some sort of test?
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Bridget.”
“Oh, sorry. I just thought you had Blake had some sparks,” she said calmly, while eating her salad.
“Huh? Aren’t you dating Blake? I’m a bit confused.”
“Me dating Blake?” Bridget started laughing. “Where did you get that from?”
“He said you were partners. I mean, you guys meet up for breakfast and dinner, and...”
“We are partners, Maggie. In the firm. And we have breakfast and dinner meetings when we need to discuss cases.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not dating Blake, Maggie.”
“Oh.”
Was this still part of her test? Was she trying to check my reaction? I guess my confusion must have shown in my face.
“I’m gay, Maggie.”
“Oh.”
I looked up at Bridget, and she looked like she was telling the truth.
“So, let me get this straight. You aren’t dating Blake?”
“Nope.”
“So, he is single?”
“Yup”
“And you thought we had a spark?”
“Definitely. He talks about you all the time, Maggie.”
“He does?”
“Yup.”
“Oh.”
Was there a possibility that Blake liked me?
“So what’s going on with you and Stephen, Maggie?”
“I don’t like him at all. He’s awful, Bridget, but I kinda fell into dating him and decided to just see where it would go, because I didn’t want Blake to think he could boss me around, and because I was jealous that you guys were together. Or at least I thought you guys were together. Oh man, I’ve made such a mess of things.”
“Oh, Maggie.”
‘Oh, Maggie’ was right. What a mess I had made of things. What must Blake think of me? No wonder he thought I was a mess. He must think I just went from guy to guy to guy, that I was so desperate for a man that I would do anything with anyone. And really, did I even have a chance with him? If anything, I had made him think of me as the incorrigible little sister more than ever in the last few weeks. But then why had he kissed me so passionately?
22
Dear Diary,
I think I’m going to stop writing in you for a while. I need time to regroup. And I’m going to France. I know, I know. Shocker, right? Well, I may be going to France. A lot has happened in the last few weeks, and I feel like I am finally growing up and becoming an adult. Life’s not like the movies, and love isn’t a romance novel. At least not for most people. I think I may be one of the lucky ones. At least that is what I hope. We’ll see. I may finally get my French kiss. That is if I don’t become a household name first.
Blake was waiting at my doorstep when I got home that evening. I was worried that Bridget had told him about our conversation and he had come to let me down gently.
; “Hey, Maggie.” He smiled at me. “Sorry to show up unannounced.”
“That’s okay, what’s up?” I spoke politely, dreading hearing the words ‘sister’ and ‘I just don’t feel that way.’
“I wanted to apologize for what I said to you about Stephen.”
“You could have done that over the phone.”
“I had something I needed to tell you.”
I looked up at him then. He was staring down at me, and my heart started beating very quickly. “Did you speak to Bridget today?”
“What? No. Why do you always ask me about Bridget?” Blake looked confused.
“No reason, no reason.” I laughed. I wasn’t about to tell him what I had thought.
We walked into my apartment, and I was happy to see that it didn’t look as messy as it usually did. Lucy was gnawing on her Kong and seemed intent on trying to dig out the peanut butter that I had stuffed it with earlier that morning.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked hesitantly.
“I needed to tell you something. It wasn’t just chance that I bumped into you that day at the gym.”
“What? You were stalking me?”
“No. No. I mean, it was chance that I saw you at the gym, but it wasn’t chance that we just found each other again. I’ve been looking for you for a while. I was going to contact you that week anyway. I just happened to bump into you at the gym first.”
“Oh.” Oh!
“So, at the restaurant when you asked me how I knew you were going to call me, I lied. I didn’t know if you would call, but it didn’t matter. I had your phone number and was going to call you anyways.”
“Why did you want to contact me?”
“I’ve been thinking about you and Chad a lot lately. You guys were the best part of my childhood and there was also something about you, so precocious, so funny...”
“You didn’t have a crush on me as a kid, did you?”
“Don’t be silly, Maggie. I’m not a creep. But you have always been a really important part of my life. I wanted to reconnect with you. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, yes, it does.” I could feel my hope fading. He didn’t love me. He just wanted to reconnect with his old childhood friends. He did see me as a sister.
“I’ve been so happy with you back in my life, and I realized today that I’ve been overbearing. If you really like Stephen and want to date him, that’s your business. I’ll support you no matter what happens.”
“Thanks.” I wanted to tell Blake that I didn’t want to be with Stephen, that I loved him, that I was so happy that he was back in my life. That I never wanted to lose him ever again. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Blake pulled me towards him then, and we hugged. I breathed in his scent, and he rested his head on top of mine. Time seemed to stand still.
“So, do you want to go out to dinner tonight?” Blake asked me as he pulled away from me.
“Your treat?”
“My treat. I had an idea I was going to put past you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m going to France to work on a case next month for 2 weeks. I was wondering if you wanted to come along. I thought it might be a good way for you to get some inspiration for your book.”
“Oh, Blake, that sounds amazing, but I don’t know if I can afford that.”
“I have millions of frequent flier miles. Don’t worry about the ticket. Plus, obviously you can stay in my chateau with me for free.”
“Wow, that would be awesome!” And a perfect way for me to try and get into Blake’s heart. Beep-beep. I looked down to a text from Stephen:
Call me! I just spoke to an NBC producer. He’s interested in running our McDonald’s exposé special on one of the top news shows when it’s done. We’ve hit the big time, baby.
I walked down to Blake’s car very confused and contemplating what I should do. Go to France and see if there was a possibility for Blake and me, or should I stay here and finally put everything into my career? I’d have to think it over very carefully. After a big slice of cheesecake, of course.
Part II
2
Dear Diary,
Blake asked me to go to France with him, and he wants to marry me and love me forever. He wants me to quit my job so I can write all day and look after the kids – with the help of a nanny, of course. We are going to move to a house close to the beach, with a pool, and he is going to buy me a Range Rover: black, leather interior and shiny rims. Okay, okay. That’s not exactly true, unless you count my dreams. It is true in my dreams, well, daydreams, to be exact. That would be the perfect ending to our story, right? I mean, he has asked me to go to Paris with him. Unfortunately, life isn’t as great as my daydreams, and he didn’t ask because he loves me. In fact, I still haven’t decided whether or not I am going to go to Paris or stay here and work with crazy Stephen on his documentary.
“Maggie, why are you even considering working for Stephen? You know he’s a charlatan,” Gayle moaned at me, having had this conversation with me for the last two weeks. She is fed-up with my lack of decision-making.
“This could be my big shot, Gayle. Primetime TV – who knows what could be next? I could be the next Julia Roberts or Angelina Jolie.”
“Or you could be the next Denise Longley.”
“Who?”
“Exactly. You could be the next ‘Who’s that actress?’” Gayle says matter-of-factly.
Frankly, I was annoyed. Shouldn’t she be supportive of me? Especially since she basically stole my boyfriend from me. Well, a guy I had at one time hoped to date. But the wording was just semantics. She owed me.
“I won’t leave you behind, Gayle. Don’t worry.” I tap her on the shoulder. Maybe she is worried I’ll dump her for Charlize Theron or Kristen Stewart once I hit the big time. “You will always be my best friend.”
Gayle burst out laughing and only stopped when she realized I was glaring at her. “Maggie, you are going to be working behind the scenes on a McDonald’s exposé, that may or may not even be real, and you can’t act. I’m not worried.”
I was about to retort back at Gayle about how it wasn’t nice to be a jealous bitch, but was stopped by my vibrating phone. “Speak of the devil. It’s Stephen.” I gave her one last glare and turned around to answer the phone.
“Maggie Lane’s office. How can I help you?” I said in a cheerful manner, putting on a slight English accent.
“Maggie?” Stephen said bewilderingly.
“This is Maggie Lane’s office, ay.” Oops, I forgot that it was the Canadians that always add the “ay” to the end of every sentence and not the English.
“Maggie?” Stephen sounded angry.
“Shall I…”
“Maggie, I do not have time for pranks. I need to talk to you.”
I glared at the phone. “Yes, Stephen. How can I help you?” I pouted into the phone. “Thank you, Eileen, my new English assistant, for handing me the phone,” I said to the air beside me. I saw Gayle laughing at me and rolling her eyes.
“Maggie, we are in trouble.” Stephen seems to be gasping.
“What are you talking about, Stephen?” I swear, he has got to be the most annoying man I have ever met – and one of the dumbest. I had been about to leave his employment when he told me about the opportunity to produce this exposé for NBC.
“We need to talk. In person.” His voice is low. I wonder if he is trying to sound like Voldemort from Harry Potter, because he sounds creepy as hell.
Oh shit. I really hoped this wasn’t his way of trying to get me into his bed. I had, at one time, thought he was attractive and worth dating, but I had absolutely no interest in him now and didn’t want to find myself in any awkward positions with him, especially seeing as I now knew that Blake was very much single and I wanted him very much to be mine.
“I don’t really have time tonight, Stephen. Maybe tomorrow morning? At the local Starbucks?” In your dreams, I thought.
“What about right now? This
can’t wait!” He sounds annoyed.
“I cannot come to your house right now, Stephen…” I knew I was irresistible to men in my dreams, but I didn’t know it had started in real life, as well.
“What are you going on about, Maggie? Meet me at Blake’s office in an hour.” And with that, he slammed the phone down on me.
“What’s going on?” Gayle looked at me in wonder as I felt my heart starting to beat hard.
“I’m not sure, actually.” I only hoped Stephen wasn’t going to go and start a fight with Blake over me. Sure, that sounded romantic in books, but I didn’t think Blake would appreciate Stephen coming to beat him up, seeing as he had never shown any real romantic interest in me.
“Maggie?”
“Sorry, Gayle, I gotta go. I’ll call you when I know more.” I ran out of the Starbucks as fast as I could and jumped into my car. Okay, the running was in my head. I walked out slowly while I looked at the pastries, debating whether I should buy one to eat now or later while in my car.
I tried to think back to everything I had said to Stephen about Blake. I didn’t think I had mumbled about my love for him or even told him about Paris. But whatever the reason, Stephen needed me to meet him at Blake’s office. It had to be serious. I mean, Blake had dropped him as a client a few weeks ago, and Stephen had never really gotten over his bitterness. It made things even more awkward for me, because Blake had introduced us and now he wanted me to have nothing to do with him.
“Shit,” I mumbled to myself as I walked around the corner heading towards Blake’s office. Stephen was already there, and they seemed to be in a very acrimonious argument.
“I’m here, guys, stop fighting.” I twirled in and did a little dance. I had seen a movie where the girl used dancing to stop gang warfare and figured it was worth a shot. I achieved my goal. Both Blake and Stephen stopped arguing and looked at me in shock. Well, Blake had amusement in his eyes, and Stephen looked at me like I was crazy and should be in a mental hospital. I was definitely never going to sleep with him.
