12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Parker
“I thought you were walking Amy here?” Weston asks, tipping back his beer and taking a swig.
“Nope,” I say, taking in the city skyline. We can see the ball from the rooftop and hear the mess of music and chaos from the festivities. “I think she found a date.”
“Oh! Good for her ... but you don’t look too happy about it.” Weston makes a face.
“Oh, I don’t care. I just don’t wanna lose that bet I told you about.”
“The bet over concert tickets, really?”
“Yeah, those Band Allen tickets she wants are freaking expensive. I don’t want to be in the hole for twelve hundred bucks. ”
“You’re the one who came up with the bet, though.” Weston laughs. “And we both know you can easily afford those tickets...”
“Sure, but it’s the principle. I don’t make bets I can’t win.”
“I’m not so sure about this one, man. Amy is very obviously hellbent on finding love.”
“Yeah, I guess... But we both know it’s not going to happen. She’s way too caught up in the finding part. She almost entertained a total creep at Central Park. It’s painful to watch.”
Weston looks past me toward the rooftop entrance. “Speaking of, there she is—and you’re right, she’s not alone.”
I whip my head around, taking in the sight of Amy wearing a stunning long-sleeved fitted black dress, her dark hair in curls. I stare at her for a moment too long, unable to pull my gaze from the material clinging to her hips in a way that probably a lot of men would find very hot...
Not me, though.
I push the attraction away and switch my attention to the man beside her. He’s tall, dark-headed—that seems to be her type—and sporting a nice suit. He’s definitely a jerk. I can tell by the way he’s casting a judgmental gaze across the crowd.
Or maybe he’s just scoping out the place.
I don’t know.
I shouldn’t even care.
“Can you really not stare at her? Like, come on, Parker.”
“I wasn’t staring,” I argue and look at my best friend, who’s got an eyebrow raised at me. “I wasn’t,” I say again .
“Yeah, okay. Well, I’m just saying that you seriously drool over her the moment she walks into a room. It’s so obvious.”
“I told you, it’s not like that. It’s just like watching a car wreck, remember?”
He snorts. “Okay. You just keep telling yourself that, but I know good and well what a man looks like when he’s checking a woman out .”
“I’m not doing that.” Though I catch myself stealing another glance in Amy’s direction, noting how nice she looks in her bootie heels. However, her date’s eyes seem to be everywhere but on Amy. He’s most definitely checking out the other women, and I can’t help but cringe. Horrible manners.
My phone vibrates in my hand and my dad’s face fills the screen. As much as I want to decline his call, I don’t.
It’ll be a decent distraction.
“Hey, Pops,” I say, stepping away from the chattering crowd and booming music.
“Hey, Parker. How’s your New Year’s Eve party?”
“It’s fine,” I mutter. “Are you partying it up at the house this year?”
“No, no. Your sister invited me to come hang out with her and her fiancé. You know she’s getting married, right?”
“Yep.”
“You were invited here too, you know.”
“Yeah, I know, but I had already made plans to be here tonight. ”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s always somethin’ with you, isn’t it?” he mumbles, exasperated. “You never wanna hang out with us anymore. Are we not high society enough for you? Is it because you don’t want your fancy friends to know that you’re just a poor ol’ boy from the Bronx?”
Here we go again...
“Dad, it’s really got nothing to do with that. I don’t care if people know where I grew up.”
“Yeah, well, it sure seems like you’ve been avoiding me lately—and I know you call your mom more than you do me. Probably ’cause she went off with that rich guy from Manhattan—and now they live in the Hamptons.”
“They aren’t even together anymore,” I say flatly. “She lives in Connecticut now. I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I had other plans tonight, and I couldn’t make it, but I can meet you for lunch next week if you’d like.”
“No. I can’t afford the places you eat at,” he snaps.
I tug at my hair with frustration, trying not to lose it on him. “Okay, well, I don’t care where we eat. We can just eat at Jimmy’s. I’ll take the afternoon off or something.”
He scoffs. “Yeah? You think you can actually make time for that? I know it’s rough catering to us poor people.”
“Oh, c’mon. You know I don’t think that.”
“Well, my house in the Bronx isn’t nearly as fancy as—”
“I’ve offered to move you and—”
“I don’t want your charity,” he snaps.
There’s no winning.
“Okay. I’ll just ... I’ll call you next week.”
“Alright. Night, kid.” With that, he hangs up.
“Love you too, Pops,” I mumble, ignoring the pang of hurt in my chest as I shove the phone back into my jacket pocket. All the therapy in the world doesn’t take away the sting when my dad gets in a mood. Honestly, the only reason I declined my sister’s invitation tonight was because I’d already promised Amy I would walk her to the party...
And then she canceled on me with less than two hours to spare.
I stare out across the skyline, wondering why the heck I ever decided to stay in the city in the first place. I mean, yeah, it’s home. Sort of. It’s the place I grew up and struggled to make it.
I should’ve taken that job in Silicon Valley.
But at the time, my dad was going through chemo, and I needed to be there for him. I run my hand along the top of the parapet wall, trying not to think about all the crap in my past I’ve had to get over.
All the heartbreak.
“Parker,” a voice calls from behind me.
Ugh. I just want to be left alone.
But instead, I turn around, putting a smile on my face—and trying to ignore Amy’s low-cut dress peeking out of her jacket. She’s trying really hard tonight to impress her date...
He’s not even paying attention to her like he should.
“This is Josh.” She gestures to the guy standing beside her. “He’s a pediatrician. ”
“Wow, cool,” I say, extending my hand. “I’m Parker. I’m not a pediatrician.”
Josh laughs in an arrogant way, and it grates on my nerves. “Nice to meet you, Parker.” He shakes my hand, and I pull it away. “So, what do you do for a living?”
“Uh, I’m a senior software engineer.”
“Impressive. Did you grow up in the city?” He looks me over, and I already know he’s casting judgment based on my faded jeans and sweater. I didn’t feel like dressing to the nines tonight.
“I did.”
“Me, too,” he says, grinning. “Upper East Side.”
“Makes sense,” I quip, ignoring the glare Amy’s giving me. “I was raised in the West Bronx.”
He makes a face. “Wow, really, uh, had to work your way from the ground up to get where you are. Must’ve been rough growing up out there.”
Amy’s facial expression shifts as her head tilts. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah.” My tone is curt. I don’t feel like being friendly.
“Is your dad a druggie?”
Jerk.
“Nope, just poor.” I laugh without any humor. “Hard to be a single dad with a couple of kids working a minimum wage job. Life is hard.”
“You know”—Josh turns to Amy— “this is exactly why having an education is so important. If Parker’s dad would’ve just taken the time to get an education, he might’ve had a better shot at providing for his kids. I mean, it looks like your friend here turned out okay, but who knows where his sibling ended up.”
My jaw ticks. I hold back the urge to punch him right in the face. After all, I did get into a lot of fights in school. I know how to throw one.
“That’s a pretty big assumption,” Amy interjects. “And a little uncalled—”
“And that’s why you really should consider furthering your own education,” Josh says, continuing his rant.
“I mean, I suppose I could look into master’s programs over the upcoming week. It just might be hard to balance with my new job. But, anyway...”
Wait... What?
“Why do you need a master’s degree, Amy? You have a great job.”
“Of course, someone like yourself would say that.” Josh chuckles.
Okay. This dude is a piece of work.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” I bark, taking a step toward him. “You’re not better than anyone else—and no , she doesn’t need to change anything about herself. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve been checking out every single other woman in this place since you walked in the door.”
“Wow, is this guy into you or something?” Josh laughs sardonically, turning to Amy. “Chill out, man. I’m just here for fun. We’re just having a good time.”
The expression on Amy’s face tells me everything I need to know .
She didn’t think he was here for fun.
Jeez.
“Why don’t you just freaking leave, man,” I say to him, gesturing to the door.
“Parker,” Amy interjects. “It’s fine...” But it doesn’t sound fine when she says it. The disappointment is right there in her eyes—even if she doesn’t realize it herself.
“You know,” Josh begins, holding up his hands. “I have other places I can be. You two have fun. This party sucks, anyway.”
“Bye,” I snap, spinning around and facing the skyline again.
“ Why did you do that?” Amy exasperates, tugging on my arm. “You just ruined my date, Parker!”
Okay, now I’m mad.
“Are you freaking serious right now? That guy was awful.” I try to keep my voice down. “He was checking out other women the entire time. It’s disgusting. You’re worth more than that, Amy.”
She shakes her head, and I swear there are tears in her eyes.
“Look, I’m sorry I ruined your date. But ... you really shouldn’t waste your tears on him. If that guy was willing to trash talk me—a total stranger—he’d do the same to you. He was judgmental. And rude. And you were already considering taking on a master’s program just so you’d keep his interest.”
“That’s not true...” Her voice trails off. “I mean, maybe ... I don’t know.”
“You shouldn’t have to change anything about yourself to keep a man’s attention, Amy. What did you even see in that guy?”
“He seemed nice enough at trivia. Until now. Ugh. It’s just that ... well, I—I’ve never been kissed before. So, I thought if I had a date, maybe it would happen tonight. You know, since it’s New Year’s Eve.”
I sigh, feeling all the sympathy again for her. “Trust me. You don’t want that guy to be your first kiss.”