CHAPTER SEVEN — STEPHANIE
The day of the block party comes, and Philip shows up eager, wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. He's smiling like he's won something.
I can't help but compare him to David, who's older, mature, handsome, and gets shit done.
Philip seems like a child in comparison.
On some level, I feel like I'm not being fair.
There are plenty of girls I know who think Philip's attractive, so I'm probably being too harsh.
So I force myself to grab Philip's hand and smile when he kisses me on the cheek.
I walk beside Philip as we approach the party.
When we're getting close, I notice someone and my stomach drops.
It's David.
My immediate instinct is to run and hide, but I can't do that. So I take a deep breath and keep walking.
Every bone in my body is telling me to run, but that would just be giving in to the fear.
Or is it fear? I'm not sure. All I know is I don't want David to see me with Philip.
Which is exactly why I need to do it, because whatever hold David has on me, I don't like it, and I need to break it.
I need to remind myself that there are other men out there just as attractive as David, like Philip.
So I hold Philip's hand tighter. I go up to David.
"Hi," I say.
He looks at me, surprised, and then at Philip.
I'm not sure what I'm hoping for, some kind of reaction. He doesn't give me one.
"I'm Philip," he says, holding out his hand.
"David," David says.
He doesn't shake Philip's hand, which strikes me as rude, but also a bit of a show of dominance.
"I'm gonna get a freezie," Philip says. "Do you want one?"
"I'm good," I say, smiling.
Philip nods and walks away.
A freezie? Is he five? The second the thought pops in my head, I wanna swat it away like a gnat. I don't know why I'm being so mean.
As soon as Philip's out of earshot, I look at David.
"Why were you so rude to him?" I ask.
David looks at me like he has no idea what I'm talking about.
"Why are you so worked up?" he asks.
"I'm not," I say.
"You kind of are," he says.
I sigh. He's right, but I don't wanna admit that.
"You didn't shake his hand," I whisper.
"Oh," David says, as if he genuinely forgot.
"So, is he your boyfriend?" David asks, taking a sip of his drink.
I look for some sign that he's bothered, but I don't see anything. Which pisses me off.
"So what if he is?" I retort, crossing my arms and huffing.
"Then that's great," David says.
I narrow my eyes at David. He's so fucking arrogant. Maybe Philip doesn't seem like a threat to him, but I bet there's some other man here who would be. I scan the backyard, trying to find somebody suitable, and then my eyes land on him, John.
I'm pretty sure he works with David. They're both at some kind of hedge fund. Although David doesn't talk much about his work, he's mentioned John a few times, and he's had a few choice words to say about him. There's definitely some bad blood between them.
And like David, John is wealthy, older, and handsome. I think he's single too, either widowed or divorced. Perfect.
"See you later," I say breezily to David, and I start walking away.
I walk right up to John and grab his forearm. I know it's a bit aggressive, but I'm feeling desperate, desperate for some kind of recognition from David, anything.
"How's it going, John?" I say, smiling brightly.
He looks at me, surprised for a second, and then smiles.
He's probably six foot three or so, has dark brown hair and brown eyes. He's wearing what look like navy linen pants and a light blue button-down shirt that's rolled up at the cuffs. He clearly works out. His muscles are bulging under his shirt.
"It's going great, Stephanie," he says, softening.
I notice his eyes dip down to my breasts and then back up to my face.
A thrill runs through me.
I've got him.
The End