"It doesn't matter. A guy is always going to use it, and a girl will almost always fall for it." Cooper shrugs. "Saying 'I love you' is like the fucking golden ticket to getting into somebody's pants."
"You're wrong." Jules sighs and shakes her head. "I'm not putting out just because a guy says he loves me. He's gotta work for it."
My friends are insane, that's all there is to it. They both should have been locked away in padded rooms years ago.
As you can see, not much has changed this past year. Cooper and Jules are still nuts. I still say and do the dumbest things imaginable. We still hang out at our bar every night, and we still drink ourselves silly.
It's still us, just a little older....but not necessarily wiser.
Although, there have been a few tiny alterations.
For one, Jules quit working in Cooper's shop to go back to school and get a nursing degree. Coop has sworn off men until he opens another store. And me... well... I've finally forced myself to forget the past and get back into the dating thing.
Being cheated on isn't something you recover from easily, especially when the cheater happens to be the love of your life, and he's screwing your roommate.
But, I've finally met someone who made me realize there's no point in being hung up on old shit.
Max is... well, he's fantastic actually.
He's a little quiet at times, but he really is just a genuinely great guy, the type who still believes in chivalry and all that good stuff. He opens doors for me, he brings me flowers, he notices the little things, like when I cut my hair or wear new perfume. He listens to me bitch when I have a bad day.
But most importantly, he makes me happy.
The first few weeks we were officially together, I constantly questioned whether or not I made the right decision, but now I can say with 100 percent certainty that I did.
Don't get me wrong, Justin had his good qualities as well, but there was just too much of a risk involved there. Justin's the kind of guy who could come out of nowhere and break my heart and I don't want to go through that again.
With Max, I can see a future.
With Justin, I couldn't even see where we'd end up within the next 10 minutes.
That unexpected quality is terrifying. I'm getting older and I need to think long term
Max is the kind of guy you marry and grow old with. Justin is, well... I'm not exactly sure what the hell Justin is. And probably never will, seeing as how we haven't spoken in a year.
After the night I told him what I'd decided, I figured he'd still be around, but I was dead wrong. He hasn't been in the store, hasn't set foot in the bar, I haven't even run into him on the street anywhere.
It's like he just dropped off the fucking planet or something.
Which is actually kind of sad. A small part of me had hoped we could have been friends. Underneath the arrogance and other assorted bullshit, Justin's a good guy. Maybe not as stable as Max, but he's still a good guy. He's the type you want around when you're bummed out, or need a drinking buddy.
But, apparently he's decided to cut all ties with me and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. I hurt him, and I have to deal with the way he's chosen to handle it.
It sucks that it had to end that way, but I get it. I really do.
It's a matter of self preservation, I suppose.
Honestly, had our roles been reversed, I probably would have done the same damn thing.
"Alright... I think it's time for me to head out." I sigh before downing the rest of my drink.
It's quickly approaching two a.m., and I desperately need to get home and get to bed if I have any hope of being atleast semi-productive at work tomorrow.
"Yeah, later Em." Cooper and Jules both nod as I slide out of my seat and make my way to the door.
I know I need to go home. But, a quick stop at my boyfriend's isn't going to hurt, right?
Besides, my boss is my best friend, which gives me that wonderful luxury of slacking off every so often.
I make the trek across town to Max's apartment in record time and smile as the older doorman lets me in, without so much as asking which apartment I'm going to.
I climb the stairs quickly and dig through my purse for the key as soon as I reach the fifth floor. I enter the apartment quietly and roll my eyes when I'm met with complete darkness.
I adore the boy, really I do, but he's like an old man when it comes to sleep. He's very into that whole "early to bed, early to rise" thing.
I guess it's good that atleast one person in this relationship is responsible.
I open the door to the bedroom and as soon as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I feel like someone just punched me in the gut and knocked the wind right out of me.
This can't be happening.
Not again.
There lays my boyfriend sound asleep, the man I was convinced was the epitome of perfection, with his arm draped around another woman.
I want to scream. I want to beat the living hell out of both of them. I want to make him feel even a fraction of what I'm feeling right now.
Instead, I stumble out of the apartment, tears blurring my vision, and exit the building, not even bothering to wave to the doorman.
Maybe this is just a bad dream.
Maybe in the morning, I'll wake up and laugh about the whole thing.
Before I know it, I'm standing in front of yet another white door. I didn't plan on coming here, but my legs seemed to have plans of their own, and here I am.
Several minutes after I knock, the door is jerked open and the figure in the doorway rolls his eyes impatiently, completely unphased by the tears streaming down my cheeks.
I really must have been out of my mind if I expected sympathy from him.
"Can I help you?" He mutters, making no attempt to hide the disdain in his voice.
"Justin....I...I... I'm...sorry." I choke out and immediately, his expression softens and he moves aside to let me into the apartment.
Clearly, that "safe" decision I made a year ago, was the absolute biggest mistake of my life.
