Dead Girl Talking - By Annmarie Ortega Page 0,2

out.

Chapter Two

“I think you should wear this.” Veronica held up a shiny silver sleeveless top.

“Really? You think so?” I replied as I zipped up my jeans.

It was Saturday night and she was helping me get ready to go out.

“Absolutely. Why did you buy it if you aren’t ever going to wear it? Trust me, this is the top for tonight.”

“It looked cool in the store but I’m not sure if it’s me.” It was flashier than what I usually preferred, and I didn’t know what had possessed me to purchase it. Since I bought it, I’d never had the nerve to wear it.

“Wear it,” she said shoving the shirt in my hands.

“Alright,” I said taking the shirt from her. After I put it on, I looked at myself in the full-length mirror. I had to admit to myself, I was looking good.

“So are you nervous? Seeing this guy again?” Veronica asked me.

“Yeah. He was really gorgeous. But you know I don’t want anything serious.”

“You know someday you’re going to want serious again. Not all men are jerks.”

“Maybe so, but not yet. Now I just want some fun.” I hated having this conversation with Veronica. She knew I tried serious once and it didn’t work for me. I ended up with my heart broken and I swore it would never happen to me again. To say I was not big on commitment now was a huge understatement. “Ok, I’m ready to get going.”

I took one final look at myself in the mirror then picked up my purse and started heading towards the front door. Veronica followed me to see me to the door.

“Don’t forget, we’ll be at the club at around twelve thirty. I’ll look for you as soon as we get there.”

“Ok, cool. Hopefully you won’t find me there sitting by myself,” I joked.

“Go have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

I was only in the club for a few minutes when I saw Jake through the crowd. He was leaning against the bar talking to a woman who was absolutely beautiful. She had long blonde hair and wore an outfit that was so revealing she wasn’t too far from being naked. The way she was hanging on him and smiling, it was obvious to me she was anticipating her getting to know him intimately. My stomach soured and I thought there was little chance of he and I getting together. I stood staring at the two of them thinking they were the perfect looking couple. I told myself that I was a complete idiot for thinking he would really want to see me again.

Maybe Jake felt me staring at him or I sent him some sort of vibe, because he turned and looked directly at me. In fact, I thought I saw his eyes lit up when he saw me. He leaned over to speak to the woman and I watched her smile slowly fade from her face. I then saw a look of utter disappointment as he left her and started walking across the room towards me.

“Hey Jake.” I fought the butterflies that were suddenly loose in my stomach. I was amazed he had left perfect model girl to come talk to me.

Jake looked at me up and down, blatantly checking me out. I could tell from his expression that he approved of what he saw. Suddenly I was glad I had Veronica help me get dressed.

“Let’s go to the bar and I’ll get us drinks,” he told me.

“No thanks, I’m good.” During the week, I convinced myself that the drink I'd consumed with Jake made our attraction seem like more than what it was. I didn’t want alcohol to cloud my judgment tonight.

“Well then dance with me,” he pleaded. He took my hand and started to pull me to the dance floor as he had last week. I hesitated and he nearly pulled my arm from its socket. “Come on, Janice.”

As we moved to the dance floor, I watched his ass while trying not to be totally obvious. It was difficult to not reach out and give it a firm squeeze. Tonight he was wearing blue jeans with a light blue shirt and boots. He had his long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. He turned around to face me and we started dancing. He looked at me and his eyes drew me to him and literally made me breathless. Even though the music we danced to was fast, he moved closer and wrapped an arm