Lily White Lies(4)
“Excitable? Meg, your eyes are so closed. He’s like—totally screwable!” Cory sighed and sank back in her chair.
Looking at her, I wondered if I appeared as starry eyed and desperate when he came by the table earlier.
Once at the table, he directed his attention toward the women sitting across from me, in their smitten daze.
“Can I interest you ladies in something to drink while you look over… the menu?”
I watched as a flirtatious smile formed on Cory’s lips. Interest was probably the wrong choice of words when it came to Cory and men. On a typical day, she would have no qualms telling him exactly what would interest her.
The silence that fell over the table was becoming uncomfortable, when I finally said, “Don’t mind them. They’re in heat!”
Charlotte shot me an annoyed side-glance, while Cory’s smile broadened. She didn’t bat an eye at the same things that would embarrass most women. Charlotte’s expression softened as she wiggled a finger between herself and Cory, trying to speak.
“We’ll have… coffee... yes—coffees. Two. Please.” With her best attempt at a flirtatious smile, she added, “Thank you.”
His glance circled the table, giving each of us a playful smile.
Did he know his eyes were like magnets, drawing us in and holding us captive? God, I could only pray that I didn’t look as pathetic as Cory and Charlotte, who were shamelessly staring at the man who stood less than a foot away.
I waited to speak until he was barely out of earshot.
“You two are pitiful!”
Charlotte’s mouth hung in an unladylike fashion, until she blurted, “You’re getting married Meg, you’re not dead! Tell me you didn’t notice the body on that man.”
“What would it say about the state of my relationship with Brian if I were out here ogling every man with…” I gave him another once over... “tight black pants, sun-streaked hair, blue eyes and more muscle than Popeye on a spinach binge?”
Charlotte looked to Cory, and laughed. “Nope, she didn’t notice.”
Cory seemed to be staring straight through him. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be Olive Oyl right about now.”
As we broke out in laughter, I stole another look at the handsome man who had towered over us a few moments earlier. I turned my head quickly when his eyes locked on mine, causing more laughter from my friends and shades of embarrassment to cross my cheeks. Although we all looked and joked, the difference between us was that Charlotte and I were only joking. Cory, on the other hand, would have trotted off with the guy, asking his name only as an afterthought. Secretly, part of me wished I could be more like her, and that was a fact I should have seen for the red flag it was.
I mindlessly thumbed through my magazine while we ate breakfast. I stopped circling dresses when I reached thirty something and needed help narrowing them down.
Frustrated, I said, “It’s too bad I can’t mix and match parts I like from each dress.”
Still focused on our waiter, Cory said, “It’s too bad I can’t mix and match parts I like from each man.”
We each laughed, and Charlotte noted, “We could talk about frogs and grass clippings and you would still find a way to bring it back to men.”
“Rumor has it Prince Charming was once a frog.” Cory said quite matter-of-factly.
Charlotte motioned for our waiter, and joked, “We better get her out of here before she attaches herself to his leg.”
“Yeah, Gram wants me to take her to the nursing home today and Brian sprung a dinner party on me, so I have a lot to squeeze in.
When our waiter held out the check, Cory nearly knocked her chair over in an attempt to grab it from him.
“I’ve got it!” She handed her card to him with a wink. “You make sure you add twenty percent for yourself, handsome.”
We picked up our belongings and pushed the heavy chairs across the stone. Charlotte turned to Cory and said, “We’ll get a cab while you wait for your receipt.”
“I’ll be sure to thank you later!” Cory smoothed her blonde hair back as she waved us off.
As we made our way to the corner, Charlotte look became one of concern. “Have you heard from the bank yet?”
I hailed a cab.
“I talked to Mr. Anderson a couple of days ago. He gave me the good news, bad news routine.”
“Will he give you the money?”
I shrugged. “The good news is he’ll give me the loan. The bad news is he either wants collateral, which I don’t have, or he wants Brian to co-sign.”
Charlotte waved at the next cab to go by.
“So much for the fight against discrimination. I think the women’s movement has come to a standstill. If Brian wanted the money, you can bet no one at the bank would ask you to co-sign.” She glanced back to see if Cory had finished. “Why don’t you let him? I mean, you’ll be married soon, it’s not like you’re using him with the intention of blowing him off.”