The Ugly Girlfriend(9)
“I was engaged once,” she said, barely above a whisper. She smiled as she confessed. “He was a great guy, so I thought. We planned this great wedding, and then I found him in the bed with one of my closest friends.” Running her straw around in the nearly empty mug of beer, she looked away from him. It was still painful for her. “They’re happy now. They have three kids and live in San Diego, where I’m from.”
“Oh, so you’re not from here?”
“Nope. I left home after that and started my cleaning business.”
“Well, I can’t blame you. If I didn’t have a child with Elaine, I would quit my job and hightail it out of here, too. Do you know how embarrassing it is for everyone to know that your wife has run off with the pediatrician?”
“Yeah, trust me, I feel your pain. I’ve been embarrassed on a few occasions.”
“Like when?” He took another sip and looked at the straw sticking out of her mug. Who drank beer out of a straw?
“Outside of the engagement thing?”
“Yeah, purge. Go on. It’s good for me.”
“Good for you?” she laughed.
“Yeah, it helps me feel less worthless.”
She laughed. “The night I met you, I thought...no, not just me, everyone thought that you were coming over to ask me to dance or ask me out or ask me anything other than to clean your house.”
Mitch bucked his eyes. “Is that why you had that look on your face?”
“What look?”
“Like you were repulsed. Like I had a booger in my nose.”
“I wasn’t repulsed,” she laughed.
“Well, you sure seemed repulsed. I was glad that Byron made my attentions clear. You seemed relieved afterwards. You were like...” He swallowed and lightened his voice. “Please, please don’t let the white boy ask me out, especially standing there with a huge booger in his nose.” He stuck a fried pickle in his mouth.
“I wasn’t relieved, and you didn’t have a booger in your nose.”
“No?” He tilted his head. Licking his fingers, he winked at her. “You seemed relieved.”
LaToya lied. “Well maybe just a little bit.”
They both laughed again. The tension broke.
“I don’t imagine that many women would find me worthy right now. I’ve just received the final divorcee decree to a woman that I’m now paying child support to for two children.”
“Two?”
“She had the other one while we were married. Then I signed the birth certificate, so by law the pediatrician’s kid is mine,” he winced.
“Oww. It keeps getting worse for you,” LaToya said, raising her finger to get the check.
“Yes. I’m currently fighting it in court. Do you want another beer?” he asked.
“No, I’m not Irish. This is bordering on illegal.”
“We passed illegal about three hours ago, my dear.” He looked at his watch. “You know, if we were back in New York, we could walk home from this place.”
“Yes, but here it wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“I know.” He drank the last of his beer and turned to her. “So why did your ex marry that woman? I can’t rightly understand it after hanging out with you.”
“Because she was prettier and smaller than me. I was always a big girl. I still am for that matter. I’ve always been a little bigger than most of my friends.”
His green eyes bulged a little. “Big? You’re robust, but you’re not fat. I mean, I like a woman with a little meat on her bones.”
“Well, I have a lot of meat.” She sucked down on the straw.
He leaned over and looked at her legs hidden under black tights and a black, long, form-fitting shirt. Sweeping her body once more, he raised his brow and winked at her.
LaToya was leaning with her hands cupping her chin. She watched him eye her up and down and then rolled her eyes. He had to have a motive for looking at her like that. If he thought that he was going to get free cleaning services because the wife may be taking half of his stuff, he had another thing coming.
He finally spoke. “You’re weight is in all the right places, LaToya. That’s what matters. Any man who thinks otherwise is an idiot. You have to have something to hold onto at night. I’m sure you make a gentleman feel warm, like there is nowhere else to be in the world but in your arms.”
“Okay, you’ve had enough to drink,” she said finally. What else was there to say? He’d nearly made her choke on his words. If she stayed, she might do something stupid. Shaking her head, she tried to put it all into perspective. Give the man a break. He’s been drinking, she said to herself.