“Chuck has his French girlfriend,” she murmurs, taking the lid off the macaroni and handing it to me. “You’re already on season three.”
I scoop a spoonful of noodles and shove them in my mouth, then shrug.
“What happened?”
“Dylan was a fucktard and so was Reed.”
Scarlett pops a lid off the container of Phish Food. “Dylan’s no surprise so I guess I’m really asking what happened with Reed.” She digs ice cream out of the carton. “Caroline, it was obvious he’s interested in you. Even to me. How about I tell you what I saw, and you tell me when I get it wrong?”
I eat another bite and nod.
“Dylan was a jerk who tried to feel you up on the dance floor. Am I right so far?”
“Yeah.”
“Then Reed intervened.”
“Yeah.”
“Then you danced with him.”
“Yeah.”
“Caroline, what happened?”
I sigh and set the noodles on the table. “At your party last week, Reed asked me out and I told him no, that I was too busy. Then Tucker brought Dylan over and Reed was still there.”
Scarlett groans. “Then Dylan asked you out.”
With a grimace, I lift my shoulder. “Well, it was more Tucker matchmaking, but I said yes.” My heart aches when I think about what happened next. “Reed got pissed, obviously, and wanted to know if I said no because of his major or because I couldn’t do laundry on his abs.”
“Ouch.”
“I don’t know what it is with him, but he gets me hot in zero to point-six seconds, and I said something I regret.”
“I take it the hot you’re referring to isn’t sexual.”
“Well that too, but in this instance, angry. It’s like he knows exactly which button to push to piss me off.” I pause, shame washing over me. “I told him it was because he didn’t have enough money.”
“Oh, Caroline. You didn’t.”
I cringe and grab for the other Ben & Jerry’s carton. I can take anything but Scarlett’s disappointment in me. “I was instantly sorry, Scarlett. I felt terrible and was about to apologize when his girlfriend showed up.” The reminder makes my own bad behavior more acceptable. “Who does that? Asks a girl out on a date while they’re on a date already?”
Scarlett releases a heavy exhale. “I don’t know. So then why did Reed’s girlfriend take you to his table Friday night?”
“She recognized me in the bathroom. She acted disgusted when I asked if they were at the club together, but she dragged me out to see Reed. He didn’t seem happy to see me. So I went back to our table.”
“And then he saved you from Dylan.”
“I could have taken care of it.” I say. “I thought he was saving me from embarrassing myself.
Turns out he wanted to be the one to embarrass me.” I pause. “He told Dylan he wanted to dance with me, and he looked so pissed that Dylan just backed down. But then Reed held me just as tight, and I asked him what the difference between him and Dylan was. Reed told me that the difference was that I wanted to be there.”
Scarlett cocks her head, her eyebrows rising. “And…?”
“And then he acted like he was going to kiss me, and dropped his hold on me. I stood there waiting for him to kiss me, like a fucking idiot, and then said he’d just proved his point.”
Scarlett shakes her head. “Wait. You wanted him to kiss you?”
“I told you he gets me hot in both ways.” I press my head back into the seat and squeeze my eyes shut. “God, I’m an idiot.”
“No, you’re not an idiot.”
I open my eyes. “I am, but the worst part is that I deserve what he did.”
Scarlett’s mouth presses tight in anger. “No, Caroline. I don’t care what you did to him, it didn’t warrant what he did to you. Especially after asking you out while he was already on a date.”
I won’t argue with her because she’s loyal to fault, and she’d take my side even if I killed Reed in cold blood and stuffed his heart under the floorboards. “I should thank him.”
“What?” She practically jumps off the sofa. “How can you say that?”
“Two men, two disasters, less than five minutes apart. I’ve had a wakeup call, Scarlett. I’m focusing on the wrong thing.” I’ve given this a lot of thought as I’ve watched all the failed relationships on Gossip Girl. I’ve put too much stock into finding a guy and not enough into trying to shape my own future. Men are jerks you can’t count on. My last boyfriend was proof of that. I found out two months ago that he’s now engaged to the girl he cheated on me with.
“I’m going to focus on my career,” I continue. “The upcoming fashion show is the perfect way to work on it. My advisor’s friend from New York is coming to the show to pick one of us to work in her design house after graduation. I’m going to focus on that.”
Scarlett looks thoughtful as she takes a bite of her ice cream. “New York?”
“That’s what you focus on after my speech?”
“But it’s so far away….”
I roll my eyes in exasperation. “What are you talking about? You’re moving to Washington D.C.”
“Not next year. I’m going to start graduate school while Tucker finishes his last year of college.”