AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Like meeting someone special.
It was him. Clark was the Woodsman. Every fantasy she’d had about this moment was about to come true.
Except his expression wasn’t right. He looked…hurt. Clark’s gaze scanned the table and came back to rest on her, his mouth set in a grim line.
He took a step toward her…
And immediately spun around, heading back through the exit.
Merry sat stunned, like someone had thrown an icy snowball right in her chest and the breath was knocked out of her. Tears stung her gaze and she slowly turned away from the door, her skin rippling with the power of her humiliation, as if at any moment she could come out of it completely.
“Guess he didn’t like what he saw, huh?”
“Seriously, who does that?” Sally said.
Noel passed her another shot, brown eyes burning. “Fuck that prick.”
Merry saw her brother and his friends coming back to the table and she grabbed Noel’s hand. “Do me a favor. Don’t tell my brother it was Clark, okay?”
Noel looked like she wanted to protest, but she nodded. “I won’t.”
“Or Pike.” Merry waited for Sally to agree. “Or Anthony.”
“We won’t tell them, but he deserves his ass kicked,” Noel grumbled.
Tara shoved a heart pin into the voodoo peen. “I want one of these for Clark now. He’s a douche.”
Only Holly remained silent, watching her sadly, and Merry kicked back another shot.
“What did we miss?” Nick asked as he sat back down with the guys at the next table, setting a frosty pitcher of beer and glasses in the center.
“Your sister got stood up,” Tara volunteered.
“Guys,” Merry mumbled. “Don’t.”
Nick moved his chair next to her, watching her with his deep- brown eyes. “Are you okay, Mer?”
“I’ll be fine, you don’t have to make a big deal about it. It was one internet date. He probably wasn’t my bag, anyway.” Merry swallowed back the lump in her throat and stole Sally’s shot. “But I will require more alcohol.”
They all put on a happy face, drawing her into their conversations and out of her own head. She couldn’t have asked for better people in her life. Even Pike and Anthony, who usually teased her mercilessly, were going out of their way to make her smile.
But after twenty minutes, it still wasn’t working and not just because she was hurt. No, she wanted to smack Clark Griffin clear into next week.
Merry replayed the moment he’d walked in to the second he walked out through her head, trying to figure out why he’d been upset. What the hell did she do to deserve that? Even as Merry and Clark, she thought they were at least friendly.
“You know, I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
“Want me to come?” Holly asked.
“No, I’m good. This isn’t prom, it’s a bar. I just have to pee. Be right back.”
She weaved through the multiplying bodies and pushed the swinging bathroom door open with a sob. Trying to keep a brave face in place physically hurt and as she sat down in the first of two stalls, Merry shook with every tear. With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone, then tapped on the MeetMe app. There were no new messages, just the last one Clark sent before their date.
I can’t wait to see you.
“Bullshit,” she sniffled, hitting the reply button with her thumb.
Woodsman27,
