logs wouldn’t trace anything back to me. Not that Barry checked his Web logs but you could never be too careful.
So I grabbed a jacket (it was drizzly today), hopped in my car, and headed to the downtown branch. All the terminals were occupied when I got there, so I killed time browsing their record section. (Yeah, I was surprised they still had records too. The scary part: They had more vinyl than they did CDs.)
Finally a computer opened up. I dove into the seat, cutting off an elderly woman. I smiled at her and said, “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Bitch.” She flipped me off and tottered away.
Oo-kay.
I shook my head and typed in the URL for Barry’s site. Then I waited for it to come up (you’d think the library would have a better connection). It seemed like forever, but it was probably only ten seconds before his site appeared on the screen.
“Ah.” About time. I rubbed my hands together and got to it.
“Blah, blah, blah.” Barry liked to go on and on sometimes. I scrolled down, trying to find his weekend itinerary. It had to be here somewhere.
“Got it,” I muttered a moment later. He was so predictable. I skimmed through it.
Then I froze.
Aw, hell.
Couldn’t be. I rubbed my eyes and reread the paragraph. Unfortunately, the words didn’t change—it was exactly as I read it the first time.
Barry had a girlfriend. The bastard. What nerve. It’d barely been over a week since we’d broken up.
“Shit shit shit .” I could feel the woman next to me staring at me, so I turned to her with a contrite smile and said, “Sorry.”
This was a rebound fling, I reassured myself. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.
When the danger of fainting from hyperventilation had passed, I slowly read his Web page again.
If what he’d written was true (and I had no reason to doubt it—he was the most honest man I knew, next to Matt), he’d met her the day after we broke up. He said they “clicked.”
“Clicked!” I exclaimed to the woman next to me. “ We used to click.”
Her eyes were so round, I thought they were going to pop out of her head. What? She’d never seen a woman scorned before?
I ignored how she scooted her chair away from me and read on. Barry described his new flame in great detail, but if that weren’t enough, he also had a small picture of them together.
“Can you believe it?” I asked the woman. “They’ve only been dating a week and already they have a picture together.”
The woman must have decided I was a harmless freak because she leaned closer to take a look. “She’s kind of pretty.”
I scowled. “She has no chin.”
The lady pursed her lips. “But her eyes are so beautiful, you don’t notice her lack of chin much.”
“Hmmph.”
“And look at her hair.” She pointed. “How it looks so silky and how it’s all in place.”
I turned to glare at her. “Whose side are you on anyway?”
“I’m just saying.” She shrugged, her nose in the air. With a pointed look at my hair, she gathered her things and walked away.
My hand flew to my ponytail. My hair could look like that, if I really wanted it to. Maybe.
I frowned at the picture. Barry’s rebound looked familiar. Something around the blond hair, the way she smiled for the camera ... She looked, I don’t know, angelic.
I stiffened. Angelic. I leaned toward the computer until my nose was inches from the screen.
Holy shit—she looked just like Daphne. She looked more like Daphne’s sister than I did.
Barry was dating a Daphne look-alike. In essence, he cast me aside for Daphne.
“Bastard.” I glared at him, standing so happy with his arm around her.
Yes, the little voice inside was adamantly pointing out that I was the one who cast Barry aside. Still. He wasn’t supposed to go out the next day and replace me with someone who looked just like my nemesis.
Pout.
Maybe my mom was right—maybe Barry was a great catch. If he got a girl like Daphne just one day
So I grabbed a jacket (it was drizzly today), hopped in my car, and headed to the downtown branch. All the terminals were occupied when I got there, so I killed time browsing their record section. (Yeah, I was surprised they still had records too. The scary part: They had more vinyl than they did CDs.)
Finally a computer opened up. I dove into the seat, cutting off an elderly woman. I smiled at her and said, “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Bitch.” She flipped me off and tottered away.
Oo-kay.
I shook my head and typed in the URL for Barry’s site. Then I waited for it to come up (you’d think the library would have a better connection). It seemed like forever, but it was probably only ten seconds before his site appeared on the screen.
“Ah.” About time. I rubbed my hands together and got to it.
“Blah, blah, blah.” Barry liked to go on and on sometimes. I scrolled down, trying to find his weekend itinerary. It had to be here somewhere.
“Got it,” I muttered a moment later. He was so predictable. I skimmed through it.
Then I froze.
Aw, hell.
Couldn’t be. I rubbed my eyes and reread the paragraph. Unfortunately, the words didn’t change—it was exactly as I read it the first time.
Barry had a girlfriend. The bastard. What nerve. It’d barely been over a week since we’d broken up.
“Shit shit shit .” I could feel the woman next to me staring at me, so I turned to her with a contrite smile and said, “Sorry.”
This was a rebound fling, I reassured myself. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart.
When the danger of fainting from hyperventilation had passed, I slowly read his Web page again.
If what he’d written was true (and I had no reason to doubt it—he was the most honest man I knew, next to Matt), he’d met her the day after we broke up. He said they “clicked.”
“Clicked!” I exclaimed to the woman next to me. “ We used to click.”
Her eyes were so round, I thought they were going to pop out of her head. What? She’d never seen a woman scorned before?
I ignored how she scooted her chair away from me and read on. Barry described his new flame in great detail, but if that weren’t enough, he also had a small picture of them together.
“Can you believe it?” I asked the woman. “They’ve only been dating a week and already they have a picture together.”
The woman must have decided I was a harmless freak because she leaned closer to take a look. “She’s kind of pretty.”
I scowled. “She has no chin.”
The lady pursed her lips. “But her eyes are so beautiful, you don’t notice her lack of chin much.”
“Hmmph.”
“And look at her hair.” She pointed. “How it looks so silky and how it’s all in place.”
I turned to glare at her. “Whose side are you on anyway?”
“I’m just saying.” She shrugged, her nose in the air. With a pointed look at my hair, she gathered her things and walked away.
My hand flew to my ponytail. My hair could look like that, if I really wanted it to. Maybe.
I frowned at the picture. Barry’s rebound looked familiar. Something around the blond hair, the way she smiled for the camera ... She looked, I don’t know, angelic.
I stiffened. Angelic. I leaned toward the computer until my nose was inches from the screen.
Holy shit—she looked just like Daphne. She looked more like Daphne’s sister than I did.
Barry was dating a Daphne look-alike. In essence, he cast me aside for Daphne.
“Bastard.” I glared at him, standing so happy with his arm around her.
Yes, the little voice inside was adamantly pointing out that I was the one who cast Barry aside. Still. He wasn’t supposed to go out the next day and replace me with someone who looked just like my nemesis.
Pout.
Maybe my mom was right—maybe Barry was a great catch. If he got a girl like Daphne just one day
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