After a devastating break-up, I'm ready to start new. Will Shane be the start I'm looking for? Or will his secret tear us apart?

Don't You Dare!

Chloe

“Is that him?” Skylar asks. She flips her long blonde hair over her shoulder and turns in the passenger seat of my silver Honda Accord to look at the driver behind us in the red convertible, the top down. She squints, then grins. “It's hard to tell with the glare of the sun, but he looks kinda cute.”

We're on the highway in bumper-to-bumper traffic, which is highly unusual in a town of fifty thousand people where we tend to have rush minutes instead of rush hours, but the jack-knifed semi in front of us means I'll probably get to work faster if I walk.

I glance at Skylar and my face burns like I'd spent the day tanning at the beach. “Turn around! I don't want him to know we're talking about him.”

“Lighten up. You've never even met.” She waves her arms, catching his attention.  

He tentatively waves back.

 My cheeks flush and I shriek, “Skylar! We're at a standstill. It's not like I can drive away. What're we gonna do if he decides to hop out and come to our car?”

"Get his number?" Skylar says, rolling her eyes like I'm an idiot. “Seriously, Chloe. You've been single for six months and slobbered over this guy for two months. Live a little.”

The car in front of me starts to speed up, and I accelerate. “Haven't you heard of stranger danger?”

Skylar snorts. “You're not gonna find your soulmate if you're worried he'll stab you in your sleep.”

“Regardless.” I shake my head. “We drive the same way to work, that's all. I'm gonna actually meet this guy.”

Skylar raises a brow and begins fishing through her attaché case. “Good thing my car broke down yesterday because today I'm gonna help you achieve your destiny.”

My mouth goes dry. “What are you talking about?”

She pulls out a yellow legal pad and writes on it with a sharpie.

I grip my steering wheel and check my mirrors for his car. Somehow, he's maneuvered his car next to mine on the right side, and we're nearly parallel to each other, moving forward at a snail's pace. At this speed and this distance, I get a much better view of the guy, and he's much hotter than I initially thought. Dark brown, wavy hair, longer on the top than on the sides that ruffles from the wind because his convertible's top is down. He has an angular face with just enough stubble to make him look edgy, but not unprofessional, and the muscles on his bicep stretch the fabric of his white dress shirt. Holy crap. This guy is way out of my league.

I glance down at Skylar's legal pad and gasp. “Skylar, don't you dare give him my number!”

“I can't hear you,” she says in a sing-song voice. She catches the guy's attention and waves again, then lifts the pad, pressing it to the window.

“Skylar!” I'm going to hide all her make-up when we get home, to thank her for this humiliation.

“You'll thank me for this later.” She giggles in that evil way that tells me I probably will not be thanking her later.

Skylar squeals and bounces in her seat. “He took a picture of it with his phone.” She snorts. “He nearly ran off the road doing it. Good thing we're only going ten miles per hour.”

My face burns and I shake my head. “I can't believe you did that. You told him to call me? Seriously? I can never show my face on this freeway again.”

Skylar shoves the pad back into her case and says, “He's much cuter up close. You have good taste.”

She glances out the passenger side and straightens as the driver passes us easily on the right. “What are you doing? Are you slowing down?”

“Shut up. I hate you.”

“Why are you slowing down? We're practically at a stand-still now.”

I pull into the far right lane, several cars behind him. “Because I don't want to see him laughing at me.”

“Whatever. Make me your Maid of Honor when you two get married.”

I sigh. “He has to call first.”

“He took a picture. He'll call.”

“Yeah, he'll call thinking he's talking to you, the Barbie look-alike.”

Skylar groans and throws her hands into the air. “If I hear you complain about your brown curls and flawless skin one more time, I'm gonna beat you with a wet noodle. He's gonna call.”

“No, he's not.”

“Ten bucks says he will.”

We continue down the highway toward work. My face still burns at the embarrassment of her putting my phone number on that stupid piece of paper for the world to see. What are we? In high school? Next, she's going to hang her head out the window and catcall the guy.

"So how was your date last night?" I ask her, trying to change the subject. Thinking about it more will send me into a tailspin of anxiety. "I heard he was one hot cookie."

"Literally," Skylar says, waving her face. "He's a fireman and he is every bit as delicious as those calendars make them out to be." Skylar puts another coat of red lipstick on her lips and glances at herself in the pop-down mirror of my Honda.

"What did you guys do?" I ask.

Skylar grabs my arm. "Oh my gosh! It was amazing. He took me to a dog shelter and we checked out all the puppies and kittens, and then he took me home and made me dinner—he loves to cook on his off-time, can you believe it? And then he introduced me to his Australian Shephard. He was adorable."

"Wow," I say, smirking. "This guy's already introducing you to the fur babies? Sounds pretty serious for a first date."

Skylar grins. "Yeah, I know it's a little unconventional, but that's what made it so endearing. I'm tired of going to bars, watching movies, and then making out afterward. I'm ready to settle down, ya know?"

"No, I do not know," I say, narrowing my eyes at her. "Last week you were talking about wanting to join a convent or something. Now you want to settle down?"

Skylar waves her hands in the air dismissively. "Last week was just a phase."

"And so were Hector, Joey, Mick, Javier, and Doug," I say, nudging her. Oh, to be so carefree and able to flit from guy to guy without a glance backward. How did I become best friends with my polar opposite?

Skylar chuckles. "They were very attractive phases."

I take the off-ramp leading toward Skylar's office and slow my car in the turnaround. "See you after work?"

"You betcha, Doll," Skylar says, climbing out of the car looking like she just came out of the salon. I don't know how she does it. One day I may learn how to look as good as she is. For now, I'll have to settle for ponytails and mascara.

I wave, and pull out of the parking lot, heading toward my accounting job. With years of loans to pay off, and barely enough money to pay the bills, I'm lucky Skylar and I get along so well. It makes being roommates so much easier—and more cost-effective.

I pull into the parking lot at work and check my face to make sure I don't have a booger sticking out of my nose. I notice the yellow paper on the passenger side of the car. Skylar had written, "My friend thinks you're hot. Her name is Chloe. Give her a call sometime. Then she wrote my number in bold for the world to see.

Sighing, I grab the paper, and stuff it into my purse before climbing out and heading inside.