Page 6 of Ghosted By Texas

“You know I’m here, if you need me.” Her worried tone let me know that I wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all her.

“I know.” My sullen reply followed me to the bathroom, where I made myself look beautiful. If I had to meet with the man who could have owned my heart, but broke it before we could go further, then I was going to look unforgettable. By the time I left to meet up with Austin, there was no trace of the sad girl who spent most of the night silently weeping into her pillow. I owed a lot of thanks to the icepacks I’d used this morning to get the swelling down.

Exactly forty-five minutes after I ended my text session with Austin, I made my way into the Fresh Pot coffee shop on Main Street. I thought that I’d be able to beat Austin there and grab a latte that I could enjoy while I waited. There was little hope of choking one down while having to hear him explain to me about his conveniently forgotten fuck buddy again.

Unfortunately for me, Mr. Texas had already snagged a seat, two coffees, and the attention of a sorority girl I didn’t mesh very well with. It wasn’t her involvement with a sorority that bothered me, I was friends with plenty of people who chose the Greek life. It was that she ate, breathed, and lived the life while thinking that she was better than everyone that made me want to bounce a steaming pot of coffee off her head. Then again, it could also be the jealousy.

Austin grinned up at her from his seat, where he was kicked back in a relaxed position. The minute Gracie-Lou’s hand landed on the chair across from him, I turned to leave.

“Becs!” I heard Austin call out. That didn’t stop the hasty retreat I planned on beating out of the place. “Becs, wait a sec!” He called again, only his voice sounded much closer. A hand landed on my bicep, halting me from leaving. I swore under my breath and turned to face the man of the hour, who had been with yet another blonde-haired woman when I found him. I was beginning to think he had a specific type, and it wasn’t really me, despite his false platitudes about wanting to see my hair in its naturally dark brown state.

“What?”

“We were supposed to meet here. Why were you leaving?”

“You were busy, and I didn’t feel like wasting my time. Again.” I tacked the last word on to emphasize how I thought our last date had been a waste, considering the ending.

Austin glanced back to the table, where a stunned Gracie stood staring at us. The damn man couldn’t even wipe the grin off his face, which only worked to infuriate me.

“That chick just came up to my table to ask about a class we’re in together, but I think she had me confused with my brother.”

I cocked my head to the side, not believing that for a second.

“Houston?” Gracie called out to him. “I thought you were single? My friends said that Houston Mercer was single now.” My jaw dropped at her audacity, not to mention the inaccuracy. The woman didn’t even know that she had been propositioning the wrong Mercer brother.

“And like I told you a minute ago, I’m not my brother,” he insisted with a roll of his eyes.

“What kind of game are you playing?” She asked while eying him suspiciously.

“He’s not playing any games. Houston is his brother. You have the wrong Mercer boy,” I stated coolly, hoping to get her gone, so that Austin and I could have our conversation. Then, I could go throw up the piece of toast I managed to choke down for breakfast.

“Are you single too?” Gracie asked with a glimmer of hope in her eye.

“No,” he told her without hesitation. “My girl is here to have coffee with me this morning and she’s getting pissed that you’re interrupting our time together.”

I almost laughed at his assertions, but it was close enough to the truth that it worked. Gracie glanced between us for a minute and then huffed and stalked off.

“You might want to warn your brother that he’s being hunted down, and Gracie is seriously attending college to obtain her MRS Degree.”

Austin chuckled. “Nah, I think I’ll let him discover that on his own the same way I did.”

“So, you don’t like your brother?”

“Love the asshole, but he’s been through some shit recently and I have a feeling that Gracie is going to come out on the losing end when she attempts to approach him the way she just did me. He just got rid of Samantha, who reminds me a lot of Gracie.”

“Maybe she’s his type then.”

“Not anymore. Samantha cheated and got knocked up by another man. I think he’s had enough of the husband hunting type.”

“That sucks.”

“It really does because my brother is one of the best people I know.”

“Sounds like my best friend, Clea.”

“I got coffee for us, but they’re probably cold now.” I glanced over toward the table where he’d been seated when I first walked in and someone else was already sitting there.

“Looks like the table went cold, too. Maybe, we should go somewhere else?”