Why were guys like him so attracted to Kara? Sure she was gorgeous enough to be a model but did he really think someone like her would ever settle down? And why did I have to be the one he showed the ring to first? Couldn't he see how much I hated pretending like I wasn't attracted to him?
I did what I was supposed to. I smiled and fawned over the sparkly diamond and platinum band when what I really wanted to do was chuck that little red box into the nearest flambe presentation. There were two of them. After all, it was valentines day and most guys were busy impressing their wives or girlfriends or potential girlfriends. Where was Kara when she had a guy like Doug waiting for her? Oh, that's right. She was having date night with the surgeon. That plastic surgeon guy who made well over seven figures and was just about as much in love with her as Doug was.
So I was stuck playing go-between, filling in for her because she couldn't ever have a faithful relationship. I sighed as I gazed across at Doug, trying not to let myself get lost in the way his green eyes shimmered with such love and admiration when he spoke her name. He went through the details, telling me how he planned to propose, reciting the lines it was obvious he'd been working on for quite some time. I didn't want Doug to get hurt but I couldn't tell him that Kara was just playing games with him. After all, she was my best friend.
The table adjacent to ours must have thought he was proposing to me and began to clap. It must have been that stupid grin on my face that made them think a guy like Doug was asking a girl like me to marry him. Or maybe it was all those red and pink balloons; some kind of latex and helium poisoning for sure. Our waiter came to the table, a phony smile on his face that seemed more annoyed than anything else.
"How about a celebratory glass of champagne for the happy couple?" he asked, his eyes barely open as he hovered over us.
I was about to tell him no, they had it all wrong, when Doug chuckled, "is it on the house?" The waiter gave a bigger smile, obviously biting back a sincere disdain for his job. He nodded.
"Then bring my future wife and I a glass of your finest!" he smiled across at me, that same smile that always melted my heart. When he winked, I could hardly contain the excitement that bubbled under the surface. If I could only have this fake romance pretending he was thinking of me when that look of complete and utter hopeless love came over him, then I would soak up every second.
After all, Kara was probably in some five star restaurant with her surgeon. Who knew how much longer she'd string Doug along, and as her best friend, it wasn't like I could keep seeing him after she ended it. God, I hated her sometimes. Just once I wanted to have a man totally fall in love with me.
Doug slid the ring on my finger and whispered something about making sure it was the right size for Kara and how much fun it was that people thought he and I were getting married. As the waiter set golden champagne before us, I thought about what it would be like if Doug loved me the way he loved Kara.
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