After the Fall

suffered enough for one day.”
    I chuckled. “Yeah, but at least this way it’s your misery. Takes my mind off my own.”
    “You’re a real pal, you know that?” But he took a deep breath and settled against the back of the recliner like he was both trying to relax and brace himself before he dived into the subject. “I think he’s spending too much time at work. He thinks I’m trying to monopolize his time. I think buying a house together is too risky while the market’s all fucked up. He thinks I’m making excuses to put off any kind of commitment. Which then of course leads us to arguing over—”
    “Wait,” I put up a hand. “You guys are still arguing over commitment when you can barely stand to be in the same room?”
    “Well, it is a bone of contention.”
    “Okay, fair enough, but I’d start with damage control at this point, you know?”
    “That is damage control.” He leaned forward and rubbed his forehead. “Ugh. I could have sworn there was a time when shit wasn’t so damned complicated with him.”
    I picked at the edge of the cast on my hand. “This from the man who can’t understand why I’ve sworn off getting involved with any part of a man above his belt.”
    “With the fuckwits you’ve gone out with?” He snorted. “I’d swear off men altogether.”
    “Exactly.”
    “That said”—he inclined his head—“you know not all men are like that.”
    “Nope, not all.” I shifted a bit to accommodate my stupid casts, wondering if comfortable would ever happen to me again in this lifetime. “But with the way my luck has gone, I’m not interested in seeing if the third time is the charm.”
    “Yeah, I guess I can’t blame you.” He sipped his beer. As he absently ran his finger along the edge of the label, he said, “Mind if I ask something? About your exes?”
    I shrugged. “Go for it.”
    “Why did you stay with them for so long?”
    Exhaling hard, I watched my fingers playing at the cast on my arm. “If I’d known Steve was cheating on me, I’d have dumped him sooner. Gotta give the man credit, though.” I laughed humorlessly. “He did know how to cover his tracks.”
    Brad’s expression didn’t change. “What about Brent, though? I mean, Jeff and I were wondering for months when you’d finally kick his ass to the curb.”
    I shifted my gaze away, suddenly unable to meet my roommate’s eyes. I took pride in not letting anyone push me around, especially not boyfriends, and it still grated on me to think I let that dickwad berate and belittle me for the better part of a year. Especially since I now knew people had noticed. Worse, I’d defended him to a few people along the way.
    “Oh, he’s having an off day.”
    “ He really is a sweetheart.”
    “ That’s just his sense of humor.”
    Ugh .
    “I have no idea,” I finally said. “But it’s over now. With him and with Steve.” I sighed. “And after their shit, I need a break.”
    “A break for how long?”
    “Probably until I’m forty.”
    Brad laughed. “You know that’s basically inviting the universe to drop Mr. Right into your life, don’t you?”
    “Please.” I waved my good hand. “If he’s really Mr. Right, then he’ll show up when the timing is right, too.”
    Brad threw his head back and laughed harder. “Oh, Nathan, Nathan, Nathan. My darling, naïve little Nathan.” He eyed me, smirking again. “Let me guess: if he comes along at the wrong time, he can’t possibly be Mr. Right?”
    “Something like that.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Whatever, man.”
    “Mark my words, my friend. You don’t want him, which is exactly why he’s going to show up.”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    He eyed me like he was thinking of pushing the issue— go ahead, Brad, tell me the same thing happened with you and Jeff —but then glanced at the beer in his hand. “I’m going to go get another one. You want—” His eyes darted toward the white-capped orange prescription bottle on the coffee table. “Oh. No beer for you, I guess. Uh, do you want anything?”
    I scowled playfully. “Well, now I want a beer.”
    “Sorry.” He grimaced. “Anything else? A soda? Something to eat?”
    My stomach grumbled, and it dawned on me that I hadn’t eaten a thing since lunch, which had been light since I’d been excited to the point of queasy about my upcoming ride. “I don’t suppose I could talk you into throwing a sandwich together, could I?” I gestured at the pill bottle. “I need to eat something with