The Guy Who Pumps Your Gas Hates You by Trinder Sean;

Author:Trinder, Sean;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NeWest Publishers, Limited
Published: 2015-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

I walk through the door into Anne’s apartment. I’m about to throw my jacket on the floor, but I don’t. The apartment is cleaner than I’ve ever seen it. I can see into the living room area, and Anne’s coffee table is cleared off and there’re bowls of chips and plates with fruits and vegetables on it. Anne is sitting on the couch, drinking wine. She gets up and takes my jacket from me.

“I’m going to throw this on the bed,” she says, and she does.

When she comes back from the bedroom, I ask, “What’s going on?”

Anne smiles.

“I’ve been nervous about us possibly running into my friends when we’re out in the world —”

“Is that why we always hang out here?”

“— so I decided to do a little immersion therapy. I invited all my friends over tonight to meet you. We’re getting all this over with in one shot —”

“Like taking off a Band-Aid?”

“— so I can finally get over this block I have, this awful feeling that you’re too young for me and everyone is going to ostracize me for robbing the cradle. It’s all in my head, I know, so when my friends get here and see how great you are and they all like you as much as I like you, then it will all be over and I can get over it, y’know?” Anne says.

“If you were a guy and I were a girl, this wouldn’t even be an issue,” I say.

Anne looks angry.

“Don’t lump me in with those assholes who chase after girls seven years younger than they are,” she says.

I’m about to respond, but Anne’s buzzer buzzes. She walks over to it.

“There’s beer in the fridge,” she tells me before she says into the intercom, “Come on up.”

Anne’s worries prove to be baseless. I get along great with her friends. I’m funny and witty and great to be around, and so are her friends. No one asks me about my age, presumably because I don’t look any younger than anyone else at the party. I feel very at ease with Anne’s friends. I’m tipsy and I’m happy that no one’s cutting lines on the coffee table. It’s nice for a change.

Later in the night, I’m standing in the kitchen with a guy named Cole who seems pretty cool. He’s got a shaved head and traditional tattoos on his arms.

“So, how’d you and Anne meet?” he asks me.

“We were in the same writing workshop class at the U of W,” I tell him.

“You’re a writer?”

“Trying to be.”

“What do you write?”

“Different stuff, I guess. After Columbine, I wrote a novel about a school shooting,” I say.

“Cool. You try to get it published?”

“I tried for a little while. I sent out some stuff, but then I got discouraged.”

“Ain’t that the bitch of it,” Cole says. “You ever think about self-publishing?”

“No. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“It’s easier than you’d think. There’re some websites that’ll help you through it. Watch out for the scammers, though,” he says.

I smile.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.