17/03/2002 - 12:52 p.m.

Part 14

Table of Contents

Lisa went back to her bedroom and put down the phone. Closing the closet door, she went downstairs. The phone rang in the living room and, with a certain amount of disgust, she picked it up.

"Hi Lisa, it's me again. I forgot to mention, you can bring Michael to the wedding."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Why wouldn't you? It's silly to come to the wedding without a date."

"Won't he have a best man? That's usually who the bridesmaid is expected to lust after."

"Lisa, I want you to have someone there. This is simple, just call him up and-"

"I can't."

"You have his number."

"I can't read it."

"You said you told me everything! You left that part out!"

"Emily, please. Not another two hours. Tell me when it comes out in paperback, OK? Then I can read it at my leisure."

"No you can't, you'd end up taking it back to the library unread."

"Emily, I'm warning you..." Lisa hissed through clenched teeth. "I love you to death, but I can't take this. Got the point?"

"I don't know why I put up with you sometimes."

"Neither do I. If I ever get ahold of Michael, I'll ask about Paula's phone number so you can hang out with her instead."

"Lisa, you're my best friend, and I expect you to take this advice as such. Find Michael, live a normal life, get married, and stop being bitter."

"Thanks Em, but I don't think it's going to happen."

"Because you enjoy your bitternes. In the meanwhile, I'll put you down as bringing a date."

"Thanks, thanks a lot Emily." Lisa hund up the phone, sighed, and drug out the phone book again. She opened it and stared down at the numbers for some time. There were twenty five single men there. Was she really that desperate? She hated to admit it to herself.

"Hello? Michael?" she said into the phone.

"Hello," Michael replied.

"This is Lisa."

"Oh, hi. You know, I seriously didn't think you'd call me." He glanced at Jeff and grinned.

"You mean, you're the right one?"

"The right one?"

"Yes, I couldn't read your number."

"So, how did you find me?"

Lisa grimaced. "I opened the phone book and just started down the list. Yours was the first number."

Michael laughed. Lisa hated herself. There was a long silence as Michael realised she wasn't laughing too.

"I wanted to tell you that I last night didn't completely suck."

"Well," Michael said, hesitantly, "that's a, a really nice thing to say. I'm glad you went to the trouble."

"Yeah."

"Ask her what she's doing tonight," Jeff prodded.

"No!"

"No what?" asked Lisa.

"My roommate."

"Oh."

"He wants me to ask you what you're doing."

"Tell him I'm throwing him skeptical glances."

Michael turned to Jeff, relaying the message.

"No idiot, ask what she's doing tonight."

"Oh, he wants to know what you're doing tonight."

"Tell him there's no way I'm going out with a guy who won't even take the phone."

Michael relayed the message and Jeff, in disgust, wrestled the phone from his grasp.

"Hey, Lisa, look, I'm Jeff. I'm Michael's roommate. I've been watching him screw this thing up since last night, but I don't want him to. He's a nice guy, just a little dense sometimes, you know what I mean? I wanted him to ask you out, and he's just not getting what I'm saying to him."

"I'm not quite getting what you're saying to me."

"I want you two to get together. How about tonight? You busy?"

"No."

"Good, you two talk." Jeff held the phone out to Michael.

"I hate you," he said.

"It's for your own good," Jeff replied.

"It is not."

"True, it's to get you out of the building of a night. Go to her place, Christ."

Michael took the receiver. "Now you know my roommate."

"Who would want to have sex with him?"

"Yeah."

"So, I suppose we have to go someplace now. He wants you out of the way?"

"You might say that."

"OK, so where do you think?"

"Dinner? I can pick you up."

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