Free Broken by Annie Jocoby

was awake, and alone. Which actually wasn’t too surprising, as it was only around 11 O’Clock. He was reading a book, a rarity for him, his reading glasses perched on the end of his Romanesque nose. He glanced up as I came in the door. “How was work, Scotch and soda? You’re home early. It must not have been too crowded, huh?”
    Scotch and soda was yet another nickname he had for me. “Uh, I really wasn’t at work.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Well, you’ll never guess what happened. Never in a million years.”
    He gave me a look. “Something tells me that this news calls for a cocktail. Just a sec, I’ll be right back.”
    I started to protest, knowing that it was falling on deaf ears. I had to be in class the next day early, and getting hammered was the last thing that I wanted to do.
    But a gin and tonic soon appeared in my hand. Jack sipped his own Cosmopolitan daintily and crossed his legs. “So, Scotch, tell me, tell me. What do you mean you weren’t at work?”
    My heart started to race just thinking about the evening. “Well, uh, Nick actually showed up at the bar to take me to dinner.”
    “Dinner. Girl. He’s like the only guy to ever do that.”
    That was true. I not only didn’t have sex, I didn’t date, either. Mainly because dating leads to things that I didn’t want to deal with. Like sex.
    “Yes. But it wasn’t a date.”
    He gave me a look that said bitch, please. Then he said it out loud. “Bitch, please. No guy tracks a girl down where she works to take her out to eat if he isn’t interested in the pootang. But good for you.”
    I shook my head. “Come on now. Don’t say that. He really was only interested in convincing me to take the internship at his office.”
    “Internship? Is that what he wanted when he called you into his office?”
    “Yeah. That’s all he wanted. He, uh, sees something in me. In my designs.”
    “Of course. As everybody else always has. You’re literally the only one who doesn’t believe in Scotty James.”
    “Come on, Jack. That’s like the most prestigious firm in the largest city in America. This city is the very epicenter of architectural firms, and that firm is the cream of the cream. Why would they be interested in me?”
    At that, Jack got up and poured his drink on my head.
    “What the hell?” I asked, feeling the liquid running down my face and stinging my eyes. “What did you do that for?”
    “Because. You deserve it,” he said. “Girl, you can’t put yourself down like that. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and say that you are just as good as the very best architect in this city, the very best architect in this world. Fake it until you make it. And, this just in, you’ve made it, aight?”
    At that, I got up to change my clothes, as I had Cosmopolitan all over me. Then I came back out, without bothering to wash the sticky drink out of my hair. “You really think so? You think I can make it in that firm without feeling like a total dork?”
    “Scotch Marie. Yes. I believe in you. I’ve seen your designs, and they’re f-ing amazing. Yes. You can work anywhere and succeed. Now, what’s the problem?”
    I was quiet for a few seconds, sipping my drink and staring into the rim of the glass pensively. Finally, with a deep breath I said “You’re my best friend, so I guess I can tell you. I, I, I, like Nick. A lot. A lot a lot.”
    Jack just looked taken aback for a second. Then he broke into a smile. “Oh.my.god. Scotty Marie. You like a boy. I never thought I would see the day.” Then he got up and gave me a hug. “I knew it. I knew you’d like a boy sooner or later.”
    I pushed him away. “Yeah, but Jack. You know what happened to me. You know how often it happened to me. You know how broken I am. How can I work with somebody I have feelings for? I’m going to be forced to be near him all the time. I can’t think of a bigger nightmare.” I shook my head. “But he cornered me. He’s very