Free Getting Dumped by Tawna Fenske

paths and what it takes to gain respect and wealth and happiness. It was a long time ago, and I’ve learned some things since then.”
    “You called me a loser,” she said, the hurt flickering in her eyes the same way it had the day she’d shown up at my college dorm in tears a week after her high school graduation. “You said that if I didn’t get a degree, I’d never amount to anything. You said you couldn’t possibly be with someone who didn’t respect herself enough to ensure that her earning potential was—”
    “I was wrong,” he said, closing his eyes for a moment. “I was pissed when I realized we weren’t going to college together like we’d planned, and I said stupid things. Did stupid things. I was a stupid kid, okay?”
    Lori stared at him, her elfin features flushed pink. “Yes,” she said. “You were.”
    “I was a jerk to you.”
    “Yes. You were.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    Lori blinked hard, her eyes on him. When she spoke again, her voice was an octave higher.
    “Why is it that our immature, eighteen-year-old selves are the ones who make those major, life-altering decisions about education and career?”
    Adam shrugged. “It seems to have worked out okay for you.”
    Lori’s chin lifted. “Better than okay.”
    “I saw those pictures of your stuff in Cosmopolitan two years ago. And then that little thing in Marie Claire last fall.”
    She raised an eyebrow. “Why were you reading women’s magazines?”
    “We keep copies in the waiting areas at all the auto repair shops,” Adam said, shrugging. “When things are slow, I catch up on my reading. Get in touch with my feminine side.”
    “You just like looking at boobs.”
    “That too,” he agreed.
    Lori smiled, albeit weakly. “Fine. You can stay for dinner. That’s it. Then you go home.”
    “That seems fair,” he said, glancing at the table. “Since I bought the pizza.”
    Lori nodded once, then turned to grab the salad that Pete and I had just finished.
    “So can we eat now?” I asked, glancing between them to make sure neither was on the verge of drawing a dagger. “Cold pizza’s okay, but it’s really better warm.”
    Lori turned back toward the kitchen and rummaged through my cupboard to find the dried cranberries she favored on her salad. She returned to the table and sat down across from my usual spot, leaving the men to fill in the gaps between us. Boy, girl, boy, girl. Very cozy. I could almost have pretended that none of the guests were on the brink of skewering another with a salad fork or groping a table-mate who was already involved in a relationship.
    We passed around pizza slices and plates, the conversation growing more relaxed as we munched. “So you think that was just a random thing that happened to your car?” Lori asked as she passed Pete a bowl of toasted pine nuts.
    Pete shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I don’t think I have any enemies.”
    Adam cleared his throat. “So the cops think it’s just teenagers screwing around?”
    “They didn’t really say. Why?”
    Adam shrugged. “No reason. That’s just usually a really safe part of town. Don’t they have security cameras or something?”
    “Not there,” Lori said. “A couple blocks down by the jewelry store they do, but there’s nothing in that section.”
    Pete nodded and reached for another beer. “The cops took prints and examined everything pretty thoroughly.”
    “Then hopefully they’ll get to the bottom of it,” Adam said as he grabbed another slice of pepperoni.
    “So, Pete,” Lori said, “How did you end up working at the dump after being an actor?”
    “ The actor,” Adam clarified around a mouthful of pizza. “Seriously, this guy is the man. Colt McTrigger, the coolest action hero ever . There was this scene where he flipped this switch on his Taser gun and all the bad guys turned into wedges of cheddar cheese and these mice came out—”
    “The movie didn’t have a lot of commercial success,” Pete said,