“Good morning.” I walked to the Keurig we kept on thecounter and put in a K-cup. The loud pop of the needle breaking the plastic echoed in the silent kitchen.
“Morning,” Elijah finally grumbled.
I said nothing else as I made my coffee exactly how I liked it: medium roast with a heavy hand of vanilla creamer.
I took a sip and instantly felt the warm caffeine loosen some of those tight muscles from sleep.
I pulled out the stool next to Elijah and sat. “So, how did the night go after I left? Did they get enough donations? What was their donation goal, anyway? I thought they were supposed to have a sign that highlighted the progress as money came in. You know, like in the movies.”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he kept scrolling through the numbers and letters that displayed on his computer screen.
“Elijah?”
With a heavy sigh, he turned his head toward me. “What?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line, holding back the attitude that fought to get loose. “I asked you a question.”
“I wasn’t paying attention.”
Taking a deep breath, I willed the dam that kept my emotions from spilling over to hang on just a bit longer. “I asked about the rest of the night.”
“Oh. It was fine.” He turned back to his computer.
The tether on my patience snapped like a small twig under too much pressure. I wasn’t interested in playing mind games and I was still hurt by the way he treated me at the gala.
If he wanted to be an ass, I’d happily sink to that level with him. “What the hell is your problem?”
Could I be overreacting just a touch? Maybe. But after he insinuated I was some kind of seductress last night and now he was barely acknowledging me, I’d hit my limit.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
As his fingers moved across the trackpad onhis laptop, my anger simmered a little more. Every swipe. Every click. I clenched my jaw tighter. The nerves in my body filled with an electric buzz as my hand reached out and snapped his computer closed. “Maybe now you can listen better.”
“What the fuck, Cadence. I’m working.”
“And I’m talking to you!”
“Funny how your needs always come before mine. Who cares if I’m doing anything important. You need to talk, so I should stop everything I’m doing and listen.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, and you know it. Don’t distort my intentions to make yourself the victim here.”
“Then what do you want, Cadence?”
“I’m not expecting you to drop everything, but I know you can analyze that data on your computer and talk to me at the same time. You can do that kind of number crunching with your eyes closed. In fact, I’ve watched you do plenty of things still buzzed from a night of drinking without a wink of sleep.”
“We aren’t in college anymore. That shit doesn’t fly in real life.”
“I’m not saying we are. Ugh. Why are you twisting everything?”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. All I wanted to know was how the rest of the night went. Who knew it was going to turn into this? It’s always a fight with you these days.”
“Hm. Well, let’s see. My girlfriend causes a scene at a charity gala that my family is known to be generous benefactors of, wearing a revealing dress and inviting men to hit on her. Then, after she leaves early, she goes to a bar to do God knows what with God knows who.”
I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest, heat burning inside me. “And how do you know where I was? It’s not like you reached out and asked.”
“When you weren’t home, I tracked your phone. I also noticed Jade there, too. And what was Jade doing last night? Oh, yeah. Going to see that band she loves so much… again.”
