“Exactly,” Evie grumbled. “Well, more Alex than Tommy, but Tommy seems to be reliving his youth since Alex was made Chief of Security Operations and they started hanging out. Which is hilarious, because even when he was in his twenties, he didn’t party this much.”
She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling like everyone was doing what they thought was best for her without caring about what she wanted. “Maybe I should see if Nissa wants to try the lesbian thing.”
“Nissa is bisexual and probably would take you up on it.” Aaron chuckled, looking relieved she was joking again.
“She is?” Evie was surprised; she had no idea Nissa liked women, too. “She and Tommy have been together for years. I had no idea.”
“She’s out and proud, but if it doesn’t come up, she doesn’t mention it,” Aaron explained nonchalantly as he pulled out his phone and checked something. “She and Tommy have some kind of deal where they can have a one-night stand once or twice a year with someone from the same sex.”
“Huh.” Evie let out an amused huff. That explained why Tommy had been able to stay with Nissa for as long as he had, since he usually missed what he wasn’t getting about six months into a relationship. “I would be heartbroken if Nissa only had a one-night stand with me.”
“Are you bisexual too?” Aaron looked over at her, curiosity lighting up his eyes.
“No, I’m straight,” Evie chuckled softly, the hurt that had knotted up her chest all night easing as Aaron helped distract her. “I’d make an exception for her, though. Fuck she’s gorgeous, inside and out. But she is perfect for Tommy, especially with the one-night stand thing. They just get each other on a level I can only hope to have with someone and want all the same things in a relationship.”
“And what does Evie want?” Aaron asked gently, tilting his head and looking at her with what she thought was a touch of sadness.
“Someone who…” She closed her eyes and shook her head, leaning back into the seat. “I don’t even fucking know.”
“Do you want Alex?”
“Not at the moment. What I want right now are my shower and my bed.” She deflected, opening her eyes and giving him a sardonic smile. “What do you want to bet that they won’t even notice I left until they’re ready to go?”
“Come on, they’ll notice before then.” Aaron shook his head, looking skeptical of her prediction. “You’re the birthday girl.”
“Five hundred says they won’t.” Evie held out her hand as the car stopped at the Tower.
“Deal. Gonna need proof though.” He shook her hand and then undid his seatbelt. They said goodnight to their driver, and Evie laughed dryly as they walked up to the door and buzzed for the security guard to let them in.
“I’ll send you screenshots of their texts with timestamps.” When they were let in and on the elevator, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
“Why don’t you come with me tomorrow?” Aaron asked abruptly, and she snapped her head up, looking at him in surprise.
“On your mission?” She shook her head, not sure she understood why he was making the suggestion. “Won’t that be dangerous and a breach of protocol?”
“Not on my mission,” Aaron chuckled. “I’ll be staying in a beach house in Palomino. It’s in Colombia, really popular with tourists, with surfers, yogis, and backpackers everywhere. Completely safe. But it’s close enough to the Venezuelan border that I can cross over quickly to do what I need to.”
Evie hesitated for a moment, and just as the elevator stopped on the contractor dorm floor, she nodded. “Okay. What time are you leaving?”
“Meet me in the lobby at five.”
Chapter Forty-Six: Missing the Point
When everything was winding down at the party, Tommy made his way through the dwindling crowds to find Alex. He hadn’t seen Evie since she cut the cake, and he was getting concerned. Thorn had grabbed his girlfriend and left around eleven-thirty, looking extremely upset, but Tommy figured he had gotten tired of trying to catch up to Evie, who seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him, slipping like a mouse through the crowds every time he tried to approach her.
Nissa had expressed her theory that the reason Evie was so angry was that Thorn had stopped spending time with her since getting into a relationship, after Tommy told her that Evie had lied about booking a spa getaway to get him to confess that he and Alex were planning a party.
Tommy had agreed with her, and when Thorn told him he didn’t know if he could make it to Evie’s birthday party the next morning, Tommy said it was his decision, then asked whether his new girlfriend was worth losing Evie forever. The question seemed to finally penetrate the sex hormones in his brain because he’d gone pale and muttered he’d be there.
Now he was wondering if Evie had confronted him, then hidden away somewhere to calm down for a while, maybe even fallen asleep or something. Finally spotting Alex at the bar with a group of people he didn’t recognize, he approached and waved him over.
“Hey! What’s up?” Alex looked around, a smug expression of pride on his face. “Was this a rager or what?”
“Yeah, it was great,” Tommy said distractedly. “Have you seen Evie?”
Alex froze, his face paling a little as he looked around. “No, I haven’t seen her in ages, now that I think about it. Not since she cut the cake.”
With very concerned, nervous looks, they both pulled out their phones and sent her a text. She never replied, and Tommy felt panic building. He’d noticed there were a lot of people he didn’t know at the party, but had assumed they were friends of Alex’s that Evie knew.
