Kyle lets out a long puff of air. “I can ask her to consider it, but I can’t tell her what to do. She is strong headed, and I don’t want to piss her off. I’m in love with her, and I am working out the courage to tell her that.”
“Pussy,” I snort.
“You’d be a pussy too if you allowed yourself to actually feel something,” he deadpans. “But you declared yourself dead inside, and you’re doing a very good job of convincing the rest of us of it.”
I smile while staring at my shoes and shake my head at his tone. I’d normally snap at him, but I’m not feeling it.
”I’ll think about it,” I finally say.
He is confused. “Think about what?”
”The party, fucker. Isn’t that why you called?”
”Oh, that. Yes, and I also wanted to make sure you were alive.”
We hang up on a better note than how we started. I drop the phone on the table at my side and take another sip of the scotch I’ve been nursing.
It was good talking to Kyle, and I hope we can get back to the friendship we had before he met Zara. Maybe if I prove to her that I am not the asshole I showed her all those months ago, she’ll give me another chance at getting to know her.
Maybe I can find another outlet for all this anger I feel inside. When I was with Mona, I’d…
A frown forms on my face. No matter what I do, I can’t avoid thinking about Mona.
I am so fucked.
THREE
Mona
“This place is kinda lame,right? I can show you a good time later.”
My date eyes me up and down from across the table. He looks like a creep, and I can’t believe I agreed to meet with him tonight.
After I ran into Alex’s friend, I promised myself that I would put more effort into finding someone who I genuinely like. This person would be my plus one to the party I apparently promised to go and it’s a sin against children to pull out from.
I’m not sure what good it’ll be for me to show up anyway. I’m broke, and I can’t afford to donate or bid on anything they will have up for auctioning. It’s going to be embarrassing as far as that goes. But I would love to show up with a date on my arm if only to show Alex that there is life after him.
“I’d ask you to come to my place, but my roommates are throwing an orgy tonight. Unless you’re into that…” The way this guy smirks at me makes me want to throw up, preferably all over him. “You do give out that vibe,” he continues.
I simply stare at him, picturing in my head what it would look like if I flipped this table on his head. I am not beneath doing it, but I don’t want to deal with the aftermath. I’m tired.
With that last thought in mind, I pull out some cash from my purse, just enough to cover the one drink I had, thanking God that it was the cheapest one on the menu. I drop the money on the table and stand up.
“Wow, ready to go right away.” He stands up, too. “I love it.”
Completely out of instinct and with my brain shut off, I reach for my glass, which is still half full. I pick it up and throw it in the asshole’s face.
“That’s a no, thank you.” My voice is steady when I speak. “Don’t follow me, don’t call me or message me. If you do, I will call the police…”
“The fuck you will!”
I yank my coat off the back of the chair and put a finger up. “I will send them to your fuck pad, just to check that everyone participating in your orgies is there of their own free will.”
His eyes widen in shock at hearing that. I honestly don’t think that whatever they’re doing there is illegal, but it is a good way to make him understand that I want no contact between us once I walk out of here.
I don’t wait to hear if he has anything else to say. Turning on my heels, I ignore the other patrons of the restaurant who are staring at me, and walk all the way out. Only once I step foot onto the sidewalk, I can breathe again.
My arms are crossed over the coat that I am hugging to my chest, and I start power walking toward the subway station. Despite me thinking this guy was fairly harmless, I still worrythat he might follow me. The crime in the city is bad enough that no one would care if he attacked me in plain sight.
