“Oh my God.You’re staying with me.I don’t need to check in with you.And how do you know I stayed with a guy?I could have been with a friend.”
“None of your friends are in town?—”
“I’ve made new friends.”
“—and you’re flushed.Post coitusflushed.”
Fuck!My lips pinch together.I storm into the bedroom and close the door, taking a deep breath.
Leave it to my biologist brother to notice and technically define afterglow.
A knock sounds a moment later.“Cali?Can I come in?”Gen says.
I pull my hair into a bun, open the window, and fan myself, scraping together the remains of my dignity.“Come in,” I say.
She shuts the door behind her and sits on the bed.She looks down at her hands twisted in her lap.“I know we haven’t talked much.I’ve been working and you’re going through a hard time.I feel like I haven’t been there for you.”
Gen has known every guy I’ve kissed since we met.She’s never learned about something secondhand, and though it seems right to keep what’s between me and Jaeger private, the strain in our friendship is obvious.
I sit across from her.“That’s how I feel.Like I haven’t been there for you.”
She smiles bleakly.“You have.You’re the strong one.I’ve pulled away, because I—well, I want to be strong.It’s in me…”
“Of course you’re strong.”
She shakes her head.“No, you say what’s on your mind and speak up for yourself.I want to speak up.I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”
Gen is reserved and less outspoken than me—most people are—but I didn’t know she’s afraid.“What’s going on?”
She cradles her elbows and leans into herself.“You know how I don’t talk to my mom?”
I nod.The topic of her mother doesn’t come up unless I pry it out of her, and even then, I get nothing substantial.
“I won’t blame my mom for the way I am and the choices I’ve made, but some of the hang-ups I have are because of our relationship.It’s… unusual.But that’s not the point.The point is, I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”
She tucks a dark lock behind her ear.“There was an incident a couple of weeks ago at Blue.One of the managers forced his hand under my shorts and touched me.He would have done more if someone hadn’t interrupted.I’m afraid to say anything to the casino.I’m worried that what happened to you—with you getting fired and all—will happen to me.There are rumors?—”
I wave my hands frantically.“Wait, wait,what?Jaeger mentioned something about a jerk touching you.He didn’t say it was one of the executives, or what he did.”My mind spins, bits and pieces coming together.“Who was it, Gen?”
“Some of the executives hang out in my bar after they get off work.One of them asked me to serve a small group he was hosting.He took advantage—put me in an uncomfortable situation.”
“Who was it?”
“Drake Peterson.”
Shit, shit.
“I knew I shouldn’t have gone up there alone, but I wanted the extra money?—”
I shake my head.“This is my fault.”I could have warned Gen about Drake if I’d told her what he did.“Drake took me home the night we went to the club and came on too strong.Jaeger showed up and convinced him to leave.”Would have beat the crap out of him had he stayed.
Confusion and concern war on her face.“I didn’t know… but this isn’t your fault.That’s what I’m trying to tell you.I rely on you to fight my battles, when the reality is that sometimes it’s my fault I get into situations.Or maybe I make myself a target.”Her brow furrows and she clenches her fists.“I used poor judgment with Drake.And God, Cali, so didyou.What were you thinking, going home with him?”
“I wasn’t.And I already heard the parental lecture from Jaeger.”
Her eyes narrow, scanning my face and neck—very likely taking in thepost coitus flush, as my brother so elegantly put it.“Were you with Jaeger last night?”she asks gently.I nod, and she shoves my knee playfully.“Next time, text or something.We were worried.”
No animosity fills her expression, and that’s a relief.I trusted what Jaeger said about them, but you never know.Gen could have hidden her feelings for him.I did.
