I stare out the windshield. “You really think he’s jealous?”
“Jesus.” She laughs a little, puts her car back into drive, and we’re off again. “I don’t think anything is going to convince you until the man wraps you up and kisses the hell out of you. Then you’ll get it.”
“He’s not going to kiss me. We’re just friends.”
“Mm-hm. Friends. With benefits.”
“And besides, after this, I’m not sure I want to visit him anyway. He was being a jerk.”
“Oh, no, you’re going.”
She’s right. I could never let him waste money on a plane ticket and not use it. Except perhaps he could fly one of his brothers down there?
What am I saying? Of course I’m going. I need to get away for a little while, even if he’s mad at me for my entire visit.
Unless, after this, he’s changed his mind.
Crap. What if he changed his mind?
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Alec
I stare downat a photo my brother sent me and frown. I can’t quite make out what it is. It appears to be two people doing something on the floor in costumes. Then his text message comes through.
Saw your girlfriend at a party tonight. Looks like she’s having a great time.
My girlfriend? I use my fingers to enlarge the photo, focusing on the woman beneath a person in a dress. Not a person, a man. I can see his profile; he’s got a short beard beneath a bunch of green makeup. That’s when I realize who else is in the photo. Matilda. I spend the next several minutes moving the photo around, minimizing and maximizing it so I can make out what’s happening. Matilda’s face is covered in green stuff, makeup from the guy on top of her, I assume. Next, I reread Adrian’s message.Looks like she’s having a great time.
Was she kissing that guy?
I’m immediately incensed. I probably don’t have a right to be, but it is what it is. Seeing her there, beneath some other man, well, every ounce of my resolve flits out the window. I’m jealous. Like the guy on top of her, I’m green with it.
So, I do something I probably shouldn’t; I message her. In retrospect, I know I should’ve waited until I wasn’t so pissed, but I needed to know the truth. Except she hung up on me, and now she’s not answering my calls or texts.
“Fuck.”
Is she with him? Now? Is Matilda going home with that guy tonight? Does she know him from before? Is he the friend she had drinks with?
Running my hand through my hair, I pull on some of the longer strands on top. I need to get it cut before she visits.
“Fuck.” What if she doesn’t want to visit now?
“What’s up, man? Bad news?” Jim asks as he slides into the driver’s seat.
“No.” I should tell him, but I’m not in the mood. “It’s nothing.”
“A man only reacts like that over a woman.”
I’m not at the point where I feel completely comfortable confiding in Jim, although things have improved exponentially after the incident at the motor pool a week or so ago. I’m just not there yet. “It’s nothing.”
“Is it Matilda?”
He remembers her name? How many times have I said it? I’m going to have to tell him something. “She was at a party. My brother took a photo of her.” Having too much damn fun.
“Let me see the photo.”
Jim pulls the cruiser over into a parking lot. Once we’re stopped, I bring up the photo and hand it to him.
