Dex watches me. I pretend not to notice.
Gail swings the door open and sticks her head out. “What?”
I jam my hands on my hips and talk through clenched teeth. “I’m leaving early to—”
She interrupts me with a fluttery wave of her hands. “Go forth and write wherever your quick little fingers desire, my little money maker.”
I sigh and walk away. The last three articles I wrote had the most views of any of our articles read online. My career is going well, now why can’t I just straighten out my love life?
I march past Dex’s area and he’s laughing on his cellphone with someone. Hot sparks flash out across my collarbone, and I want to scream at him and I don’t even know why. I can hear on the other end of the phone the loud voice of a woman and I walk faster, trying to run from the crack that seems to be splitting through my chest.
Grabbing my stuff off my desk, I rush for the elevator only to stand there and wait for the slowest elevator in the world. Someone should rename it thesnailevator.
After five minutes of me pacing back and forth in front of it, one of the other writers comes to stand next to me, presses the down button and the door immediately slides open.
I huff out a loud dramatic sigh. I’ve had enough adulting for the day, I just want to go home and crawl back into bed.
Instead, I hit the bookstore, grocery store, and of course the liquor store, where I once again throw down way too much money to get out of hearing what Mina’s husband won’t let her do any longer with anal beads.
By the time I get back to my apartment, it’s after five and I’m exhausted. I unpack all my bags and hear Julia pounding on the living room wall. “Hey, bitch. I’m home!”
I guess she’s back to talking with me again and not blaming me for Nate finding out about her and Pierre Auden Luc. “Hey, how are you?” I ask, unbuttoning my jeans and slipping them down my legs. I kick them in the corner, pull my shirt off my head, and flop onto my couch.
Julia doesn’t answer me back, so I throw on a pair of sweats and grab a bottle of wine and head over. I knock on her door, and when she opens it, I wave the bottle of wine up to her face.
Except it’s not her face that answers the door—it’s Nate’s.
My heart sinks, and I feel sick and dizzy. I almost drop the wine, but he grabs it out of my hands with a smile. “Look, Jules. Jane brought you wine.” He shifts me through the door with a hand at the small of my back and what feels like another choking me.
Julia is standing in the doorway of her bathroom with a crutch under each arm. “I’m just running to the bathroom and then we’ll have a glass. Nate? Could you open the wine?”
“Sure,” he says, walking into the kitchen for three glasses and the wine opener. I stare at him, in utter disbelief.
I’m even more shocked when he slides up to me, cups his hands around my face and kisses me. His lips are drying and cool, softer than I remember. My pulse races in my veins and his hands are grasping at my breasts, squeezing way too tightly. The pipes in the wall creak with the flush of the toilet, and the bathroom door squeaks open. Nate shoves me away and I stumble back, and almost fall into the coffee table.
Rage boils my blood. “What the fuck?” I growl at him.
He shakes his head and narrows his eyes. “What? Do you think I’m going to be faithful to her now? Come on, Jane.”
“You think this has to do with her still? This has to do with me, you stupid asshole,” I whisper, as Julia comes hobbling out of the hallway and into the living room.
“Thank you for the wine, Janie. Come sit down and have a glass with us.”
“No,” I say, backing away to the door. “I have a ton of stuff to do. I just thought I’d drop this off for you guys.”
Nate helps her sit down and hands her a glass of wine. I hate that I just gave them my wine. I want my wine back. I paid extra for that wine and neither of them deserve to have it.
“Hey, hold up. Can I talk to you outside?” Nate asks.
“No, you don’t have to—”
He ushers me out anyway, and I round on him once the door to Julia’s apartment is closed. “Dex was right about you.”
“Dex is an asshole. You know he wouldn’t even let me go with you to the sex club, I wanted to watch you—I wanted you.”
“You want me to be a secret. What did you say to me before?” I fold my arms over my chest and bark out a hurt laugh. “You wanted to keep us on thedown low. Dex was right, you don’t respect me at all.”
“Look, you can’t believe Dex, he might act like your friend but look what he did after he banged you at the party…”
