“Yeah, right. It’s ok to be upset.”
“No, Leah, it’s not. It’s not ok at all. I knew the guy for a week. I’m being ridiculous and I just need a drink.”
“When it works it works. I knew with Daniel on the first date. I tried to fight it. I was engaged to another man, for crying out loud, but I knew.”
“Even if I did know, it doesn’t even matter. We live on different continents. And anyway, it’s done. We haven’t got each other’s numbers.”
“What do you mean? You texted each other, of course you have each other’s numbers.”
“I deleted them. On both our phones. It was a fling, Leah. I can’t have myself think it was anything else. It’s better this way.”
She squeezed my knee. “Well, at least you know there are good guys out there. We can find you someone else when you get back. Daniel has a cute friend, Adam, who’s available.”
Leah was just trying to be nice, but there was nothing I would like less than to think about dating someone else. I was going to let myself wallow for a little bit. I’d drink a bit too much, eat a bit too much, and work long hours. Then when I felt at an all-time low, I’d pick myself up and start again.
No promises, no ambiguity, no bullshit.
Autumn in London
The Empire State Series – Part Two
By Louise Bay
ONE
Anna
“Just a drink? What have you got to lose?” Leah was trying to convince me to go on a date with one of her boyfriend Daniel’s old college friends.
“Leah, please. I’ve said no about a hundred times. Can you drop it?” I replied.
“I just hate to see you so sad Anna.”
“I’m not sad. I don’t know what you mean.”
Leah sighed. “You know exactly what I mean. You’ve been like this for months, since we came back from New York.”
“I’ve just had a lot going on since we came back. The flat—work has been busy. You know people are saying that we all might be out of jobs if the rumors are true about the firm being in trouble, and I’ve had so much work since Mindy left. There’s just a lot been going on and I’ve been distracted.” But although that was all true, Leah was right, I’d been under a black cloud since being back in London. Everything had just seemed a bit muted,and I couldn’t bring myself to feel enthusiastic about anything.
“You’re not going to lose your job. And even if you did, you could walk into another tomorrow.”
I’d managed to change the subject from New York. I wanted to scrub it from my memory and I wanted to relive it constantly at the same time. I’d had a perfect week with Ethan. I didn’t know if it was because we were both clear on our expectations—that the week would be uncomplicated and about enjoying ourselves and, most importantly, limited to only one week—but I’d never felt so comfortable in a man’s company before. There had been no pressure, no expectations, no bullshit. We’d just concentrated on enjoying ourselves and each other. He made me laugh—out loud—not many men could do that. I liked him and I liked the personIwas around him. By the end, it had felt like there was something more between us. The fact that he’d brought me back to his place the last evening we had together had made me feel like I was special.
“You could call him,” she said.
“Who?” I pretended I didn’t know who “him” was.
“You know who. Ethan.”
“I don’t want to call him. It was just a holiday fling. And if I did want to, I couldn’t because I don’t have his number any more than I did the ten thousand times you’ve mentioned this before.”
“You could Google him.”
I’d not told Leah, but I’d already briefly tried to internet stalk him with no success. There were plenty of Ethan Scotts but nothing that I could see was relating to my Ethan. I was grateful in a way. No ambiguity. No promises. No bullshit.
“Drop it, Leah.”
“Okay. Let’s change the subject. When does the flat go through?”
