“Did you have a torrid and salacious sex trip with this man and fail to tell me about it?” Evan giggled.
“No, Ev,” I said, shaking my head.
“Then how on earth did you both write the same three very obscurely set love scenes in the exact same order? Also, I now find it curious that you named your love interestNash.”
“Evan,” I muttered, feeling a sharp twist in my gut.
“Yeah?”
I could barely manage to get the words out. “He was the guy from the Aruba trip.”
“The one where—”
“Yes,”I cut him off.
“Oh,” he replied, way less enthused this time. “Shit, Mel. I had no idea.”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
After a long pause, Evan said, “Well, fuckhim. I mean, right?”
I nodded, but Evan couldn’t hear that through the phone.
***
It’s 4:00 p.m. on the last Monday of the school year when I finally make my decision. I wait until I’m settled in at home to dial Evan’s number.
I don’t even bother with his office line anymore. I call the cell, and he picks up almost instantly. “Hey, Mel,” he chirps.
“I’ll do it,” I blurt out. “ThePeoplemagazine thing.”
My ears are assaulted by a cross between a gasp and a shriek. “Youwill?” he cries.
“On one condition.”
“Anything. What is it?”
“I need to speak to him alone first.”
“Of course.”
“So I need you to get me his number.”
“Consider it done. I’ll get it from Shelby and text it to you ASAP.”
“Good,” I say. “Thank you.” This sounds like a declaration, a far cry from what someone might sound like if this decision were, indeed,good.
His merriment waned. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, Ev.”
“You sure? You don’t sound fine.”
“You know what it is? My name is being dragged through the mud right now, and I’m too spent to even care the way that I should. Beckett and I have unfinished business. I can’t imagine seeing him out of the blue after everything we’ve been through and just having some professional—not to mention,recorded—conversation. So, I want to talk to him first. I have questions that I need answers to.”
“I think that’s totally fair. And, listen, I want you to know that I’ll be there for thePeoplething if you need me. I’m here for you in whatever way you need. I want you to know that.”
“I know, and I appreciate you for it. More than you know.”
