Ada’s laugh is manic. “Oh, sure, having two girls catfight over you on social media must besucha blow to your reputation, Jake.”
“Renaldo—”
“No.” She jabs a finger at him. “You don’t get to pull that bossy shit with me anymore. I postedone pictureof your arm andmyface and let people come to their own conclusions.Youput my back against the wall, said we should be a couple, then lied to me about meeting up with Jenny Wallis,who you clearly fucked!”
People are gaping at her, but Ada doesn’t give a damn. She jabs her finger at Jake like it’s a dagger. “Maybe I shouldn’t have posted that stuff, but I come out of it looking like a homewrecking slut, and Jenny looks like a desperate idiot who can’t keep a man, but you? You’re gonna be just golden, aren’t you,baby?”
“I—”
“Youtoldme your sponsors love the lady-killer thing. I bet they’re thrilled about the drama.ClassicGraves-Holland, smashing his way through minor celebrities and has-been Head Girls. Better that than coupled up with a flute-playing weirdo, right? What would all the female fans who wank over you every night have to say aboutthat?”
“Ada—”
“Shut up. We both know what I did won’t affect you. You could line someone up to take my place tonight, but I’m left?—”
She clams up, shaking her head. I can see the agony burning beneath her fury. She opened her soul to Jake, and he threw it in her face. After what Name Forever Redacted did, I’m witnessing a killing blow to her trust.
“Just go away,” Ada says flatly. “There’s nothing left to talk about.”
She turns, and Jake reaches for her arm. “Renaldo?—”
Ada jerks away from him like he’s poison. “Don’t youdarelay a hand on me. You make mesick.”
He reels away from her. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.You said, ‘I find out there’s someone else, they’re dead,’ remember? So, what the fuck am I supposed to fucking do with this?”
“It was just coffee,” Jake pleads. “Coffee and a photo I thought was for the reunion.”
“So, you never slept with Jenny Wallis?”
Jake’s face falls, and Ada laughs. “I’ve said it already, Jake, but just fuck off.”
“It was one time. Right after school ended.”
For a second, Ada’s face is an expression of pure, uncut pain. Then it slams shut and she goes utterly blank. I want to drag her away, hide her in a quiet room, but Jake’s still talking. “I was pissed. I barely remember it and I wish it never?—”
Ada bursts to life like a fire-breathing demon. “And I wish you’d fucking evaporate, but we don’t always get what we want, do we? So go put your dick back in Satan andfuck off!”
“It was in the past. I told you, I don’t care who you were with before?—”
“Oh,youdon’t care? That’s so noble of you! ButInever said that. And if I’d known I was sharing dipsticks with Jenny Wallis, I wouldn’t have come near you, and you fucking knew it, you absolutecunt.”
“Babe, I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to fuck this up. I knew you and Jenny had a history, but?—”
Ada’s laughter takes on the edge of screeching angels. “Ahistory?You don’t know the fucking half of it. But I bet you wouldn’t have cared either way. All that mattered was getting me on my back, right? Finally fucking the flute-weirdo?”
“Ada…”
A warm arm closes around me. Davis. I lean into his body like he’s the last good thing onearth.
“This is messed up,” he mutters.
I nod. Ada’s eyes are blazing. She’s found it now, the place that hurts Jake the most, and she’s going to pummel it to dust.
“Don’t try to frame you screwing Jenny as some long-ago thing,” Ada spits. “It’s not long ago. It’s now. She’s been hitting you up since she got divorced, right? Asking you to come over?”
“I didn’t want her to?—”
