She swiveled to look at him, her head wobbling on her neck like it might topple off her body in shock. Davenevergot angry, least of all with her. But the grim set of his mouth and the shoulders up around his ears told her that he was angry right now. So she got angry right back.
“You’re serious,” she snapped. “You’re going to jump my shit because I’m hanging out with our friend—the one who’s slept with the majority of the single women in this town, by the way—and you don’t like it? And how do you even know what Jake’s thinking?”
Dave didn’t take his eyes off the road as he turned into the WNCB lot and pulled the van around back. “He’s come over for dinner a couple of times. We talk.”
“You talk?” Mabel was sputtering now. “Youtalkto my…”
Dave’s laugh wasn’t friendly. “Yourwhat?”
She leaned away from him, pressing her back against the door, shocked by the venom in his voice. It left her off-balance and on the defensive.
“Oh yeah? How is this any of your business?” Even as she said it, the words tasted wrong on her tongue. Dave was her business, and she was his. Had been for years. But he’d nevereverspoken to her like this.
He turned the van off but wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Look, I’d be thrilled if you were actually happy, but you’re not. You mope around but pretend everything’s okay. You claim your texting with Jake is all innocent, but that’s bullshit and it’s fucking withhimtoo.”
She swallowed hard and blinked back tears. “Dave, I… Why are you saying this?”
Now he looked at her, his jaw set. “Oh, poor Mabel, sad because she won’t date the guy she’s crazy about. Why don’t you worry about something real for a change? Because you don’t seem that worried about your job even though I know you’ve been intentionally fucking it up like it’s some sort of game.”
She shook her head, tempted to tell him that she wasn’t—at least not anymore. But “not anymore” was a shitty defense.
And Dave still wasn’t done. “In the meantime, all I do is worry. I worry about Ana having to go on bed rest or, God forbid, losing the baby. I worry about my useless new cohost. I worry that my ratings are falling and I’m going to get fired. And then I haveyouacting like a child because you’re too scared to go after what you want. God, just save the angst for those of us with real fucking problems.”
When his torrent of words died away, the only sound in the van was the ticking of the engine as it cooled down.
He deflated against the seat, pushing his fingers under his glasses to rub his eyes. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”
But she was already scrabbling for the door handle, desperate to escape the van before the tears started. Her stomach roiled as she walked to the recording studio on autopilot, not bothering to turn on the lights. The room was small, and the egg crate insulation was like a cocoon. It was the perfect place to cry. She dropped into one of the chairs behind the control board and pulled her knees up to her chest, sobbing out her anger and hurt and guilt in the dimness of the room.
The worst part was, Dave was right. She wasn’t being fair to either guy in her life. If she stopped spending time with Aiden, she was afraid the loneliness that she used to tolerate in her own life would rise up like a wave and drown her. And she’d been so wrapped up in convincing herself that her life was A-okay without Jake that she’d completely ignored the fact that Dave was floundering. She’d seen the signs; her best friend was sinking, and she’d been too selfish to do anything about it. That piddly hour she spent training Thea was too little, too late.
She was mopping her face with a crumpled Kleenex she’d found in the bottom of her purse when the door opened to reveal Dave’s lanky frame silhouetted in the hall light.
She scrambled to her feet, swiping at her eyes. “I haven’t been there for you. I’m so sorry.”
He was already shaking his head as he stepped into the room. “No,I’msorry. I shouldn’t have said any of that.” His face was drawn and miserable, and the ache in Mabel’s chest expanded.
“No, me. I’m the shitty friend. I can’t believe I didn’t know how much stress you’ve been under. I should’ve—”
Dave cut off the rest of her apology with a grimace. “Let’s agree we were both terrible and move on. But you need to stay pissed at me for at least a week.”
She gave a watery laugh. “How about I stop being pissed at you right now, and you tell me when I can come over to watch Thing One and Thing Two so you and Ana can have a night off. Go out to dinner, see a movie, get a hotel room so you can make out or take a nap or whatever you married people do.”
Dave exhaled a gusting sigh. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Ana and Mabel Junior will be fine, and we’ll get through this work nightmare together.” She twined her arms around his waist and gave him a squeeze.
“Love you, monkey face.” He squeezed her back.
“Love you too. And I miss being your partner.”
He released her and sank into one of the studio chairs. “Hard same. You know, the last time I talked to Brandon, he looked almost regretful. Part of me thinks he’s starting to see that there’s something useful about actual broadcast training for radio personalities in one of the state’s biggest markets.”
“If only there was a way to rectify that mistake…” She plopped into the seat next to him.
“Fall ratings come out in January.”
She nodded becauseof courseshe knew when the ratings were due out. From the bottom of her heart, she hoped they’d be so abysmal that Brandon would see the error of his ways. And in the meantime, she had Dave’s voice echoing in her head, accusing her of being too afraid to go after what she wanted.
